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Kings notes: Smart hopes players stay fit during All-Star break

Published: Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013 - 12:00 am | Page 5C
Last Modified: Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013 - 6:30 pm

DALLAS – Kings coach Keith Smart already knew the basics of his postgame chat about the All-Star break.

He won't give his players a to-do list.

"I tried that before," Smart said.

But he will encourage them to work out during their time off.

"I'll try that after (the game), but you know what you'll get from that," Smart said.

The Kings will be off for the All-Star break until Monday evening, when they resume practice. Only guard Isaiah Thomas has any obligations to be in Houston, where he will play in Friday's Rising Stars Challenge.

The rest of the Kings are free to do what they wish.

"Two days off for an NBA player is real tough," Smart said. "Three, four and five days, you can really be in trouble if you don't do something, and you're going to die on that first night back at practice. And you don't want the whole carryover into that shootaround day of the game when we play the Spurs (on Tuesday at Sleep Train Arena)."

Smart said he'd try to take a break by spending time with his family and watching his wife, Carol, coach her middle school girls basketball team.

"I'll be at home trying to relax, but I'll still be gravitating toward the game," he said.

Smart did have one request of his players in a joking manner.

"If you're going somewhere tropical, just get up and run down the beach, and then go back and sit down," Smart said.

Injury report – Guard Marcus Thornton was inactive for Wednesday's game against Dallas because of a bruised right hand. X-rays were negative.

Thornton injured his hand Tuesday at Memphis while helping guard Grizzlies center Marc Gasol. Thornton said he hit his hand on Gasol's arm.

Thornton has missed 10 games this season because of injuries. Smart said he expects Thornton to be ready for practice Monday.

Lineup changes – After playing some important minutes Tuesday, guard Aaron Brooks did not play Wednesday. He was a healthy scratch for the fourth time in the last seven games.

Jimmer Fredette was used as the backup point guard instead of Brooks.

Also seeing action were forwards James Johnson, who didn't play in the previous three games, and Travis Outlaw, who didn't play in the previous four games.

That meant no time for rookie forward Thomas Robinson.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Read more articles by Jason Jones



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