Francisco Garcia finally returned to the starting lineup for the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday after missing six weeks due to a calf injury. It was a long time for Coach Reggie Theus who has seen his team lacking energy and passing up shots at crucial points.
As the Sacramento Bee reported, it was going to be difficult to tell who would be happier, the former University of Louisville star or the former UofL assistant:
“His competitiveness is something we need desperately,” said Theus, whose team has lost seven of its last eight games. “It’s his attitude. He’s one of the leaders on this team, a verbal, emotional leader.
“He wants the ball down the stretch. He’s a guy who stretches the defense. Last year, he was one of the best on-ball defenders we had.”
Garcia didn’t disappoint, accumulating 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal and zero turnovers in 31 minutes during a 99-95 loss to Utah. As he rounds back into shape, watch for continued improvement.
The Kings currently have a 5-15 won-lost record and are in fifth place in the Pacific Division of the NBA’s Western Conference.
Andy, you are right on about Cisco. The player this season would have to be T-will if he could shoot the ball like he does in practice. On the other hand, T-will wouldn’t have to be the greatest shooter to assume that role. He needs to get back to being the point forward he was in the past. For some reason, these things don’t seem to occur during the early season.
I’ve been thinking about Cisco a lot lately… it seems that since he’s been gone, we’ve not had the type of player who can just take it all over – even when things are bad. We haven’t had the guy who says, “Gimme the ball” who can single-handedly get a crap-fest game like the WKU game turned around.
Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had some outstanding players/leaders (Padgett for one), but nobody with the gumption and competitiveness to never give a game up AND the ability to do something about it.