In what was evidently a strange convergence of energy from the sports gods, four injured All-Stars returned to their respective teams Wednesday with just two weeks left before the the NBA playoffs begin.
Isn’t this why we love professional sports?
• A funny thing happened just hours after Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said it looked like it would require more time before Dirk Nowitzki would return from the left ankle and knee injury he suffered on March 23 in a loss to the Spurs … he started. Nowitzki scored 18 points in 27 minutes during the huge 111-86 win over the Warriors, moving the Mavs alone into seventh place in the West. The Mavs were 2-3 since the injury, but now have a two-game lead and the tie-breaker over the ninth-place Warriors and a one-game lead over the eighth-place Nuggets, who also have the tie-breaker with the sliding W’s.
• Nobody has known what to think about Gilbert Arenas, who has been talking for six weeks that he would return from November surgery on his left knee, but Wednesday night was it for Agent Zero. He came off the bench to score 17 points in 19 minutes for the Wizards in a bizarre, 110-109 loss to the Bucks during which teammates Antawn Jamison (sprained right shoulder) and DeShaun Stevenson (sprained right ankle) were helped off the floor after a scramble for the ball with 6.3 seconds left. The result dripped with irony, not only because it was Arenas’ return, but both Caron Butler (strained hamstring) and Antonio Daniels (sprained wrist) returned after missing a game with injuries as well … so much for the full compliment of players that coach Eddie Jordan was expecting.
• Everything returned to normal for the Lakers when Pau Gasol made his first appearance since suffering an ankle sprain on March 14. He played 32 minutes, contributing 10 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds in the 104-91 win over the Blazers – a huge lift considering the Lakers were 5-5 since he got hurt. They remain just 1.5 games out of the top seed in the West, and have the third seed with first place in the Pacific Division, a game ahead of the Suns.
• And in perhaps the biggest surprise of all, Clippers forward Elton Brand entered the game midway through the first quarter against Seattle, playing for the first time since suffering a torn Achilles tendon in the summer. Predictably rusty, Brand scored 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as the Clippers came from behind to run away from the Sonics, 102-84, to end an eight-game road losing streak.
Brand’s move was typical of a quality guy not only showing that he wanted to play when he was ready, but also that he’s worth every penny to someone as a player and a leader if he does opt out of his contract this summer.
But the biggest boon certainly is the return of Nowitzki and what this game did for the Mavs and Warriors in divergent circumstances. Left for dead by so many critics, this was the second win in a row for the Mavs, and certainly the commentary by Johnson earlier in the day about Nowitzki’s status came at the expense of his mentor in gamesmanship – Warriors coach Don Nelson. The Mavs, who still have to travel this weekend to play the Suns and Lakers, suddenly are loaded with momentum after beating their first over-.500 team since acquiring Jason Kidd 22 games ago. They were 0-10 before Wednesday night, but Nowitzki’s return further girded this group – as Kidd had 17 assists compared to just 10 for the Warriors as a team in the game.
That statistic was reflective of how the Warriors have come apart of late. They’ve lost three of their last four and five of eight to slide out of what looked like a strong seventh place. Not only do they lose the tie-breakers to the Mavs and Nuggets, but they’ve lost two in a row for the first time since the Jan. 2-4, and only the second time since an 0-6 start with captain Stephen Jackson suspended. Furthermore, after 37 consecutives games of 100 points or more as the highest scoring team in the league, they had just 86 against the Mavs after managing only 92 in a 24-point loss to the Spurs Tuesday. Jackson, not coincidentally, was 1-for-11 with 2 points against the Mavs and 2-for-12 with a pair of 3-pointers against the Spurs. Eight points in two games won’t do for Captain Jack, averaging 20.4 for the season.
Where they go from here, with a game at Memphis Friday and the road trip ending at New Orleans on Sunday, is anybody’s guess. They do finish the season with four of their last five games at home with a game at Phoenix in between, so this thing could turn again depending on the Mavs and Nuggets. Of the four home games, the Nuggets are the only winning team, with the Clippers, Kings and Sonics the other three.
The Wizards’ position in the East is just as shaky – although they are far from falling out of the playoffs in the less competitive conference. However, the loss dropped them from the fifth seed pushing the Cavaliers for home court into a three-way tie for fifth with the Raptors and Sixers – three games ahead of the eighth-place Hawks – and light years (OK, seven games) ahead of the Nets and Pacers. The status of Jamison and Stevenson is huge moving forward – not only for the remaining seven games but for the playoffs.
As for the Lakers, they’re still waiting for 20-year-old starting center Andrew Bynum to return from the knee injury that has sidelined him Jan. 13. They are hopeful over the next few days, and obviously they’d love for him to play at least a handful of games before the playoffs.
Nobody figured this first Wednesday in April would be so significant, so you never know.
There are a lot of reasons why Kevin Garnett should be recognized as the league’s best defensive player this season. Maybe he’ll get the nod and maybe he won’t. The case on why he should isn’t difficult to make, though, as we trace the history of the award and other possible candidates. History tends to dictate the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year is a shot-blocker first and foremost. Since the award — voted on by the media — began in 1983 with Milwaukee Bucks uber-defender Sidney Moncrief winning the first two years, 16 of the next 23 winners were shot-blockers — including Marcus Camby last year.
That’s not to say the shot-blocker, who's virtually always an exceptional rebounder as well, doesn’t deserve the award. It’s just easier to distinguish the cause and effect, recognizing that it isn’t just that particular stat that makes the difference, but the intimidation factor as well. When you have guys like Camby, four-time winner Dikembe Mutombo and multiple winners such as Hakeem Olajuwon and Alonzo Mourning patrolling the paint, it does allow the rest of the team to play tougher on the ball because he’s back there as a fierce last line of defense.
The same can be said for on-the-ball pressure, with Hornets point guard Chris Paul leading the league in steals, although that rarely predicates the award-winner.
It would make it easy to tab Camby again considering he’s leading the league blocks again and is right up there in rebounds. Young Magic center Dwight Howard will garner a lot of votes, too, since he’s leading everyone in rebounding and is near the top of the league in blocks.
The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, a fierce one-on-one defender will get his share of votes because he’s so talented and popular overall. Generally speaking, it’s difficult to single out individual defenders. Over the years, other than Moncrief, the awards have gone to great one-on-one defenders such as Michael Jordan, Gary Payton, Dennis Rodman and Ron Artest. There are those who believe the Spurs’ Bruce Bowen has deserved it for years but can’t get the necessary votes because there is a perceived notion of dirty play on his part.
This year, we’re going a different direction, giving the nod to a team-defense guy who is making everyone around him better: the Celtics’ Garnett. That’s not to say Garnett hasn’t been acknowledged as a great defender before. He was voted first-team All-Defense six years in a row by the coaches until slipping to second team the past two seasons. KG has never been voted the top defender by the media and this time around he should.
Ironically, his overall individual defensive statistics — 1.3 blocks, 1.4 steals and 9.4 rebounds — are below average over the breadth of his career. But the spidery arms, great hands, superior defensive knowledge and instincts of the 6-11, 240-pound Garnett have made the Celtics the best defensive team in the league this season. His help defense has given everybody else on the team more confidence and enhanced the team’s overall defensive IQ.
Heck, Celtics center Kendrick Perkins has more blocks than Garnett. But KG’s presence has given the young starter the freedom and confidence to come from the weak side and becoming an increasingly effective shot-blocker.
It’s hard to say how the rest of the voters will go in this instance. Camby will get a lot of votes again, so will Howard considering how much he and the Magic have risen in the NBA consciousness this season. And certainly neither would be the wrong choice.
Nonetheless, the reason Garnett deserves this is the same reason he will attract a lot of votes for Most Valuable Player too – he does so much to make the other players better with his consistent presence – his overall impact is incalculable.
To be sure, coach Doc Rivers and his staff deserve a lot of credit for transforming this team on the defensive end into a powerhouse that is leading the league in field-goal defense and defensive scoring average But none of it would have been possible without the towering president of “The Big Ticket,” in the middle of the fray to control things.
That’s why in my book, Garnett stands alone as the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year.
Figuring out the most improved player in the NBA is a lot like picking the most valuable player. The criterion is always the problem.
Is it the guy who comes out of nowhere with good stats?
Is it a good player who becomes a better player, or a good player who becomes great to help his team win?
Is it a disappointing player who finally puts it together?
You can make a case for all of the above as we give you the five most improved players and settle on one. Our top candidates are Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu and Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo from the Celtics, Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge and Jose Calderon in Toronto.
Right out of the blocks, we eliminated a top candidate – the Lakers’ Andrew Bynum because he played in only 35 games due to a knee injury and has been out since Jan. 13. It’s a shame because Bynum went from averaging 7.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks as an iffy center a year ago to 18 double-doubles this season – averaging 13.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks with a major impact on the Lakers.
Another decent contender who would be tough to vote for would be last year’s winner, Monta Ellis, even though he has improved. He went from being an immature guard with skills right out of high school two years ago to an impact player last season while averaging 16.2 points, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals, allowing the Warriors to trade Jason Richardson for the draft rights to North Carolina’s talented 6-10 Brendan Wright. Ellis has responded with flashes of stardom, at 19.8 points, shooting 53.3 percent from the field, and became one of just nine players in history to shoot better than 60 percent from the field in a month (February). But we know about him now and he hasn’t improved so much from last year that he can become the first ever to win the award in consecutive years.
So is including Howard but not Ellis a double-standard? No, because Howard has gone from being star quality to a superstar – leading the Magic to the third-best record in the East. He’s the key figure in nearly every game, leading the NBA with 63 double-doubles and in rebounding at 14.5, and has increased his scoring average from 17.6 to 21.2 while also leading the league in free-throw attempts. He has become the most dominant big man in the game. But because he was an All-Star, he’s fifth in the countdown.
Aldridge had nine consecutive 20-plus games for the Blazers until spraining his ankle Monday night at Seattle. At 6-11, 240, he was the second overall pick of the 2006 draft, and to some that eliminates him right there because of expectations. I don’t buy that one. Part of a draft day deal from Chicago, he blew hot and cold as a rookie, averaging just 9.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in Zach Randolph’s shadow. But when Randolph was unloaded and 2007 top pick Greg Oden went down with a knee injury, Aldridge began to blossom and has averaged 17.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks as a power forward. He’ll be even better next year with Oden and along with Brandon Roy has everything to do with why the Blazers have been one of the surprise teams in the league.
Third is Calderon, a point guard who very quietly kept the Raptors flowing in the wake of another serious spinal injury to starting playmaker T.J. Ford, and the knee problems that have had All-Star Chris Bosh in and out of the lineup. He’s raised his average from 8.7 points to 12.2, and improved his field-goal (53.2 percent), 3-point (45.2) and free-throw shooting (91.9). He’s also up to 8.0 assists a game while leading the league in assist-to-turnover ratio. He would have been higher, but his effectiveness has dropped off since Ford and Bosh returned. The team is struggling with its chemistry. but it certainly has nothing to do with Calderon, who has kept the chemistry intact for the bulk of the season. He’ll be a free agent at the end of the season and will create a lot of action because he’ll make somebody better.
Second in the countdown is Rondo, the feisty 22-year-old point guard that Danny Ainge refused to part with in his offseason reconstruction. It has paid off remarkably with Rondo setting the tone for the defensive orientation of coach Doc Rivers with relentless pressure on the ball. He’s also raised all of his numbers to 10.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.7 steals and improved his shooting from 41.8 to 47.8 percent. The only reason he didn’t win is because it helps him immeasurably to have veterans Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce around him. Nonetheless, the 6-1 Rondo has responded superbly in just his second season and has a lot to do with Boston’s record-breaking success.
So that hands this year’s award to Turkoglu, the versatile 6-10, 225-pound native of Istanbul. With great expectations as a rookie in Sacramento in 2000, there were thoughts he would play point guard like Magic Johnson, or score at will, and things never really panned out in his three seasons there. He was part of a three-way deal between the Kings, Spurs and Pacers, sending him to San Antonio for one mediocre season and he signed as with Orlando as a free agent in 2004. That’s when things gradually began to change. His numbers and impact went up, but nothing like this season. Turkoglu, Howard and Rashard Lewis consistently put up the best numbers in the game.
However, Turkoglu has been the X-factor all season and should have been an All-Star. He tied a franchise record with two triple-doubles and has had eight double-doubles; beat the Celtics with a 3-pointer at the buzzer in a huge win, and raised his numbers to career-highs with 19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 83.4 percent on free throws, 40.7 from 3-point range and 45.3 overall. He has become a star for the Magic, the man with the ball in the clutch, and has responded.
And that’s why he is our most improved player for 2008.
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.
They began the season 14-3 and still have the third-best road mark in the NBA with a virtual lock on the Southeast Division. And yet, the buzz in the Eastern Conference always surrounds the Celtics, Pistons and Cavs.
So what will the blossoming Magic do when the playoffs begin … just disappear?
Never mind that Dwight Howard has become the best center in the NBA at the age of 22, leading the league with 57 double-doubles and 14.5 rebounds a game while standing fifth in blocks at 2.36 and still averaging a career-best 21.8 points. And yet, all anybody wants to talk about was his spectacular Superman-esque dunk display over NBA All-Star Weekend.
It seems far too easy to ignore the ascension into an impact player by Hedo Turkoglu, a prime candidate for most improved player while averaging 19.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists – all career bests.
And while maximum-paid free agent Rashard Lewis has been riding a roller coaster of effectiveness all season, he’s producing 18.5 points, and 5.2 rebounds, leads the team with nearly 1.2 steals a game, and has become more consistent lately.
There is no frontcourt trio in the NBA putting up better numbers on a nightly basis than these guys. Are they ignored simply because they have accomplished this in the East and a 42-24 record going into Friday’s games just isn’t impressive enough?
Maybe it’s the always-candid comments of coach Stan Van Gundy that put it into perspective this week after beating Atlanta. They’ve been too erratic for anybody to be sold on them as a serious contender just yet.
“I think we have to deal with situations better,” Van Gundy said. “And one of the situations for us is when things are going well. The other night we come off a big win in Washington. We come in, we’re playing well, we play Golden State and we have a good first half and then we sort of shut it down. We didn’t deal with the success of the first half very well, and we really didn’t tonight either coming out in the second half.
“We’ve got to get more into a 48-minute mentality of playing every minute. We have a tendency to really relax with a lead. I think that’s a maturity thing, but it needs to change and we need to take advantage of those situations and put games away. It’s really just about energy and focus and understanding that, No. 1, we have a lot we need to improve before the playoffs and ,No. 2, we still have a lot left we need to accomplish. That’s sort of the message we’re trying to give the team.”
Nonetheless, this has been a ground-breaking season for the Magic, figuratively and literally. All the talk about them being sold and perhaps moving has vanished. They’re selling out most games these days and have a new building on the horizon in a spectacular downtown complex.
They’re on their way to 50 wins for the first time since 1996, when Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway led them to 60 wins – Shaq’s last season there before stunningly bolting in a mastermind plot from then-president Jerry West. And they haven’t won 45 games since 1997; or even had a winning season since 2003 for that matter.
All of that explains why the national bandwagon remains virtually empty.
And then there is the point guard situation, with Jameer Nelson and Carlos Arroyo splitting the position – neither capable of taking control of the job nor exhibiting the kind of consistency at the position a serious contender must have. They’ve tried a number of combinations in the backcourt, with Maurice Evans now the starting shooting guard, while Keith Bogans and Keyon Dooling have also made their play for the spot. Occasionally, Turkoglu will slide back to shooting guard and with his superb ballhandling skills on his 6-10, 230-pound frame, Van Gundy has even dabbled a bit lately putting him at the point.
A lot of that is because turnovers are still a problem. It killed them while blowing that aforementioned game to Golden State and Van Gundy didn’t mince words about who needs to step up. They need somebody to be the difference-maker with the ball in their hands.
“Offensively our three main guys (had) 15 turnovers - Jameer with three,” Van Gundy said. “It’s just not good enough; you can’t handle the ball like that and expect to win. And then they gave them opportunities in transition and we couldn’t get our defense set.”
Nonetheless, Turkoglu became the first player in franchise history to have two triple-doubles in the same season with his performance against the Hawks. At 28, he is establishing himself as a great clutch player to go along with myriad skills – including a career-high in 3-pointers. Not coincidentally, when the Magic hit their first trey in Friday’s game at Miami it will be their 623rd, a new franchise record.
Howard continues to get stronger and more dominant, responding exceptionally – his sub-60 percent free-throw shooting notwithstanding -- when Van Gundy challenged him to focus more on rebounding and defense and not worry about scoring. It was a gamble the first-year coach took with his young superstar, and it speaks volumes about both of them.
There is a question about the bench, with Arroyo, Bogans, Dooling and forward Brian Cook streaky. Veteran center Adonal Foyle is solid for his 10 minutes a game to hold the fort defensively and on the boards, highly-regarded shooter J.J. Redick still hasn’t earned consistent playing time, and Pat Garrity can do little other than drain a 3-pointer on occasion these days. All of that makes it obvious why Van Gundy has shortened his bench of late in preparation for the playoffs. There isn’t a lot of dependability there.
The remainder of the schedule is dominated by sub-.500 teams, with the key matchups a couple of games with the Cavs and a home game against the defending champion Spurs. Meanwhile, they are 5-4 against the cream of the East, splitting four games with the Pistons, winning the series with the Celtics 2-1, and 1-1 with the Cavs.
They’ve already proven they can compete with the best of the East during the regular season. The big question is how they will do in the playoffs, where they haven’t won a series since 1996. And despite playing so well on the road, they’ve been completely unpredictable at home – even struggling there a good bit early in the season. But they appear to be gaining traction at home now, having won seven of their last eight. On the other hand, they had lost three of four in the Magic kingdom before this recent turn of events – the losses coming to the Cavs, Lakers and Mavs.
“It’s not so much (about) building momentum,” Van Gundy said. “We need to get better, but when you’re fighting so hard to get a home-court advantage in the playoffs we have to play better on a consistent basis to make the home court truly an advantage. For us it’s not a matter of home or away we just need to keep getting better.”
Depending on your perspective, Saturday night in Atlanta will feature either the longest or shortest game in NBA history. It will also become the first game of a doubleheader.
It’s either two months, two weeks and four days long, or has just 51.9 seconds left to play before the full game begins.
Granted, it doesn’t make sense … but this is the NBA.
You see on Dec. 19, the Hawks had apparently defeated the Heat 117-111 in overtime until Heat coach Pat Riley saw in the official boxscore that center Shaquille O’Neal had been erroneously fouled out with 51.9 seconds to go in overtime with only one problem … it was only his fifth foul.
Riley protested the game, incredibly enough the NBA office agreed with him, so they will resume the game with just less than 52 seconds remaining in the first overtime period with the Hawks leading 114-111 as the first game prior to the regularly scheduled game between the two teams Saturday night.
So they’re on, and of course that includes weirdness … a lot of weirdness.
O’Neal is no longer on the team, dealt to Phoenix for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, who are eligible to play in the game. And his backup center at the time, Alonzo Mourning, already having announced this season would be his last before retirement, tore the patellar tendon in his right knee during the Dec. 19 game and his career apparently is unofficially over.
That translates into two guys from the game are no longer with the Heat, but two new guys who weren’t on the team will play.
The Hawks, too, have made their changes. They completed a five-player deal that brought point guard Mike Bibby from Sacramento in exchange for Lorenzen Wright, Shelden Williams, Tyronn Lue and Anthony Johnson. Plus, the Hawks now have Jeremy Richardson on the active roster. The well-traveled swingman has been in Memphis, San Antonio and the D-League this season. Wright, Williams and Johnson played in the game, but Lue and Richardson did not.
A little basic math tells us that that’s a transition of 10 players between the two teams form the first game. Moreover, with six of theplayers no longer available for this game, there is a little accounting to do that adds up to 50 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists they contributed to a game in which they can no longer compete.
How’s that for keeping it real?
Even more interesting about it is the Hawks, now 11 games below .500 and 10th in the conference, with coach Mike Woodson and general manager Billy Knight under fire, were rolling at the time and in the thick of the playoff race at one game above .500. After the game, during which Anthony Johnson had 19 points, 9 assists and a steal including the presumed final basket with 14 seconds left in overtime, Woodson was prompted to say this about his now departed veteran point guard in part, "A.J. has been phenomenal. He’s running our ballclub, getting the ball where is has to go. He’s defending for us and scoring. He’s doing everything a point guard is supposed to do. It’s beautiful to see."
Evidently it wasn’t that beautiful since he was shipped out two months later.
Furthermore, the Hawks' talented young forward Josh Smith won’t be able to finish the game for a basketball reason … he really did foul out in December with 1:43 left in regulation. On the flip side there is Hawks guard Salim Stoudamire. He didn’t play in the Dec. 19th version of the game, but is eligible to be a part of the final 51.9 seconds or more, if it requires another overtime period. The same goes for Heat guard Jason Williams, who sat out Dec. 19 with swelling in his knee but has had no problem playing in recent weeks.
Just to fill you in on what has already happened, Heat star Dwyane Wade is the leading scorer in the game with 36 points and also leads both teams with 10 assists, while Ricky Davis had 16 points and 4 assists. O’Neal also had 16 points and 7 rebounds that will be part of the post-game numbers. Marvin Williams leads the Hawks with 26 points and 9 rebounds, with Joe Johnson already having accumulated 25 points and 9 assists.
Just to tighten up the viewership and understand the circumstances when the game re-starts, both teams are in the penalty. The Hawks have one timeout left and two, 20-second timeouts. The Heat has just one 20-second call left.
Fifteen minutes after that game ends, they will have pre-game shooting for the second game. Of course, there will be inactive list announcements before the partial game, then shortly after the partial game has ended, the inactive list for the second game of this twin bill will be announced.
The curious thing will be the feel of the game for everyone from the players and coaches to the officials and the fans. Everyone will prepare the same as a normal game, except there is a less than a minute left on the clock, the Hawks are already winning by three points, and the Heat are in-bounding the ball on the baseline in front of the Atlanta bench.
How can this be normal? Although the Heat (11-47) have the worst record in the NBA and have long since been out of the playoff picture, the Hawks (24-35) are only a game out of the eighth seed in the Leastern Conference postseason race. So it does matter. If the Heat were having a normal season, it would matter even more and draw even more cynicism.
But what makes it even more intriguing is what happens to the emotions after the short burst o####ame has come to end. How do the players respond from that game, and leading into another?
Nobody can know that since it is unprecedented for any of these guys in their NBA careers. It’s a sad commentary on game logistics. But there is one real positive, and that’s for the fans. In one of those rare moments when everybody gets a break in price, they get two games for the price of one … even if the first one will take two months, two weeks and four days to be completed.
In this wacky NBA season when as many as 10 teams are legitimate contenders to take the title away from the defending champion Spurs, three major stars have changed teams in the past two weeks. That unprecedented movement has changed the landscape of the already fierce competition in the Western Conference.
When the Mavericks finally acquired point guard Jason Kidd from the Nets along with Malik Allen and Antoine Wright in exchange for Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, retired forward Keith Van Horn, two first-round picks and $3 million, it gave the Mavs the tough leadership they’ve been lacking while on the brink of a title the past three seasons.
But is it bigger than the Suns’ acquisition of Shaquille O’Neal from the Heat for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks on Feb. 6?
And how do either one of them compare to the Lakers receiving Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, two first-round draft choices and the rights to Marc Gasol on Feb. 4?
They obviously were all major moves with the intent being winning now. Consider for a moment the Suns (37-16) entered the All-Star break with the second-best record in the West – just percentage points behind the 36-15 Hornets, while the Lakers (35-17) have the third-best record, the Spurs (34-17) fourth and the Mavs (35-18) fifth. You want a great stretch run? This promises to be one of the most exciting races of the past 20 years considering nine teams are within 4½ games of the top spot in the West.
But to have players of this magnitude traded in such a short period of time – and some potentially busy days remain before the Feb. 21 trade deadline – it has to make you wonder if anything else is about to happen. Will the Nuggets make a move for Ron Artest or Sam Cassell? Will the Jazz look for help up front with the likes of Artest or Ben Wallace?
Considering the movement of Gasol, O’Neal and Kidd, who can doubt anything at this point?
And yet, there is a difference between the three big deals … and the Lakers win, big time.
Both the Mavs acquiring Kidd and the Suns getting O’Neal are gambles that may pay dividends in the short term, but they will suffer ramifications in the long run.
For the Mavs, giving up Harris and Diop is a questionable decision, if only because Kidd has maybe two more years of effectiveness after this season on legs that will turn 35 next month. At the same time, they will have lost the interior defense of Diop while sticking with Erick Dampier, who is at best good for a couple games in a row before he’s hurt, ineffective or just indifferent. And by the time Kidd is done, Harris has the potential to grow into an effective, lightning-quick point guard comparable to Tony Parker.
Kidd does give them the toughness and leadership that has prevented them from winning it all in recent years. Yes, they’re still near the top of the Western Conference with their record. But that’s because they have more overall talent that nearly every team in the league. They’re 12-14 on the road this season compared to 31-10 a year ago, and just how they would compete with the best of the West in the postseason is highly debatable. This move reeks of desperation, and yet with Kidd hitting the boards, distributing the ball and his relentless defense, they’re better suited for a playoff run this season. Beyond the 2008 playoffs, though, all bets are off.
The same goes for the Suns getting O’Neal. He’ll be 36 in three weeks. He’s played in only 32 games this season, as his 330-pound frame continues to slide down that slippery slope toward retirement. He has been more ineffective than his 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds would indicate. His knees, hips, feet and quads – essentially his lower extremities, period – have virtually no tread left. Of course, he will be a factor on defense because he has been one of the greatest centers ever, knows the game, and at 7-1, 330, still takes up an enormous amount of space. He can pass the ball on offense and dunk.
But this still flies right in the face of coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense, while ignoring how ineffectual O’Neal is in the pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop, which is the bread and butter of what All-Star point guard Steve Nash does in the half-court offense.
That’s not to say Marion has more value than O’Neal. He had become a constant pain to the organization, whining in the locker room about shots, and wanting a huge extension that was far greater than his value. Nonetheless, he’s the guy who matched up defensively with the other team’s best scorer. He’s the one who made the steal or the block, grabbed the loose ball or the big rebound. Boris Diaw will run the floor, move the ball better and hit some open jumpers. But he doesn’t play at the same speed. Grant Hill has a little left in the tank, but not what Marion brought to the table either. And let’s not forget that Nash has back and shoulder issues at the age of 34.
This move maybe doesn’t have the same long-term ramifications as the Mavs giving up Harris and Diop, plus there’s always the outside shot that O’Neal really can get it together and have some juice left for a playoff run. But this is probably the last gasp for that to happen for the Big Question Mark. It’s not a bad bet, just another short-term gamble.
As for the Lakers, there was no gamble at all. The Grizzlies were tired of losing and paying Gasol so much money, and he was tired of being there. What the Lakers gave up to get an All-Star 7-footer amounted to a few shirts, two pairs of pants and some free airline tickets. The Lakers had already helped their depth in the off-season and the bench was remarkably effective around Kobe Bryant. Their problem isn’t the roster. It’s injuries. Not only did they lose young, blossoming 7-foot center Andrew Bynum to a knee injury that will keep him out another month, it’s impossible to know how the 20-year-old will respond to his first injury and the heat of a playoff run. And now what was considered a minor dislocation to the pinky finger on Bryant’s right hand has manifested into a torn ligament and surgery that would keep him out six weeks has been recommended.
This trade was a steal. But the injuries will make it difficult for the Lakers to win it all this season. Bryant has to make a decision quickly about what to do with his hand, and neither option is good. But even if they hang in there somehow and make a run at it this season, that’s not the point. They will be better next year with Bynum having another season of growth and playing next to Gasol and Lamar Odom, with Bryant and either Derek Fisher or Jordan Farmar at point – plus that swollen bench. So if the Lakers can’t quite get it together this spring, it’s easy to go on the record right now as saying the Lakers are the favorites to win the NBA title in 2009.
So which of the three teams made the best deal?
No contest … now if all those fair weather Lakers fans calling for general manager Mitch Kupchak’s head will please step forward, grab your ankles and take your medicine, we can get this over with. Mitch, will you please take the big paddle with the holes in it? And when we’re finished, the knuckleheads in L.A. will have no alternative but to look at you and respond, “Thank you sir, may I have another.”
For months, the work coach Eddie Jordan and the veteran leadership had forged for the Washington Wizards had become a blueprint for success in the Eastern Conference.
They lost leading scorer Gilbert Arenas to knee surgery eight games into the season when it was apparent that the surgery he had in April had failed and his play reflected that. Center Etan Thomas had emergency open heart surgery during training camp to repair a leaking aortic valve. So it was no surprise the Wizards began the season 0-5.
The revelation of this team, however, came in the subsequent 24-14 run that put them into the thick of the race for the fourth seed in the East … until now.
The tough one-point loss at Phoenix Sunday night was their seventh in a row, dropping them to 24-26 -- their first seven-game losing streak in four years. Six of these seven games have come not only without Arenas and Thomas, but also All-Star forward Caron Butler, who strained his hip flexor. And veteran point guard Antonio Daniels (starting in place of Arenas) has missed the last two games with ankle and knee problems.
Finally, the dam has given way to injuries for the Wizards. Sure, All-Star forward Antawn Jamison had his 28th double-double of the season Sunday night, with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Underrated shooting guard DeShaun Stevenson continued to fight through his own knee issues to start his 218th consecutive game, scoring 18 points and hitting a 3-pointer just before the buzzer. And 7-footer Brendan Haywood finally appears to be maturing as a player -- he battled Amare Stoudemire with 21 points, 10 rebounds and a block.
But one game doesn’t tell this story, nor does their present losing streak. Under the circumstances, Jordan has been forced to play rookies Nick Young, Dominic McGuire and Oleksiy Pecherov more than he would have under normal conditions. And while the added minutes have been great for the development of 21-year-old power forward Andray Blatche, it’s also tougher to run an offense when reserve Roger Mason Jr. is really playing out of position at point guard.
The good stuff really began a couple of weeks after Arenas went down. That’s not to say the team is better without Arenas, who is expected to be back within three weeks. The concept is ludicrous, but it allowed Jordan to wisely employ the classic Princeton offense he learned from guru PeteCarril as an assistant in New Jersey attending Carril camps during the 1990's.
They moved the ball better, more players were involved offensively, and that carried over to the defensive end of the floor and rebounding. With everyone getting touches instead of Arenas dominating the ball, players were consistently more focused and content with their roles.
The next step was Butler and Jamison went into the locker room after a loss and split up the rookies. They were spending too much time together and not taking losses seriously enough. So they spread them out among the veterans -- a classic move of leadership.
Along with putting up great numbers scoring and rebounding, Jamison is unequivocally one of the top players in the league when it comes to living life the right way and handling himself in a professional manner as teammates, in public and with the media. He is one of the NBA’s truly good guys and he’d be great for any team as the good cop.
Butler is the classic bad cop, and we mean that in the most complimentary of ways. Having spent 15 months in jail when he was 14 for possession of an unloaded gun and a small amount of cocaine, nothing has stopped him from achieving success on the right track. The epiphany of life transformed him into an exceptional high school star, he went on to become an All-American for Jim Calhoun at Connecticut and was a lottery pick for the Heat. He was a key figure in the trade to the Lakers that sent Shaquille O’Neal to Miami and then was the guy that the Lakers shipped to Washington in the Kwame Brown deal.
The word was his deteriorating knees were those of a much older man. Since then he has been an All-Star twice. Young players do not question Butler. He is old school, the kind of guy who tapes it up and gets out on the court. It was not wise last Sunday when he attempted to come back from the hip flexor and played 39 minutes in the loss to the Lakers. It set him back. Nonetheless, his toughness and leadership are at the core of the Wizards.
Daniels, too, is a throwback player who turns 33 next month. The 11-year vet is a former lottery pick and has a championship ring from playing at San Antonio. Despite the creaky knees and ankles that also caused him to miss eight games in December, he is a factor on the floor and in the locker room -- perhaps even more so when he’s coming off the bench when Arenas is playing to lead the young players.
With two more road games awaiting them as they stumble into the All-Star break -- at the Warriors and the Clippers -- the long weekend will be a blessing for the Wizards. It will provide Butler and Daniels some time to heal. It will be that much closer to Arenas practicing full scale with the team for the stretch run.
The Wizards aren’t likely to have enough pop to fight there way back into a fourth seed, but until Butler and Daniels went down, they learned an awful lot about each other that will pay dividends at the end of the season. Jordan proved that he is an exceptional coach and knows how to push players to a higher-level of performance, utilizing the leadership of Butler and Jamison as a balance of influence.
The key is Arenas, who will have the ball in his hands. He must know it is more imperative that he fits in with the rest of team as opposed to they fit in with him. No longer does it fall upon him to shoot them into or out of games. There is no arresting his dynamic personality, that’s who he is.
But the future of this team is in their collective play -- not only Arenas, Jamison and Butler -- but everybody else too as they prepare for the playoffs. If healthy and on the same page, they’ll be dangerous -- whether it’s to the rest of the Eastern Conference or themselves, remains to be seen.
If we’re to believe the Big Buzz … he’s the biggest and most expensive package of damaged goods ever on the NBA trade market and on the verge of being dealt.
He is Shaquille O’Neal, and if it’s true that the Phoenix Suns are ready and willing to acquire the fading Miami Heat center in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, the Western Conference race just got infinitely more interesting despite the physical problems of the 7-1 O’Neal, who turns 36 next month.
Superficially, it will be a big relief for Heat superstar guard Dwyane Wade to get Marion for help as opposed to the terminally injured O’Neal – and Banks will help their sad point guard situation some. But the story here is about how O’Neal – The Big Question Mark – has any trade value at all as the Feb. 21 trade deadline comes upon us.
Sure, the Suns figure to have a rapidly closing window with the aging of point guard Steve Nash and Grant Hill, plus O’Neal would allow Amare Stoudemire to match up at his more natural power forward position. The move would also presumably allow the Suns to play both their natural speed game and in the halfcourt against the likes of the Spurs, Jazz, Nuggets and Rockets among others in the West.
Then again, that’s assuming a lot … such as whether or not O’Neal can actually fit through the window; and just what could the criteria be for him to pass his physical – considering the hip, knee and ankle problems that have manifested over the years.
So before we get too carried away with this, let’s get realistic for a moment about the Big Fella. He has missed 14 games for the woebegone 9-37 Heat and coach Pat Riley this season and averaged less than 50 games over the previous two seasons.
His 325-pound plus body is suffering the consequences of his 16-year career with hip, knee and ankle problems that have rendered him just a shadow of his former self – although it is that very large shadow that still makes him attractive to the Suns to take a big rip at the wide open 2008 title. Obviously the feeling is if they can prop him up for minor minutes until late in the season, he could be the deciding factor in the playoffs.
Although he has missed so many games, and is averaging a career-low 28.5 minutes more because of foul trouble than anything else, O’Neal still is averaging 14.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.66 blocks – all of which pales is comparison to his career averages of 25.6 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks. Nonetheless, just his sheer physical presence is a big factor in every game, and if you put him in the middle of a team like the Suns, they become that much more frightening in the big picture – on paper.
Outside of the Suns, would anybody else have taken a deal for Shaq seriously?
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has always been intrigued by the possibility of adding him to the middle … how about Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse and Erick Dampier for Shaq?
And what about the Nets, so intent on dealing Jason Kidd? Would a package of Kidd, Josh Boone or Sean Williams and Boki Nachbar – with Ricky Davis coming back with O’Neal to make the salaries work, be intriguing to both teams?
LeBron James and the Cavs need something else, but O’Neal certainly isn’t it.
The Denver Nuggets, as always, are working the phones hard - but primarily to see if they can get a point guard, such as Kidd or Sam Cassell. They certainly wouldn’t be better off gambling on the Big Question Mark than having Marcus Camby, the reigning defensive player of the year and Kenyon Martin, who is remarkably getting closer every day to being all the way back from a second microfracture surgery.
Everyone likes to look at the Chicago Bulls, because they have failed so miserably this season and they have a slew of young players who aren’t quite cutting it. If so inclined, they can easily throw Ben Wallace’s contract in there with Thabo Sefolosha and either Ben Gordon or Kirk Hinrich. Does that make any sense for the Bulls to get 2½ seasons of Shaq? He’d be the ultimate low-post presence they haven’t had, however diminished his movement may be – but would that make them serious contenders? That would be a big risk, although they’d still have Hinrich or Gordon, Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni. They would be a lot more formidable, and Gordon, Wallace and Sefolosha make the Heat much better as well – provided the Heat can agree to a contract with Gordon.
But it isn’t likely owner Jerry Reinsdorf would commit that $50 million to O’Neal through 2010. In fact, it doesn’t make sense for anybody … almost.
And that brings us back to the Suns, who have had issues with the 29-year-old Marion for years, both in the locker room and over money. Now he wants an extension that will pay him in the $20 million range per season, when the $17 million per he’s making over the next two seasons is a stretch. He has also very often been a disappointment in the postseason offensively, which has hurt them in big games.
On the other hand, there are those who believe he is the lightning rod for the success because he is the guy who gets the loose ball, comes up with the steal, blocks shots and runs the floor better than anyone else on the team.
And they almost won it last season, so is it worth the gamble with quasi-Shaq?
Realistically it makes more sense for the Suns than other teams, if only because Marion’s head and mouth may no longer be worth the internal aggravation And the Suns won’t have to play O’Neal big minutes, just enough to indoctrinate him into the halfcourt offense.
They have reportedly brought in the Big Question Mark for their medical team and the rest of the big shots in the organization to take a good look at his physical condition. But you’d have to think if they peer too closely, it’s only logical they’ll find that to deal a talented young player such as Marion and commit the nearly $10 million left of his contract this season and $20 million in each of the next two years is really a shot in the dark for a guy obviously on his last legs – despite their obvious belief that this is their best chance for a title – which would be O’Neal’s fifth.
The logic is if nothing else they’ve found on the market for Marion is attractive and they have to pay him about the same money as O’Neal, owner Robert Sarver figures it’s worth the risk. That’s a tough call, but it’s his money.
The good news for the Orlando Magic is their home record is finally starting to catch up with the road record. The bad news is it's because they’re starting to lose more frequently on the road.
In the latest adventure of Mickey and Minnie’s friends, the Magic blew a 19-point, third-quarter lead at Charlotte Wednesday night. They now have lost six of eight games, and while they really seem in no danger of slipping too far in such a weak conference, the Washington Wizards have very quietly pulled to within two games of them in the Southeast Division -- dead even in the loss column -- with the Atlanta Hawks just another game back.
How can this be for Stan Van Gundy’s crew that started off the season 14-3 and appeared to be serious contenders in the East?
It took awhile for the rest of the league to figure out what to do with budding superstar Dwight Howard and uber-shooter Rashard Lewis (he of the ridiculous $118 million sign-and-trade deal). They were unstoppable the first dozen games or so, with Lewis scoring at least 20 points in nine of the first 11 games and shooting well above 50 percent. Howard was the monster from the deep, dominating everything inside on both ends of the floor.
They were the first team to beat the Celtics and expectations began to glow for Van Gundy, in his first season back as a head coach since leaving Miami under bizarre circumstances.
But these guys were different. With the even more versatile Hedo Turkoglu joining Lewis at forward, it was a deadly combination. Early on, it didn’t seem to matter that Van Gundy couldn’t settle between Jameer Nelson and Carlos Arroyo as his point guard. Or that Keith Bogans blew very hot and very cold at shooting guard.
And then it began to matter a lot, particularly once defenses began to rough up Lewis a little bit. He reached 20 points only three times in his next 17 games, and even though he has gotten back on track lately, his scoring average and shooting percentage overall are his worst in four years. Worse yet, Van Gundy doesn’t appear to have any choice for a while at point guard, since Nelson went down with a strained tendon in his right foot Wednesday night. The Magic turned the ball over 19 times, the obvious reason they blew the lead, and the word is out how poorly they respond to pressure defense -- especially Lewis.
This isn’t quite as pronounced as last season, when they began the season 14-5 and ultimately backed into the playoffs and were promptly swept by the Pistons. This team seems better equipped for no other reason than Howard is getting better all the time and Lewis does have some playoff experience. But they’ve been hurt terribly by veteran post man Tony Battie’s season-ending shoulder surgery in October. And they’ve found out what the Lakers already knew about Brian Cook when he came in the Trevor Ariza deal with Maurice Evans. Cook is just an oversized perimeter shooter.
So what we do know is that Howard doesn’t have any help inside, and at least for now, he really doesn’t need much. But how will Lewis respond to the added expectations? And the point guard situation will be season-long, unless Nelson’s foot injury takes him out for an extended period of time.
Still, any team that is 16-7 on the road can’t be that bad ... or is Howard just that good? Come playoff time, we’ll find out.
The inclination has always been that the NBA regular season doesn’t mean much to the top teams. It’s nothing more than a warmup for what can be more than a 25-game second season through the Finals.
But however much or little you want to make of regular-season games, they are barometers that physically and psychologically have an impact on the rest of the season.
Take the past week for the Detroit Pistons. They won their 11th game in a row last Friday at Toronto before coming home for a second showdown with the Boston Celtics, whom the Pistons had defeated at Boston last month. The Celtics handled them, much to the dismay of the Palace fans. It was a bigger game for the Celtics than the Pistons, who were headed out on a tough Texas trip anyway. Realistically, these are by far the two best teams in the East; short of some serious injuries, it’s just a prelude for the postseason.
So the Celtics went home happy just long enough to lose at home to the struggling Charlotte Bobcats. It was one of those setup games that come along after a big win and a team gets a little fat and happy at home. Realistically, it meant nothing to the Celtics other than a reminder to Kevin Garnett and Co. that any NBA team is capable of an unlikely performance on a given night. And it gave Bobcats coach Sam Vincent something to hang his hat on as his young team moves forward.
Meanwhile, the Pistons left home after the loss to the Celtics and showed up in Dallas just in time to get smacked by the Mavericks, 102-86, for Detroit’s worst loss of the season.
In this case, it was a big game for both clubs, probably bigger for the Mavs. Not only was it their league-high fifth win in a row, but it moved them to within a half-game of the Suns for the best record in the West and left them alone atop the tough Southwest Division.
That doesn’t minimize what it meant to the Pistons either. It’s one thing to lose at home to the Celtics, somewhat of a must-win for the Celtics. But to get manhandled in the first game of a road trip like that shook them up, with the possibility of their first three-game losing streak of the season a real possibility as they swung over to San Antonio on Thursday night.
Instead, the Pistons jumped the Spurs in the first quarter and never trailed after that on the way to a 10-point win, allowing the Mavericks to pull ahead of the Spurs. This one was a great gut-check for the Pistons, but perhaps even more a concern for the Spurs. After a great start in which it looked like they were going to dominate the West while defending their third NBA title in five years, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili suffered minor injuries that essentially threw the team out of whack. Now they’ve lost four of seven.
But the way the West looks, it’s going to be a long season anyway. The Suns have had a chance to put some air between themselves and the rest of the West, but they’ve just been too erratic. In fact, they continued their struggles by getting crushed at Utah by 22 Thursday night. To say that isn’t significant is just a state of denial. The win gave the Jazz a little bit of hope after they had virtually fallen off the map for the past month. Meanwhile, the Suns fell to 12-9 in the Western Conference (compared to 13-2 against the East.).
To emphasize how close the West has become, the Suns, Mavs, Spurs and Lakers have 11 losses, the Hornets have 12, with the Blazers and Nuggets at 13. Indeed, just 1.5 games separate the top six teams, and the Nuggets are 3.0 back of the Suns.
One look at the weekend schedule doesn’t cause the blood pressure to rise under any particular circumstances, but that’s only because the upset hasn’t happened yet. And it will. The favorites just don’t dominate for an entire weekend. But look a little closer and you’ll something of interest.
It’s that third team in the East, the Orlando Magic. The started 14-3 and have been 9-11 since. The Magic plays at Denver on Friday and at Utah on Saturday, which under normal circumstances would probably mean a split. But the Magic is no normal team. They are 16-6 on the road and an inexplicable 7-8 at home, so they could realistically cause damage to the causes of both the Jazz and the Nuggets.
And that’s just the point we’ve been trying to make all along. On the surface, these games may not seem to mean much to teams destined for the playoffs anyway. But they do. They produce matchup situations that carry over to the playoffs as we saw in the dramatic Golden State upset of Dallas. They create enough confidence that maybe an upstart team like Portland knows it can accomplish certain things against a playoff team every time they play.
It’s about knowledge, momentum and consistency. All of that is created or lost during the regular season – and that’s assuming a team makes it to the postseason at all.
We’re about a third through the NBA regular season, and the perspective of most valuable player continues to waffle in unison with the irregularity of the officiating we watch nearly every night.
When the season began, it just seemed to be logical that LeBron James would my first pick for the season to build a team around. Now we’re not talking about fantasy basketball, or the future, or even attendance. I’m just talking about the one player to start with that would give you the best shot at winning the title this season. It was logical considering he had taken a very mediocre Cavaliers team to the Finals in 2007, and his Eastern Conference sidekick Dwyane Wade in superstardom was battling his way back from shoulder and knee surgery.
But once everything got going, it was hard not to notice what the presence of Kevin Garnett had done handling a coupled of gunners in Boston. Without him, it would likely be a shooting contest every night between Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. With KG, they’ve got the best record in the league and have blossomed defensively.
Of course, you could say the same thing every game and every year about what Tim Duncan does for Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili with the Spurs.
But two weeks into the season, the monster growing outside of Disneyworld in his own kingdom of Magic was Dwight Howard and their intense 14-3 start. At that point, he appeared to be the guy. Then the Magic lost eight of 12 and the allure of the kid lost its luster.
These days, the Los Angeles Lakers have become the vogue again knocking on the door in the Pacific Division, and raising his level of play – along with everybody else – has been the NBA king of notoriety, Kobe Bryant.
And then there are the playmakers – led by Steve Nash, Baron Davis, Chauncey Billups youngsters Chris Paul and Deron Williams, and very quietly establishing himself in the Pacific Northwest Brandon Roy. But would you even consider starting your team with any of them for one shot at a title when Billups is the only one to win a title … or actually even play in the Finals?
Consequently, I’m right back to where I started. I’m thoroughly confused at this point because it’s such a tough call. So I repeat, if you have the first pick of any active player to win the 2008 NBA title, where do you start?
O’Neal is no longer on the team, dealt to Phoenix for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, who are eligible to play in the game. And his backup center at the time, Alonzo Mourning, already having announced this season would be his last before retirement, tore the patellar tendon in his right knee during the Dec. 19 game and his career apparently is unofficially over.
The tough one-point loss at Phoenix Sunday night was their seventh in a row, dropping them to 24-26 -- their first seven-game losing streak in four years. Six of these seven games have come not only without Arenas and Thomas, but also All-Star forward Caron Butler, who strained his hip flexor. And veteran point guard Antonio Daniels (starting in place of Arenas) has missed the last two games with ankle and knee problems.
Superficially, it will be a big relief for Heat superstar guard Dwyane Wade to get Marion for help as opposed to the terminally injured O’Neal – and Banks will help their sad point guard situation some. But the story here is about how O’Neal – The Big Question Mark – has any trade value at all as the Feb. 21 trade deadline comes upon us.
It took awhile for the rest of the league to figure out what to do with budding superstar Dwight Howard and uber-shooter Rashard Lewis (he of the ridiculous $118 million sign-and-trade deal). They were unstoppable the first dozen games or so, with Lewis scoring at least 20 points in nine of the first 11 games and shooting well above 50 percent. Howard was the monster from the deep, dominating everything inside on both ends of the floor.