Breaking NewsSponsored by The Sullivan Auto Group
Subscribe: Home Delivery Special!
Udrih not only scores; he sets up others with driving ability
By Sam Amick - samick@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Monday, November 19, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C4
Kings newcomer Beno Udrih, dribbling around the Pistons' Flip Murray, is providing the kind of point guard play sought by coach Reggie Theus. Randy Pench / rpench@sacbee.com
This was, in every way, exactly what the Kings hoped for when they signed Beno Udrih on Nov. 1.
Yes, he was a scoring point guard, but they believed he also could find his teammates. And the fact that he spent much of the last two seasons on San Antonio's bench was no indication that he belonged there for good.
Beno's best was on display for much of Sunday's game against Detroit at Arco Arena, as he finished with 23 points and six assists.
"We now have someone people have to pay attention to on pick and rolls, someone who can penetrate and make plays for other people," Kings coach Reggie Theus said recently. "Roles change and situations change, and we should be getting better by getting (Udrih)."
Like old times – When Detroit forward Rasheed Wallace accused Kevin Martin of flopping in the first quarter, the Kings shooting guard simply grinned and hit both of his free throws.
But when Wallace made the same claim in the direction of Kings small forward Ron Artest, there was no smiling.
Artest – who had so many classic Eastern Conference battles with Wallace and the Pistons while with Indiana – appeared to take great offense, then ramped up his offense by scoring five consecutive Kings points.
He blew off Theus' play call, drove straight at Wallace in the lane and was fouled. After making one of two free throws, he hit a 10-foot running fadeaway from the left side on the next possession, then made a driving layup that tied the score 44-44 in the second quarter.
More Wallace – Wallace had no problem when he swayed a call in his team's favor. He informed official Sean Wright in the first quarter that Kings center Brad Miller was consistently guilty of a defensive three-second violation and received the call one possession later.
But when a boisterous Theus coerced official Joe Forte into blowing the whistle on Detroit for an illegal-defense call, Wallace did an about-face.
"Hey, did you call that or did (Theus)?" he asked.
A tough sell – Five home games have meant five non-sellouts for the Kings, whose streak of 354 consecutive sellouts at Arco was broken in the Nov. 6 home opener against Seattle.
They entered Sunday's game ranked 26th in the league in attendance, averaging 13,980. Against the Pistons, the announced attendance was 12,978.
Bigs out – Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim was excused from the team for personal reasons and is expected to return Tuesday. Forward Kenny Thomas missed his fourth consecutive game because of a right shin contusion.
About the writer:
- Call The Bee's Sam Amick, (916) 326-5582. Read his blog at www.sacbee.com/blogs.
Recommend this story at Yahoo! Buzz:
Unique content, exceptional value. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Most Popular
More Stories in Sports
News |
Sports |
Business |
Politics |
Opinion |
Entertainment |
Living Here |
Travel |
Blogs |
Cars |
Homes |
Jobs |
Classifieds/Shopping
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Site Map | Advertise | Guide to The Bee | Bee Jobs | FAQs | RSS
Contact Us | e-edition | Subscribe | Manage Your Subscription | E-newsletters | Sacbeemail | Archives
sacbee.com | Sacramento.com | Capitol Alert | SacMomsClub.com | SacPaws.com | SacWineRegion.com
Copyright © The Sacramento Bee
2100 Q St. P.O. Box 15779 Sacramento, CA 95816 (916) 321-1000