Kings Apr 2003 Archive

• Still a factor

  Stockton Record | Apr 30, 2003

  Scot Pollard had the same number of field-goal attempts during Monday's fourth game as he did throughout April 19th's playoff opener against the Utah Jazz -- zero.

• Ending is always tough part

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 30, 2003

  The core of Kings' merry men has been here and done it -- and the group also has failed to do it.

• Jazz must find a way to stop Stojakovic

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 30, 2003

  As Peja Stojakovic continues to prove, the only way to stop him is with the "hope and pray" defense.

• Kings and Jazz put up quotes

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 30, 2003

  A collection of quotes from the Jazz and Kings camps, looking back at Game 4 and ahead to Game 5.

• Sloan says his players have failed to focus

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 30, 2003

  Throughout the Jazz's first-round playoff series with Sacramento, Utah coach Jerry Sloan has questioned if his club can concentrate on its task at hand.

• Coach says it isn't over

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 30, 2003

  Sacramento Kings coach Rick Adelman says the series is far from over, while his players think it will be tough for any team to beat them three straight times.

• Jazz win? Odds are super thin

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 30, 2003

  Forty minutes after the final horn had sounded Monday night, Karl Malone emerged from the training room.

• History Not on Jazz's Side

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 30, 2003

  Videotape might be in order tonight for Jazz fans, and not just to avoid staying up until midnight.

• End of series, era looms in Utah

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 29, 2003

  Now, this is really it, one last game for the Utah Jazz to keep the season going.

• Jackson fined for his tirade about referees

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 29, 2003

  Kings guard Bobby Jackson said Sunday he didn't care if he heard from the NBA after lambasting the Game 3 officiating crew of Bennett Salvatore, Ted Bernhardt and Leroy Richardson.

• Jackson is the NBA's No. 1 sixth man

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 29, 2003

  Kings guard Bobby Jackson will be named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year today, according to league sources.

• Stojakovic makes it look easy

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 29, 2003

  It looks exactly this easy when it's right.

• Bibby puts on artful display in 3rd quarter

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 29, 2003

  The court was his canvas, the game in that deciding third quarter played at his speed, his pace, his teammates responding to his every stroke.

• Smelling ... like a rose

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 29, 2003

  All that needs to be known about the Kings is that Peja Stojakovic was just like the rest of his teammates in the first half, throwing up an airball or two, rushing shots and making only 2 of 5 attempts.

• In a deep hole

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 29, 2003

  The Jazz had the tempo they wanted Monday night, the lead they desperately needed, but they threw it all away.

• Kings capitalize on opportunities

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 29, 2003

  It's a classic case of stating what was fairly obvious, but the Sacramento Kings did a whole lot of things better in Game 4 than they did in Game 3.

• For Jazz, it's just a matter of time

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 29, 2003

  The dreaming is almost over now for the Jazz, the hopes subdued.

• Utah 1 loss from season being over

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 29, 2003

  If Monday night's late-ending Game 4 of the Utah-Sacramento NBA playoff series really was John Stockton or Karl Malone's final appearance together at the Delta Center, or Jerry Sloan's, for that matter — no one really knows what the future holds for any of the three franchise stalwarts — Jazz fans will be best-served remembering the evening's first two quarters.

• Slipping Away

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 29, 2003

  The Sacramento Kings have a lot in common with the Thunderstix the Jazz handed out in the Delta Center on Monday: Whack them and they will make a lot of annoying noise.

• Stockton Shows No Signs of Feeling Nostalgic

  The Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 29, 2003

  Just like every night, John Stockton walked alone down the cavernous hallway toward the locker room about an hour before the Jazz played the Sacramento Kings in Game 4 of their first-round NBA playoff series Monday night.

• Bobby Jackson is the NBA's No. 1 sixth man

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 29, 2003

  Kings guard Bobby Jackson will be named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year today, according to league sources.

• Tonight Could Be the Night

  | Apr 28, 2003

  This is just like John Stockton and Karl Malone, keeping everybody wondering right to the end.

• Utah ready to give Sacramento a tough series

  USA Today | Apr 28, 2003

  The celebration at the Delta Center before the start of Saturday's playoff game between the Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings was so dizzying and lengthy, complete with fireworks and cascades of balloons, it almost seemed to be planned around a pessimistic presumption.

• Jazz have faith vs. Kings

  Fresno Bee | Apr 28, 2003

  A sweep by Sacramento is no longer a possibility.

• His idea of silence is a touch unusual

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 28, 2003

  Asking Kings guard Bobby Jackson to withhold his opinion is akin to asking the ultra-competitive one to back down from a challenge.

• Refs aren't the Kings' problems

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 28, 2003

  So here they are, the once and mighty Kings, staring again at the sharpened teeth and muscular elbows of that forever dangerous, two-headed dinosaur known as Stockton and Malone.

• Divac must answer force with force

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 28, 2003

  There's always this possibility: You are looking for a gear that Vlade Divac simply doesn't possess.

• Kings' focus is simple: Defense

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 28, 2003

  If the Kings are to attain their goal of winning the 2003 NBA championship, they'll have to defend considerably better than they did in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz.

• Ostertag's playoff high

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 28, 2003

  The Sacramento Kings were as surprised as anyone by Greg Ostertag's performance Saturday night.

• They said it

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 28, 2003

  A collection of weekend quotes from the Jazz and Kings camps in the aftermath of Saturday night's Game 3.

• Malone hurt, but should play

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 28, 2003

  The Jazz practiced Sunday without power forward Karl Malone, who is listed as "probable" with a strained lower back for tonight's Game 4 of Utah's first-round NBA playoff series against the Sacramento Kings.

• Notes: Kings aren't impressed

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 28, 2003

  The Kings didn't have many kind things to say about either the Jazz or the officiating crew of Bennett Salvatore, Ted Bernhardt and Leroy Richardson following their Game 3 playoff loss to Utah on Saturday night at the Delta Center.

• Kings are still confident

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 28, 2003

  In a nutshell, these were the primary thoughts going through the minds of the Sacramento Kings on Sunday: They recognize that they were outplayed in some ways by the Jazz in Saturday's Game 3, they think the officials allowed the Jazz to be more physical, and they plan to raise their own level of aggression for today's Game 4 at the Delta Center.

• Win? What win? Jazz look forward

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 28, 2003

  There was no dancing at Jazz practice Sunday.

• Some Kings Say Refs Helped Jazz

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 28, 2003

  After looking at the tape of the Jazz's 107-104 victory in Game 3, Rick Adelman decided his irate players were right: The referees were the reason the Kings lost.

• Adelman Sees Changes Ahead for Jazz

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 28, 2003

  Sacramento Kings coach Rick Adelman has led the Kings into a playoff series against the Jazz three times in the last five years, but if John Stockton and Karl Malone don't return next season, he doesn't expect to see Utah in the postseason for awhile.

• Sloan: Forget Game 3

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 28, 2003

  Whether the principals involved like it or not -- and they don't -- tonight will be Turn Back the Clock Night for a majority of the expected sellout crowd in the Delta Center.

• Push comes to shove, Jazz fights for survival

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 27, 2003

  Man, the postgame chatter is just so predictable.

• Still the same old Jazz

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 27, 2003

  We should have known.

• Divac sprinkle, sprinkles little star

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 27, 2003

  There is a water battle inside the Kings' inner circle.

• Jazz gets into Kings' heads again

  Sacramento Kings | Apr 27, 2003

  A few more details emerged Saturday night about the Kings' walk through the park to the second round.

• Kings battered, beaten

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 27, 2003

  Rick Adelman warned his team that the Utah Jazz would take physical play to another level.

• Cheaney's early play key

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 27, 2003

  It took a while, but Calbert Cheaney finally arrived in this playoff series.

• Fire in their eyes

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 27, 2003

  Desperate times call for desperate measures.

• Ostertag leads Utah to victory

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 27, 2003

  Like an unwanted houseguest who refuses to leave, the Sacramento Kings had been making themselves at home in the Delta Center in recent years.

• Jazz show more aggression

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 27, 2003

  In Kings coach Rick Adelman's opinion, Saturday's playoff game was won by the more aggressive team.

• Notes and Officiating Whiners

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 27, 2003

  The question posed to Kings guard Bobby Jackson focused on the influence of the Delta Center crowd in the Jazz's Game 3 playoff win over Sacramento on Saturday night.

• Ostertag plays big

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 27, 2003

  There were plot lines aplenty in Game 3 of the Jazz's first-round playoff series against the Sacramento Kings.

• Desperation Brings Out Fans' Best

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 27, 2003

  Desperation works.

• Ostertag helps pump life back into Jazz

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 27, 2003

  Conventional wisdom took a heck of a beating on Saturday night.

• Webber practices before road trip

  | Apr 26, 2003

  It wasn't exactly Willis Reed dragging his right leg onto the court in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, which Reed's New York Knicks won over the Los Angeles Lakers.

• Coming Home May Mean Going Home

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 26, 2003

  So this was the playoff series that was supposed to be close, right? The one that the Jazz actually had a chance to win, despite their poor playoff seed? Yeah, well .

• For the Jazz, tonight's a 'meating'

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 26, 2003

  The one thing you can be absolutely sure of tonight is finding at least one lost tooth on the Delta Center floor, the result of a facility-rattling rumble between openly hostile opponents.

• Momentum in motion

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 26, 2003

  The Kings have the Utah Jazz figured out all right, and it boils down to one simple premise.

• Jazz staring at must-win situation

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 26, 2003

  The situation is simple: If the Jazz lose tonight, they won't have to pack up immediately for the summer - but they can start ordering the moving vans.

• Malone's back won't keep him out

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 26, 2003

  He hasn't practiced all week, but he will play tonight.

• Jazz want back at it

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 26, 2003

  With a month — er, week — or so to dwell on what they did not do in Monday's Game 2, the Jazz have all sorts of ideas as to what they want to accomplish in tonight's Game 3 of their first-round NBA playoff series with the Sacramento Kings.

• Long Series Improves Jazz's Odds

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 26, 2003

  Those complaints about how lengthening the first round to best-of-seven puts underdogs like the Jazz at a disadvantage? Never mind.

• It takes two for this series to stop

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 25, 2003

  Rick Adelman doesn't confess to being a math major.

• More than able assistance

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 25, 2003

  For an assistant coach, it's not enough to know what the opposing team has done.

• Injuries slowing Jazz's transition

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 25, 2003

  The future is coming fast, all right, but only because it's on gurneys.

• Adelman stirs up a feast of talent

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 25, 2003

  Standing in the press room dessert line at Arco Arena Monday night, it occurred to me I had a dilemma.

• -2 Jazz must take sting out of Stojakovic

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 25, 2003

  The Jazz did a decent job on him early in Game 1, swatting and zapping the pesky Peja Stojakovic just enough that for a while you didn't even notice him.

• Playoff History Offers Some Hope

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 25, 2003

  Having determined that the Jazz are not the only team trailing 2-0 in a first-round series, the NBA authorized the team to go ahead with plans to stage two games at the Delta Center.

• Can Jazz Elevate Their Intensity?

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 25, 2003

  It's too late to make a trade, too early to sign a free agent, too shortsighted to dump the offense or shuffle the lineup.

• If you think Peja is good now...

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 24, 2003

  There are times when Peja Stojakovic is frighteningly good.

• Christie not defensive about lack of offense

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 24, 2003

  Doug Christie on Wednesday was named once again as one of the elite defensive players in the NBA.

• Era of Jazz is being quickly rocked away

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 24, 2003

  Desperate times call for desperate measures.

• Jazz Find Hope in Minnesota

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 24, 2003

  Calbert Cheaney says he never had any doubts, but he didn't mind the reminder, either.

• Webber's status is listed 'day to day'

  | Apr 23, 2003

  They played most of the final three quarters of Game 2 without him due to a bad back, but the Sacramento Kings hope to have their All-Star power forward back for Saturday's Game 3 of their opening-round NBA playoff series with the Jazz.

• Jazz on the skids, bemoans Malone

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 23, 2003

  Karl Malone has been around long enough, 18 seasons to be exact, to recognize a sputtering wreck when he sees one.

• Webber's MRI is negative

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 23, 2003

  The Kings and Chris Webber received good news Tuesday afternoon regarding the power forward's lower back strain.

• Players shake off 'onlooker' roles

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 23, 2003

  The Kings should experience these memory lapses more often.

• Dude and a rube meet again

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 23, 2003

  Really, they couldn't be more opposite, Scot Pollard and Greg Ostertag.

• Four long days to regroup

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 23, 2003

  Both sides were grumbling when the schedule first came out for the Utah-Sacramento playoff series, but they've developed a new appreciation for their four-day hiatus.

• Rock on . . .

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 23, 2003

  Jerry Sloan will likely never become Coach of the Year.

• No answers to Jazz woes

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 23, 2003

  Jazz coach Jerry Sloan started off his postgame address to media members asking for questions Monday night.

• No more Mr. Nice Guys

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 23, 2003

  Tony Soprano would know what the Jazz need to do now.

• Webber being treated

  ESPN | Apr 23, 2003

  Sacramento forward Chris Webber had an MRI on his back at UC Davis medical center which came up negative according to the associated press.

• Jazz goes soft

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 22, 2003

  They were reaching deep into the thesaurus after this one, after Utah had gone from credible in defeat to incredibly pliant, after the Kings had taken a 2-0 series lead.

• Big win, little bit of history

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 22, 2003

  Breaking news! This actually has not happened before.

• Is this the night Peja came of age?

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 22, 2003

  Turn your head, look away for a fleeting moment, and Peja Stojakovic will fool you.

• Two victories and then this...

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 22, 2003

  Yes, absolutely, there's room for concern.

• Dominant from the start

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 22, 2003

  The Kings wanted to use aggression to ensure the Utah Jazz would have to play an excellent game Monday night to leave Arco Arena with a victory.

• Long break could benefit Kings' Webber

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 22, 2003

  When the NBA announced its schedule for league's opening-round playoff series between the Jazz and Kings, players from both sides bemoaned the fact Game 2 was scheduled for Monday night at Arco Arena in Sacramento and Game 3 is not until Saturday night at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

• Jazz unable to stay close

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 22, 2003

  In case I appear to be suffering from dizziness, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, and especially severe memory loss, let me make this perfectly clear: I know exactly what I wrote on Sunday.

• 2 for the road

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 22, 2003

  Perhaps it would be best if the Jazz held off for now on booking that return flight to Sacramento.

• Jazz send Stevenson home early

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 22, 2003

  The irony is, DeShawn Stevenson probably would have found some significant playing time on Monday if he had been in town.

• Kings play Jazz

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 22, 2003

  About the time Carlos Arroyo checked into the game late in the second quarter Monday night, it was clear Jerry Sloan was running out of answers.

• Even Without Webber, Kings Roll

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 22, 2003

  Even without Chris Webber, the Sacramento Kings were too much for the Jazz on Monday night.

• Halfway Gone

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 22, 2003

  The home team's victory over the Jazz long since presumed -- heck, their eventual NBA title practically engraved on the Larry O'Brien Trophy -- Kings' fans have taken to quibbling with the margins, to demanding heads on a platter.

• Stevenson gets sent home

  | Apr 22, 2003

  Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune reports: Jazz guard DeShawn Stevenson was sent home before Monday night's game against the Sacramento Kings after a spat with coach Jerry Sloan.

• Tough Jazz bump Kings, set the pace

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 21, 2003

  Jerry Sloan said his club didn't play mean enough Saturday night, that it was "soft.

• Kings aren't in giving mood

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 21, 2003

  It's not likely to be easy for the Kings tonight.

• Bench play separates Kings, Jazz

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 21, 2003

  Utah is known to have beautiful benches along the Wasatch Front.

• Utah looks to frustrate Sacramento

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 21, 2003

  They play their game, keep it close, and lose anyway.

• 2-0 Has Nice Ring to Kings

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 21, 2003

  In their seven playoff series since 1999, the Sacramento Kings have never enjoyed a 2-0 lead.

• Padgett Stumped by Shooting Woes

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 21, 2003

  These are the worst of times for Jazz forward Scott Padgett, a good shooter who suddenly can't make a shot.

• Stirred, Not Shaken

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 21, 2003

  The way the Jazz are trying to look at it, the Kings are just making a run.

• Jazz overmatched by depth

  San Francisco Chronicle | Apr 20, 2003

  The numbers did in the Utah Jazz Saturday night.

• Sights and Sounds

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 20, 2003

  In any language? Kings coach Rick Adelman said he continually stresses to his bunch the Jazz are to be taken quite seriously, going over film, hammering home the point in practices and timeouts with pained expressions.

• Jazz tempo leaves Kings off-beat for a bit

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 20, 2003

  Still Utah, after all these years.

• Handing out the hardware

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 20, 2003

  The ballot that was returned for Thursday's deadline for the NBA postseason awards.

• Deciding factor is the Kings' bench

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 20, 2003

  The Jazz players, they leave scars, they leave bruises.

• It's no beauty contest

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 20, 2003

  It was all so perfectly, hideously representative.

• Winning the tough way

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 20, 2003

  If the Kings even momentarily think about their struggle to win Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference series against the Utah Jazz, perspective provides San Antonio and Indiana.

• Malone off to hot start from outside

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 20, 2003

  Karl Malone from 19 feet, good.

• Kings learned their lessons

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 20, 2003

  If the Sacramento Kings go on to win the NBA championship this year, it won't be without a big, earnest push by the Utah Jazz.

• Old story: Jazz fall short

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 20, 2003

  The Jazz knew what they wanted going into Game 1 of their first-round, best-of-seven NBA playoff series with the Sacramento Kings.

• Same old story

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 20, 2003

  Karl Malone did his part Saturday night, and so did Greg Ostertag, but they didn't get much support.

• Harpring Struggles

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 20, 2003

  Matt Harpring will remember his first playoff game with the Jazz.

• Like Old Times

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 20, 2003

  The winner of the Jazz's first-round series with the Kings, according to Sacramento coach Rick Adelman, will be the team that "imposes its will on the other.

• Familiar foes

  Stockton Record | Apr 19, 2003

  In the past five seasons, few teams in the NBA have been on opposites sides of the court more than the Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz.

• Watch out for 'Whack a Webber'

  Contra Coast Times | Apr 19, 2003

  ANOTHER NBA POSTSEASON BEGINS today, and you know what that means: The big fella gets the ball in the low post, and as he readies to make his move, here comes the hack.

• Collective turmoil

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 19, 2003

  And now, just in from a thrilling extended visit to Planet Fracas, we bring you the members of the Utah Jazz.

• Too many major malfunctions

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 19, 2003

  Not that any of the Kings players really believed in hexes, voodoo or jinxes, but, yeah, it was starting to get a little weird this season on the injury front.

• Both sides upgrade talent

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 19, 2003

  The Utah Jazz and the Kings are meeting in the playoffs for the second consecutive season, but many of the players in each team's core have changed.

• Never underestimate your opponent

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 19, 2003

  Four years ago, it was the other way around.

• What is to become of all that's Jazz?

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 19, 2003

  So who's in charge of picking the new name? The incomprehensible notion of there being a Utah Jazz without John Stockton, Karl Malone and Jerry Sloan standing watch together is one thing, except that now it comes with the possibility they could hit the door in one concussive offseason, sending a city running to make sure the Great Salt Lake hasn't also been drained.

• Can physical series jump-start Kings?

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 19, 2003

  And coming up next on the Kings' Short Attention Span Network: The "Punch In Your Face Hour," brought to you by the Utah Jazz (new motto: If nothing else, we can still make you bleed).

• 'Champion' has a ring to it

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 19, 2003

  As the Kings prepare to open the 2003 NBA playoffs today at Arco Arena against the Utah Jazz, Chris Webber knows one thing for certain.

• Margin of victory shrinks between Jazz, Kings

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 19, 2003

  If the Jazz didn't have confidence in their playoff series against the Sacramento Kings a year ago, that was understandable.

• Kings play pressure defense too

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 19, 2003

  The most explosive offensive team the past few seasons has quietly become one of the best defensive teams as well.

• Jazz tackle Kings, history

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 19, 2003

  When the Jazz franchise arrived in Utah from New Orleans in 1979, the playoffs were something that could only be dreamt off.

• Jazz-Kings matchup

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 19, 2003

  Forgive Jerry Sloan, but on the eve of yet another first-round NBA playoff series against the Sacramento Kings, the Jazz coach has that deja vu feeling.

• Webber praises Malone, Stock

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 19, 2003

  With a best-of-seven opening-round playoff series against Utah about to get under way with Game 1 tonight, Chris Webber knows better than to say something that might rile up Karl Malone or John Stockton.

• 7 things the Jazz must do

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 19, 2003

  By all accounts, the Utah Jazz are hefty underdogs in their first-round playoff matchup with the Sacramento Kings.

• Sacramento suits franchise just fine

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 19, 2003

  Arco Arena is on the outskirts of town, surrounded by fields.

• We meet again

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 19, 2003

  The Jazz claim they went into last season's first-round NBA playoff series against Sacramento with supreme confidence.

• Jazz-Killer Gives Lessons to Kings

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 19, 2003

  Peja Stojakovic stayed late after the Kings' practice on Friday, working on his three-point shooting with a Sacramento assistant coach.

• Jazz Want Series Lived in Slow Lane

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 19, 2003

  It may be hard to hear amid all the cowbells and foot-stomping in Arco Arena, but the sound to listen for in tonight's playoff opener (8:30 p.

• Jazz face Kings as big underdogs

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 19, 2003

  The Jazz and Kings open their first-round Western Conference playoff series tonight at Arco Arena.

• Jazz opposed to a break

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 18, 2003

  The playoff schedule isn't so popular on the side that supposedly will benefit from the extended layoff, although maybe it's just the Utah Jazz being realistic that everyone will be old by the time Game 3 gets here.

• First up, Utah

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 18, 2003

  Enough already on the Kings bracing for the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs or beloved Los Angeles Lakers.

• Kings need a sense of immediacy

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 18, 2003

  On the eve of what figures to be an unusually contentious postseason, a mere glance around the Kings' locker room suggests that something is amiss.

• Jazz can rebound, which is trouble

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 18, 2003

  The Kings have won 10 of their last 12 regular-season meetings with the Jazz and defeated Utah in a hard-fought, best-of-five playoff series last year.

• Hardly automatic

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 18, 2003

  There's a stark contrast to the jovial Kings when it comes to free-throw shooting.

• Sloan seeks best effort

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 18, 2003

  Of all the disappointments Jerry Sloan has endured in his coaching career, from the first-round upsets to the heartbreaking losses in the NBA Finals, none have been as bitter as last season"s playoff loss to top-seeded Sacramento.

• Confident Kings try to keep their focus

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 18, 2003

  They swear they are not looking past the Jazz.

• Playoff pause rankles players

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 18, 2003

  The long break between Monday night's Game 2 and the following Saturday's Game 3 of the Jazz-Kings playoff series isn't a real popular topic for many involved.

• Playoff time

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 18, 2003

  They are familiar foes.

• Series With Sacramento Not the Rematch It Appears to Be

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 18, 2003

  The Jazz may be facing the same playoff opponent they did a year ago, but this is no rematch.

• Kings Like Sloan for COY

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 18, 2003

  The Kings don't get a vote, but they can certainly endorse a candidate for Coach of the Year.

• Focus Will Be Important

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 18, 2003

  Nobody can predict how injury, illness, an official's call or a lucky bounce of the basketball will impact the Jazz's first-round Western Conference playoffs series against Sacramento.

• Easy Path for Kings?

  San Francisco Chronicle | Apr 17, 2003

  It's easy for Sacramento fans to get excited about this turn of events, but the Kings refused to look that far ahead after a film session on Thursday at their training complex.

• Home edge a big deal?

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 17, 2003

  Right, let's go ahead and take the quiz.

• Kings roll by Jazz in finale

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 17, 2003

  Not long into their game Wednesday night, the Kings knew there was not much to gain from either victory or defeat.

• Jazz, Kings face long playoff gap

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 17, 2003

  The loser of Game 2 in the NBA's first-round playoff series between the Jazz and Kings sure will have an awful long time to ponder their unsuccessful ways.

• Jazz stumble in finale

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 17, 2003

  If the real deal goes anything like the dress rehearsal, the Jazz will be bowing out of the NBA playoffs long before the curtain closes on the Sacramento Kings.

• Fizzle Finish

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 17, 2003

  Players with such a proud past resolutely kept their focus on the future on Wednesday.

• Kings of the NBA, why not?

  Tahoe Daily Tribune | Apr 16, 2003

  The Kings will conclude the regular season tonight against the Jazz in Sacramento.

• Scouting the Jazz

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 16, 2003

  Utah is in the playoffs for the 20th consecutive season, the third-longest run in league history.

• Kings may have an incentive

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 16, 2003

  Exactly what is at stake, if anything, for the Kings tonight will not be known until after they begin their 7 p.

• Jazz-Kings: Round none

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 16, 2003

  When the Jazz meet the Sacramento Kings this coming weekend, the cowbells at Arco Arena will clang with playoff-like intensity.

• Jazz Finale Is Playoff Preview

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 16, 2003

  The playoffs are always good theater, so perhaps it's appropriate that the NBA has arranged for a dress rehearsal.

• U.S. national team adds Malone, Bibby

  Oakland Tribune | Apr 15, 2003

  Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz and Mike Bibby of the Sacramento Kings were officially added Monday to the national team that will compete in the Olympic qualifying tournament in August.

• Jazz assured a playoff foe

  Deseret Morning News | Apr 15, 2003

  In one fell swoop Monday night, the Jazz learned the identity of their first-round playoff opponent, were reminded why they cannot beat the San Antonio Spurs and ridded themselves of a longtime thorn in their collective behind.

• Malone and Bibby officially added

  ESPN | Apr 15, 2003

  ESPN.

• Familiar Story for Kings

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 12, 2003

  It's beginning to sound a little familiar, isn't it? Sacramento is looking at the same early-round playoff lineup it saw a year ago: Utah in the first round, Dallas in the second, assuming the Mavericks finish No.