<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Take your pick, but Mike Bibby feels like all of them. "I'm great," the Kings' point guard said. "I feel like a champion, like a champ. I don't make excuses." Worrying, Bibby explained, simply does him no good. Nonetheless, his right shooting wrist is affecting his play more than he's letting on. Entering Monday, Bibby had hit just 14 of 46 shots (30.4 percent). He started slowly last season, too, shooting 36.9 percent in the first seven games before finishing at 43.2 percent with a career-high 20.1 points per game. "He's playing through pain," Kings coach Eric Musselman said. "He told me when he releases the shot, it bothers him." Since his surprise return from a thumb injury opening night at Minnesota, Bibby has continued to play with the right thumb taped. Against the Timberwolves on Monday, he added a wrist brace midway through the second quarter after he hit just one of his first four shots. He finished with 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting. Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim saw Bibby play through nagging injuries when they were teammates from 1998 to 2001 in Vancouver. "I always respected the way he plays when he can," Abdur-Rahim said. "I thought he was going to be out longer, but I've seen him play sick, seen him play hurt. As far as guys playing, and being professional and being tough, he's, in my book, right at the top of it." </div> Source
