PORTLAND, Ore. – Kings coach Reggie Theus entered Tuesday night's exhibition opener with a short to-do list.
He wanted his team to show a basic understanding of its new and improved offensive system, to compete with an energy and edge that was often displayed last season, and he wanted every player on the roster to play.
At least everyone played.
As for how they played, that's where the mental checklist went unfulfilled in the Kings' 110-81 loss at Portland. While Kevin Martin, Brad Miller and Quincy Douby sat out nursing injuries, the Kings' youth movement moved backward in an opener featuring red flags that had nothing to do with the home team's colors.
Asked to pick one word to describe the opening act, Spencer Hawes opted for two: "Growing process." Veteran point guard Bobby Jackson said, "Good, but not good" in reference to the first and second halves. Forward Shelden Williams agreed, picking "half" as his word of choice.
"You worry," said Jackson, who played 18 minutes at both the point guard and shooting guard spots. "As a coach and a player, you worry, but it's also one game. We've got to be focused, to continue to get better as a team. That's what we have to preach tomorrow in practice is that we've got to get better as a team. … It's not time to panic. It's the first game."
The Kings shot 28.9 percent, including a combined 3 of 18 from starters John Salmons and Hawes. They made no progress in the all-important assists-to-turnover ratio department (10 to 12). And while the first quarter featured the sort of effective up-tempo game Theus is hoping to see more often, fading legs thereafter seemed to beg the question of whether the Kings can maintain that style for the duration.
"Guys talk about wanting to push the ball and wanting to play faster, but it's an every-time thing – not an every other time or when you feel like it," Theus said. "Guys have to get in better shape. … I saw guys tonight who didn't look like they were in top shape. But I think for a first preseason game, that's normal."
Hawes said the process could be long.
"We were trying different personnel, going with different units," he said. "And to play that kind of (up-tempo) game, you have to have a cohesiveness that doesn't just happen overnight. That takes time."
After trailing by 11 points in the first half, the Blazers – who dazzled with a roster boasting youth, athleticism, depth and dazzle – led by as many as 35 points in the long-awaited debut of 2007 No. 1 draft pick Greg Oden. The center out of Ohio State had little trouble getting to the rim against the likes of Hawes, Mikki Moore and Williams, finishing with a methodical 13 points and five rebounds.
It was rookie guard Rudy Fernández, though, who captured the attention of the announced crowd of 19,321. The Spanish player, who was drafted in the summer of 2007 but just recently joined the Blazers, converted an array of flashy passes that left the Kings on their heels, including one between the legs of rookie Jason Thompson.
Thompson did score his first NBA points, hitting a 20-footer from the right wing with 1:50 left in the first quarter and finishing with six points and four rebounds in 19 minutes. Rookie small forward Donté Greene had 18 points in his debut, hitting 4 of 11 shots in 24 minutes.
Swingman Francisco García, however, was the lone Kings player who offered a solid all-around outing, finishing with 12 points and five rebounds in 26 minutes.
"I was in the same position they are," García said of the team's rookies. "I want to teach them things, and I don't want them to do what I did – shooting crazy shots my rookie year. I don't want Donté to do that. I'm going to keep being on their ears the whole year."
Martin, Miller and Douby appear likely to play Friday against Oklahoma City at Arco Arena.
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