Nor Cal Basketball

The Kings' coach had decided to keep his team in Minneapolis on Wednesday night and practice in the Land of 10,000 Lakes on Thursday, eliminating one night of potential distraction in Miami. Asked about his motivation, he was candid.

"We just don't necessarily want to spend too much time in Miami," Theus said. "And I think that's OK. It doesn't make as much sense (considering) what happened last (season) to go there too early. I don't know any other way to answer that. … It's what best for the team."

While every NBA team faces a social challenge because of the allures of South Beach, this is different on two fronts. It's Halloween weekend, meaning an already wild scene will be even more rowdy. And, of course, because of Feb. 26.

In Theus' only visit as a coach, Ron Artest missed the shootaround with "stomach issues" before playing his worst game of the season while the Kings lost 107-86 to a Heat team that finished 15-67.

Theus said he was confident his players would use discretion Thursday night. He said he still has a curfew for the players, although the 1 a.m. deadline is "a guideline, a barometer for guys to respect the game."

"We've just got to make the game the most important thing," Theus said.

The down-low – On paper, the Kings won't have a better chance to dominate down low on this four-game trip than tonight. The Heat does not have a true center, starting 6-foot-8 Udonis Haslem at the position and rookie and No. 2 overall draft pick Michael Beasley at power forward.

"(Beasley) is going to be tough," Theus said. "He's very athletic, talented. He's left-handed, which makes him even tougher around the basket. At the same time, it's another team I think we match up with. … It's certainly an opportunity with a day in between (games) because there won't be a rest issue."

Off the hook? – Spencer Hawes doesn't much care what the hierarchy is, as long as he's playing. But after playing well in his 33 minutes against Minnesota, the second-year center said there's an in-house dispute about his classification.

Veteran center Brad Miller has said Hawes must continue with the many humbling rookie rituals until he's logged 82 career regular-season games, the number in one full campaign (he's at 72). But veteran guard Bobby Jackson told Hawes he's free and clear after the first official tipoff of his second season.

Considering Jackson is the elder of the two, Hawes was asked if he should tell Miller that Jackson's ruling stands.

"That's a heck of an idea," Hawes said with a smile.

As for the team's actual rookies, forward Jason Thompson was the only one of the team's three to debut Wednesday. Small forward Donté Greene and point guard Bobby Brown did not play.

Posted on Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDT at http://www.sacbee.com/kings/story/1359260.html
Author: samick@sacbee.com (Sam Amick)