King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Can the Timberwolves beat the Lakers? Yes, but L.A. won't fold like the Kings. Plus: Canada embraces hockey!
May 20, 2004 | It's hard to call the Sacramento Kings' Game 7 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday night a choke job. The T-Wolves were favored, after all, and playing at home, and they have the league MVP, Kevin Garnett, who had 32 points, 21 rebounds and five blocked shots in an 83-80 win that earned the Wolves a date with the Lakers in the Western Conference finals.
The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight in a Game 7 did it again, losing one for the third straight year. In five of the six years in their current run as a good team, the Kings have played a Game 7 of a best-of-7 series or a Game 5 of a best-of-5. They're 0-5.
The Kings didn't tank spectacularly the way they did two years ago against Los Angeles in the conference finals, but their throats weren't exactly clear either. They came out sleepwalking and fell behind by 13 early. They eventually made up the deficit and actually had a chance to send the game to overtime, but Chris Webber's shot at the buzzer went in and out.
Though the Wolves are rightly getting credit for playing some tough defense -- a Garnett block on which he simply grabbed the ball one-handed in midair will be a highlight staple for years to come -- the Kings also just shot poorly, a Game 7 habit. Wide open and poorly chosen shots clanked away to the tune of 39.5 percent shooting, seven percentage points below the season average. There was an 11-shot missing streak in the first half. Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic, the heart of the Kings' offense, shot a combined 7-for-25.
Yes, the Kings were thin because of an injury to Bobby Jackson and the suspension of Anthony Peeler, but even the latter can go in the bone-in-the-windpipe category. You just don't go getting yourself suspended from a Game 7 by swinging your elbow at the league MVP's neck in Game 6, even if you're just a backup point guard.
This version of the Kings appears to be done. Webber, still recovering from knee surgery, was a shadow of his former self in these playoffs, and even if he recovers well in the offseason, he'll be 32 next year, and can't be expected to be the player he once was. The Kings will reportedly try to shop him. Doug Christie is old. Vlade Divac is so old he doesn't even bother flopping much anymore. Coach Rick Adelman is on the chopping block, as he should be. A playoff collapse year after year is a reflection of the boss.