Notes: Iske's real role with Kings; Rondo may need rest

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SACRAMENTO -- It’s been an overwhelming few days in Sacramento. A blow up led to a team meeting. The team meeting led to a leak. The leak led to more chaos.

And a win over the Detroit Pistons extinguished the majority of the four alarm fire.

This isn’t the first time the Kings have been through something like this. Every two or three months, something major happens that shakes the franchise to the core. But the aftermath often points you to paths that you need to explore further.

Of the many issues confounding the Kings this season, one of the few that seemed genuinely unique to this season is the emergence of assistant head coach Chad Iske. 

After joining the staff this summer, Iske has quickly risen to the top of the coaching hierarchy and the players have voiced concerns as to whether he or head coach George Karl is actually running the team.

Who is Iske and why has his name been so prominently mentioned? Why is he running practice and why is he the one standing and yelling on the bench during games?

“I’ve known Chad a long time, Chad was kind of my Spoelstra,” Karl said Thursday. “He’s the guy who started in the film room and moved up. I think he’s done a great job for me. He knows my style and my thoughts, as does John Welch.”

[HAM: Kings' dysfunction approaching breaking point]

Comparing Iske to Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is high praise. The former video coordinator worked his way up the ranks in Miami and eventually took over as head coach when Pat Riley stepped down in 2008.

In seven seasons as the Heat’s head coach, Spoelstra has four Eastern Conference titles and two NBA championship rings. He had the luxury of coaching Miami’s big three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, but a win is a win when it comes to Larry O'Brien trophies.

Iske has played the role of understudy for one of the game’s winningest coaches, in the same way that Spoelstra did with Riley. It’s a position that has led to some confusion amongst Kings players, but hopefully the team meeting earlier in the week clarified the situation. 

Karl contends that he is as healthy as he has been in years, but he credits his trusted assistants partially for his increase in energy level. He looks to Iske both at practice and in games to stand in his stead.

Two bouts with throat cancer, Karl doesn’t have the same forcefulness in his voice that he once had. In addition to coaching X’s and O’s, Iske has taken on the role of megaphone, even picking up a technical foul from the bench during the Kings win over the Pistons. 

Karl built a top-notch coaching staff in Sacramento with the idea that he would rely on them heavily throughout the season. It may come as a surprise to some, but this is exactly how he ran the show in Denver a few years back. This group of coaches posted 57 wins and help earn Karl an NBA Coach of the Year award.

INJURY UPDATE 

Rajon Rondo may want to start hydrating now. The 29-year-old point guard is getting very familiar with his teammates by playing all 48 minutes in back-to-back games. According to Karl, the former All-Star may get a breather Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets.

“We could use another body in the backcourt,” Karl said. “I don’t think we can do Rajon 48 minutes. I know he thinks he likes it, I just think you’re wearing him out.” 

Darren Collison is officially out with a left hamstring strain, leaving the Kings without their most productive bench player. But Seth Curry, who opened the season as the third point guard, has been upgraded to questionable with a right ankle sprain and hopes to play.

“It’s terrible timing,” Curry said of the injury. “I’ve worked hard to get back as soon as possible and hopefully that’s tomorrow. It’s been tough to watch the team struggle and watch Rondo play so many minutes without any backup.”

Curry was on the practice floor playing one-on-one against Ben McLemore, James Anderson and Eric Moreland. He even swatted McLemore on a take to the hoop.

Collison will likely miss a few more games with his hamstring injury, but he was out on the court working on his shooting touch with assistant coaches. His 15.8 points and 5.2 assists per night are desperately missed.   

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