CWebb continues to be MIA

[Evilmav2]

CWebb continues to be MIA


By Scott Howard-Cooper
Special to ESPN.com

Chris Webber will miss an extended stretch of the season, and aren't you just shocked.

Unlike other elite teams, the Kings have been unable to count on their best player, Chris Webber.
Twenty-eight games missed in 2001-02, including the opening 20 with a badly sprained ankle. Fifteen games missed last regular season, most due to a sprained ankle from late January to late February, and then being knocked from the playoffs in Game 2 of the eventual seven-game defeat to Dallas because of a knee injury that required surgery. An extended stay on the injured list at the start of this one, probably at least the first month, to heal from that operation.

It's not him. Webber annually shows to camp in great shape and has a dedicated workout routine. Dislocated shoulders, the drag on his early years. Sprained ankles. Knee surgeries. These don't come from poor conditioning.

It's not him. It's bad luck.

But it's also reality:

The Sacramento Kings are the only team among the Western Conference elite that can't count on its superstar.

Shaquille O'Neal, able to tilt the balance of power more than Kobe Bryant, is moving well for the preseason and in better shape and showing no lingering effects from the toe problem that haunted his 2002-03 season. Tim Duncan is the definition of dependable. Likewise, Kevin Garnett stands for everything good about the Minnesota Timberwolves. Dirk Nowitzki has missed 11 games in his five seasons.

The Kings figure Webber will be out until sometime around early December, although there is no official timetable. There goes one of their best passers -- having Vlade Divac, among the best centers in that department, is a cushion -- and the player who just led in scoring, assists and rebounds. Only Garnett matched that.

"Now we have to get extra rebounds, score more points and play better defense," said Gerald Wallace, the backup small forward.

As long as that's all.

"Basically, yeah," Wallace said. "You've got to do everything."

If you're a Kings fan, you mostly have to hope that the calendar isn't the next thing that needs crutches. November and December, that they can handle. April-May-June, things become a little more pressing. As in, the panic button.

His reputation as a fragile player, already well developed, was set. In a splint.

As if anyone needs reminding. The Kings and Mavericks were at the start of another ear-splitting playoff series last May when C-Webb left in the third quarter of Game 2. Dallas was en route to victory when he exited with about 14 minutes remaining, so the Mavericks were obviously in the series even with Webber healthy. His departure, in fact, didn't change their approach. The foot stayed pressed hard on the gas pedal. For Sacramento, though, the impact was dramatic. He was the best offensive weapon, one of the players it ran the offense through and the weapon that would be tough to answer.

You Don't C-Webb. Kings lose in 7.

His reputation as a fragile player, already well developed, was set. In a splint.

So now comes the new season and the questions resume. Not whether he is good enough to merit the contract, but whether he will be well enough to play at money time. Not whether he can stand up to Duncan or Rasheed Wallace or Garnett in the postseason, but whether he will be able to stand up. Period.

The Kings still have options. They will open the regular season with Divac and Brad Miller playing center and power forward in positions that are largely interchangeable in the Sacramento scheme, with the exact positions depending on the best defensive assignment. Tony Massenburg is the backup.

They just won't have Webber, and that changes everything.

"I think it's tough," coach Rick Adelman said. "It's very tough. I can imagine, with Brad new here, if I had Brad, Vlade and Chris, I'd be real comfortable with those three. But I am trying to set a tone with them and I don't have the one guy for night after night."

Not yet, at least.

He will at some point.

Probably.

Scott Howard-Cooper, who covers the NBA for the Sacramento Bee, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.

[grbh]

Unlike previous years the Kings don't have the depth to cover when Webber is out. It might very well cost them homee court in the first round.

[LRB]

Doesn't he look like he's about to cry in this picture?

[MavsFanFinley]

Doesn't he look like he's about to cry in this picture?

There are so many times during a game when I ask out loud, doesn't it look like he's going to cry? The Kings could be up 20 points and he's whistled for a foul and it looks like he is going to cry.

[sike]

Thanks MavsFanFin...I have thought ever since his Mich days...but I have never heard anyelse say it Thank God in Heaven!!!

[LRB]

Originally posted by: MavsFanFinley

There are so many times during a game when I ask out loud, doesn't it look like he's going to cry? The Kings could be up 20 points and he's whistled for a foul and it looks like he is going to cry.

Maybe SheWebb should just use a pacifier for a mouth piece.

[Chiwas]

CWebb continues to be MIA

He is learning to read. For achieve -his sentence.

Unlike previous years the Kings don't have the depth to cover when Webber is out. It might very well cost them homee court in the first round.

I think they depend more on Webber then the Mavs on Dirk, not being better than Dirk. But all gets compensate because of Adelman, an excelent strategist, who knows pretty well how to take advantage of his players and the weaknesses of the other teams. (Something that I can't recognize on Jackson; off topic but I had to say it).

[QCarFan]

Originally posted by: grbh
Unlike previous years the Kings don't have the depth to cover when Webber is out. It might very well cost them homee court in the first round.

Didn't they pick up Brad Miller?

[Shaq Attack2]

Originally posted by: QCarFan

Didn't they pick up Brad Miller?

And since when has Brad Miller ever been able to put up 20-10-5, and better, during the regular season?

[dirno2000]

Scott Pollard or Keon Clark never put up 20-10-5 either, but they can usually beat most teams in the league without Webber.

[Shaq Attack2]

Originally posted by: dirno2000
Scott Pollard or Keon Clark never put up 20-10-5 either, but they can usually beat most teams in the league without Webber.

I assume you don't know that Vlade will not be starting the regular season, due to a severely swollen ankle?

[grndmstr_c]

Originally posted by: Shaq Attack2

I assume you don't know that Vlade will not be starting the regular season, due to a severely swollen ankle?

Wow, I didn't. How long's he supposed to be out for?

[dirno2000]

Originally posted by: Shaq Attack2

I assume you don't know that Vlade will not be starting the regular season, due to a severely swollen ankle?

Yes but that's a different arguement. My point was only that Webber's backup has never put up Webber like #'s.

[dirno2000]

Kings Notes: Divac's ankle sprain is 'as bad as I've ever had'
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer - (Published October 18, 2003)
HOUSTON -- Vlade Divac is a quick healer -- so says the big man himself -- but even this one will be a test of his old bones.


Thursday, in an 88-72 preseason loss to the Houston Rockets, the Kings veteran center hobbled off the floor with 1:47 left in the first quarter, his arm around trainer Pete Youngman for support.


X-rays were negative, but two hours after his sprain, Divac's right ankle was still grossly swollen, with sandals the only footwear that would work.


"Whoa!" bellowed Kings forward Tony Massenburg when he saw Divac's foot.


"Hey," Divac offered, looking at his baseball-sized knot, "It's baseball season! I was running, and I stepped on somebody's foot. It's really hurting. It's as bad as I've ever had. I guess it's better to have it now than during the season or the playoffs.


Kings coach Rick Adelman said the team can hardly afford to lose any more big bodies, not with All-Star forward Chris Webber out until sometime in December, still rehabilitating after knee surgery.


"We need all of our big guys, especially with Chris out," the coach said. "Hopefully, Vlade will be all right."


And there's Jabari Smith, the free-agent center who said he labored with a tender knee Thursday for a team-high 17 points.


"My knee really hurts, but I feel good," Smith said. "I was just real happy to get an opportunity to play. I've got a lot of talented teammates. It's so easy to play with these guys when everyone wants to pass."


Divac is questionable and Smith probable for Sunday's 6 p.m. home game against the Seattle SuperSonics.

[Shaq Attack2]

Originally posted by: dirno2000

Yes but that's a different arguement. My point was only that Webber's backup has never put up Webber like #'s.

I know that's what your argument is, but I never denied that in the first place. I was merely contending that Brad Miller is an adequate backup to Webber.

[EricaLubarsky]

The Sacramento Kings are the only team among the Western Conference elite that can't count on its superstar.

except for games 5,6, and 7 of the 2002-2003 WCF finals. There was one person missing from those games that might fit the title.