Chris Webber is still feeling hurt - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

Evilmav2 · 05-10-2004, 11:03 PM

C-Webb's Still Feeling Hurt

By Ric Bucher
ESPN the Magazine

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- There is still plenty of uncertainty surrounding the Sacramento Kings and their title-chasing capability, but one issue has been settled -- the wisdom of coach Rick Adelman force-feeding minutes to Chris Webber.

Overshadowed by the wild finish to the Timberwolves' Game 2 victory, which tied their best-of-seven second-round series with the Kings at one win apiece, was a third-quarter performance by Webber reminiscent of how he played prior to knee surgery last summer. While keeping league MVP Kevin Garnett in check on one end, Webber repeatedly took Garnett off the dribble at the other for a 12-point, four-assist stretch of 12 minutes that pared a daunting 10-point Minnesota halftime lead to three. The Timberwolves pulled out a 94-89 win, but Webber served notice that he may be ready to nullify the monstrous advantage KG supposedly gave them.

Forget gauging the matchup by the boxscore, which had KG with 28 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots vs. C-Webb's 21 points, seven rebounds and no blocked shots. As an eyewitness, I saw Webber register at least two blocked shots overall and more than a single rebound in his stirring third-quarter performance. Besides, simple stats are, and always will be, the idiot's guide to judging performance. What made C-Webb's contribution so inspiring for the Kings is that he attacked the rim the entire night, even after having his shot blocked three times in the first half, including an attempted dunk rejected by Trenton Hassell, and struggling through a 3-for-11 first half.

The resilience paid off with nine free throws, all in the second half, including a dunk while being fouled by Michael Olowokandi that prompted Vlade Divac to fire an emphatic air high-five to C-Webb from the bench. If the Kings are feeling confident about knocking off the Timberwolves, the return to form of Webber is a big reason.

"Rick forced him to come back," Divac said. "We all put a lot of pressure on him, even though we knew he wasn't healthy. If we were in the Eastern Conference, you wouldn't do that, but we knew we couldn't get anywhere without Chris. We saw how hard he was working and what he was going through, but you've got to be strong to come back and play when you're not ready and listen to everybody talking about you. Now we all laugh about it. Especially him."

All of this comes after a first-round series with Dallas in which Webber had more turnovers than assists and couldn't guard a ball rack. The Kings actually enjoyed their most dominating quarter in Game 5 of that series with rookie Darius Songaila in for Webber. Adelman delivered the final indignity, electing to bench Webber for the final series-clinching defensive stand.

"Everybody saw the Dallas series," Garnett said. "He looks a lot stronger. His game looks a lot more polished. He looks like he's out of his funk. He's not snatching screws out of the backboard, but he's C-Webb again."

And, being inimitable C-Webb, the boos from home fans and questions about his value to the Kings generated by how he's played since returning in March won't be forgotten. Regardless of how this season ends, Webber doesn't want to return to Sacramento next season, a source close to Webber said over the weekend. The source also says that while Webber's pride was hurt by the last-stand benching against Dallas, he can "live with it." A bigger issue, the source says, is that Webber questions if some of his teammates share the fans' doubts about his value.

Putting such news so low in a story would be considered "burying the lede," in most cases, but as someone who has covered C-Webb's entire career, twice as a beat writer, I've learned to be wary of such pronouncements, even when I have no doubt about the source. I've had Webber tell me directly he'd do anything to stay with the Wizards but decline to express that sentiment directly to then-GM Wes Unseld, leading to his trade to Sacramento. I've then had him tell me he didn't want to stay in Sacramento, had league sources confirm his attempts to work a sign-and-trade to go elsewhere, only to hear him pronounce his love for the city and that he never really wanted to be anywhere else.

"Instead of letting stuff go over him, he takes it personally and says something he doesn't mean," Divac said. "It's like a bomb is sitting there and rather than leave it alone, he's over there lighting the fuse."

Webber, for his part, declined to talk on the record about his current state of mind or his intentions for next season, saying only that he can now "run straight as well as I have the last few years, but I'm still probably at around 60 percent on my lift."

Adelman, for his part, refused to look at C-Webb's performance Saturday as vindication for his decision to stick with his star power forward. Feeling that way, he said, would suggest the criticism ever had merit. He also said replacing Webber with Anthony Peeler and leaving big man Brad Miller on the floor for that last stand against the Mavs was based on Dallas going small and Miller being "our most active big man that game."

"I was doing the right thing for this team," Adelman said about playing Webber through the final two months of the regular season, even though it may have cost the Kings home-court advantage beyond the first round. "If you look at the last half of the season, Vlade wasn't playing very well and Brad was banged up. Who is a better option than Chris if he's healthy? So you had to live through some of that stuff."

It appears as if they've come out the other side. "C-Webb looks very healthy to me," Garnett said. "I can't tell he's hurt or only at 60 percent or whatever. I'm not taking him lightly, I can tell you that."

As for contentions he wants out of Sacramento, take those however you like.

Ric Bucher covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine. Also, click here to send Ric a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.