The consolation prize is dangling with the enticement of a toxic carrot for one team in the Eastern Conference to back into the eighth playoff spot. And the good news is most of the inter-conference play is over, which means they’ll essentially be slugging it out between themselves for the distinction of being put to bed by the powerful Celtics.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t the obvious benefit of experience and extra money for teams that haven’t been there forever like the currently No. 8 Atlanta Hawks. Their last postseason was nine years ago, so both general manager Billy Knight and coach Mike Woodson have been regarded as on the verge of being unemployed because of that familiar underachievement song.
Or consider the long-shot Charlotte Bobcats, suddenly five games behind the Hawks with 15 to play. . They were in the mix to crash the party for the first time in the five-year history of the franchise until the past week under rookie coach Sam Vincent; a four-game tailspin has essentially taken them out of the picture.
And in between we’re left with the New Jersey Nets, Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers – all of whom have suffered horribly disappointing seasons. Playing for the final spot as opposed to home court brings to mind whether their preference is to make the playoffs or slip into the draft lottery with the infinitesimal odds of moving into the top four in the NBA Draft.
In the case of the Hawks, it’s a moot point because their pick goes to the Phoenix Suns as part of the payback from the controversial Joe Johnson sign-and-trade acquisition in the summer of 2005 that created a split in the ownership group that continues even today. With a half-game lead over the Nets, they desperately need to get into the playoffs – particularly after swinging the trade for Mike Bibby last month that presumably ended the perpetual need for a point guard.
Despite their recent three-game winning streak that pushed them ahead of the Nets, they Hawks have won only four of their last 10 games – so vulnerability lingers. But on the bright side, eight of their final 15 games are at home, with only three of those games against teams playing better than .500 ball. In many ways, this is the perfect opportunity for Johnson, who has averaged 27.8 points and 7.1 assists over the past nine games, to prove he’s more than just a token All-Star and the guy who can carry them to a new height.
It’s a different deal for the Nets. They’ve been in the playoffs the past six years and into the second round the last two. President Rod Thorn is rebuilding them on the fly – unloading discontented Jason Kidd and adding youth around veterans Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson – the most prominent being Kidd’s replacement Devin Harris.
The Nets seemingly have the edge – certainly in experience and generally speaking in talent. However, nine of their final 16 games are on the road, with six of those games against winning teams. And we’ll learn a lot quickly, with New Jersey playing at Chicago tonight before the Hawks come to Meadowlands in a big one tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the Bulls and Pacers have been dancing around each other most of the season as they generally do, only this season while languishing. The Bulls are still trying to see if their new pieces fit. Ten of their final 16 games are at home, including the next four against the Nets, Spurs, Pacers and Hawks. Perhaps more importantly, they’ll find out how well Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden add to the cause less than a month after their big three-way trade with Cleveland and Seattle.
And lastly we have the broken-down Pacers, lost in the abyss since their brawl with Pistons fans 4½ years ago, they’ve been weighed down not only by uneven play on the court, but constant problems after hours. Nobody is happy with what has happened since Larry Bird presumably took the reins from Donnie Walsh as team president even before the brawl. And now the 67-year-old Walsh, with the title of CEO, apparently is either going to retire or take over another team next season. Jermaine O’Neal and Jamaal Tinsley have been broken the entire second half of the season – reflective of how Bird has waited far too long to move either player.
Nonetheless, they’ve been hanging in there since the All-Star break behind the sweet-shooting Mike Dunleavy’s career-best season, and they’ve got the best schedule – nine of 15 at home, with only two games against playoff-bound teams.
Logic says the Hawks are headed to the playoffs for the first time since 1999 or, to put it into perspective, three jobs ago for their now-retired coach Lenny Wilkens. Not only is it huge for Woodson and Knight to keep their lofty positions, but it will show if Johnson has mentally grown into his immense talent. That’s not to diminish the value of Bibby, the multi-skilled Joshes – Smith and Childress, Marvin Williams or rookie-of-the-year candidate Al Horford. This is why they got Johnson in the first place.
In case you haven’t noticed, the taste of whine has left the lips of Kobe Bryant, and nobody has breathed a word about why the Lakers still have Andrew Bynum at center.
Gee, wonder why?
Maybe it’s because they do have the fourth-best record in the Western Conference at 16-9, and Bynum averaging a double-double – 11.1 points, 10.0 rebounds (plus 2.1 blocks) – has something to do with it. Indeed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s pupil is advancing now that he’s a mature 20-year-old.
Tuesday’s 103-91 win at Chicago was precisely the way this vintage of Lakers is most effective – which is not when Bryant scores 40 or more points. He had 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists and a block. All five starters finished in double-figures, and Sasha Vujacic came off the bench to lead them with 19. Bynum, by the way, had his requisite 12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
At 15-9, the Lakers trail only San Antonio, Phoenix and Dallas in the West. And, no, Bryant is not going to get traded. In fact, what team would have a better record than 15-9 had said team emptied its talent coffers to acquire His Petulance? Instead, the Lakers are just getting better. With the return of Derek Fisher, a healthy Lamar Odom and the continued growth of Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar, they are the same kind of team that started off 26-13 last year until injuries nailed them. And, they’ve added Trevor Ariza and subtracted Smush Parker, a huge plus.
And the reason they’ll keep getting better is Bryant will learn to create more for the other guys, particularly Bynum, the player he mocked last year when the Lakers refused to give him up for Jason Kidd. Bynum has played basketball competitively for such a short time in his life, nobody has a clue how good he will be, except that he’s bright, talented and huge. Every organization would love to have an Andrew Bynum, and he has everything to do with why Phil Jackson signed a two-year extension.
Losing Walton and Odom last season killed the Lakers, who were never the same even when they returned. It’s a leap to say this team will win the West, but L.A. is better than the team that blew a 3-1 series lead to Phoenix in 2006. So it’s time to lay off Mitch Kupchak and let this thing develop … they’re in a great spot right now.
It would seem to be only a matter of time before Rod Thorn takes a stick of dynamite to the Nets roster, beginning with Kidd. It may explain why Lawrence Frank started Josh Boone and Sean Williams instead of Jason Collins and Malik Allen on Monday against Sacramento. It didn’t matter much considering the loss was their sixth in the last seventh games and the insidiousness of it all has mostly come at home – losing eight of 10. But it is time to take inventory on the progress of their young players, with perhaps the grayest area of all being where talented 7-footer Nenad Krstic is on his slip-sliding road to recovering from ACL surgery 11 months ago.
Give credit to Kings rookie coach Reggie Theus for hanging in there despite a revolving- door lineup that began with Ron Artest’s suspension, Mike Bibby’s hand injury and the season-long groin injury to Kevin Martin. President Geoff Petrie had the foresight to steal point guard Beno Udrih for nothing when the Timberwolves stupidly released him, and that makes Bibby more expendable than ever for a big deal when he’s healthy over the next month. This team isn’t going to challenge for the West, but they are a playoff contender in the big picture.
The Bulls have continued battling their way up from the depths of their 2-10 start, but it’s way too early to get excited about anything. They’re just 6-4 since. The key numbers to watch belong to Ben Gordon, who turned down that more-than-generous $50 million contract. They’ve split their past eight games and Gordon is averaging 13.3, while shooting .368 from the field, which won’t do on a team that has no post game and relies on his shooting streaks.
The familiar Wagging Tongue of Air was on hand to show his Charlotte Bobcats how it’s done during practice on Tuesday. Sure, it was fun for rookie coach Sam Vincent to dream what it would be like to have managing partner Michael Jordan at small forward in actual games to help his young Bobcats gain some level of consistency. But at 44, not even Jordan would dare try it again. And now that they’ve obtained Nazr Mohammed from the Pistons to relieve some pressure from Emeka Okafor in the post, they’re hoping to gain traction. But with the losses of Adam Morrison and Sean May for the season to knee surgery, the great expectations of point guard Raymond Felton have to come sooner than later. And because of their youth overall, he just hasn’t made the strides that Deron Williams and Chris Paul have.
When LeBron James scored 31 points in Monday’s win over the Bucks, not only did it end a skid of eight losses out of nine games for the Cavs, but it made him the youngest player in NBA history to reach 9,000 points. With all he’s accomplished already, James won’t turn 23 until Dec. 30. Sometimes you just have to let the gifts ride, and obviously he has the intellect and temperament to maximize it all. Whether the organization has the brains and temperament to maximize James is the bigger question.
Anybody who questioned whether Sam Mitchell deserved coach of the year in 2007 certainly has no case now. He’s done an even better job with the Raptors this season considering the injuries to Chris Bosh, T.J. Ford and Jorge Garbajosa, while Andrea Bargnani has struggled mightily in a sophomore slump. Because of the rebirth o####reen Monster in Boston, they won’t repeat as Atlantic Division champs, but they’ll be even better come playoff time.
Nene will return to Nuggets practice this week after suffering torn thumb ligaments in Boston early last month. He’s played in only five games and the Nuggets can certainly use the help up front. But it’s hard to get excited about him coming back without wondering what the next malady will be. After missing only seven games his first two seasons, he’s played in only 125 of a possible 270 games. That’s some kind of gamble they made signing him to a $60 million deal prior to last season.
How bad has it gotten in New York? A group of 15 Knicks fans reportedly will demonstrate their disapproval of Knicks president and coach Isiah Thomas on Wednesday with a giant pink slip for owner Jim Dolan to sign.
