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Yao beats the [censored] out of Bradley

by Chad Ford

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Also Below: Deja Bulls? | What's wrong with Pau Gasol? | Write Back: Kobe or T-Mac? | Peep Show

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Yao Ming and Shawn Bradley made for 15 feet of matchup in the middle.

One minute Charles Barkley is literally kissing Kenny Smith's rented a**. The next minute, Yao Ming is kicking Shawn Bradley's.

Yao may not be 7-foot-6. But standing next to Bradley Thursday night, he looked 10-feet tall. After all the hype and trash talking the verdict is in.

Yao 30, Bradley 0.

How one-sided was the Yao-Bradley matchup?

Think the '92 Dream Team vs. Angola. Clubber Lang (Mr. T) vs. Rocky (the first fight). Shawn Kemp vs. an all-you-can-eat buffet. Anyone vs. Anna Kournikova.

Yao unleashed such a devastating flurry against Bradley on Thursday night that even Barkley was backtracking by the time the game was over.

"Kenny said that I said Yao Ming couldn't play, and that's inaccurate," he said. "You don't want the Chinese mad at you. They can fight."

[censored] straight.

Yao took it to the Mavs' defense in the first half, scoring a career-high 21 points on 7 of 9 shooting. By the start of the second half, Yao had been so effective that the team switched to a soft zone that collapsed on him every time he touched the ball. By the end of the game, Yao had a Mavs defender in his lap on every possession. Yao got just three shots in the third quarter and none in the fourth. Still, he ended the night with a career-high 30 points and 16 boards ... and a converted congregation.

When the smoke cleared, Yao was on the verge of the unthinkable — surpassing a Wilt Chamberlain record. In his past five games, Yao has made 30 of 34 shots, the second-best five-game stretch of shooting (in the same season) ever in the NBA. His .882 shooting percentage barely fell short of Chamberlain's .885 (54-of-61) accuracy in five straight games during the 1966-67 season.

After the game, Dirk Nowitzki sized up the damage. "Yao is the real thing. He can be a scary player."

He can also be an aggressive one. Despite all you've read about Yao's passive nature, he appears to be able to rise to the occasion. Thursday night, with more than one writer suggesting that Yao can't even measure up to Bradley, Yao looked like a stone cold killer. He was hustling for loose balls, grabbing boards that, a week ago, he would have let sail by and dunking with a new-found, rim-rattling authority. Every time he touched the ball in the post, it was clear he was going to take it to Bradley. Every time he did, Bradley folded like a lawn chair.

"You have to understand, I play the game in two parts," Yao told the Houston Chronicle after the game. "One part is the enjoyment of playing. The other part is, of course, winning. Today, I achieved half of that."

His trash talking game is also improving, as evidenced by his parting shot to Bradley. "Now I know I'm not the skinniest player in the NBA."

That's cold. And it wasn't the only abuse Bradley had to take Thursday night.

"What's the matter with you, Shawn!" one fan screamed as Bradley walked off the court at the end of the first half.

"Hey, Bradley, get in his face! He's killing you!" screamed another.

Bradley looked downright dejected in the second half. Bradley ended the game with zero points and two rebounds in 20 ineffective minutes. The Mavs were quick to start the damage control the minute the game ended. Bradley has the frailest of psyches. After such a great start to the season, coach Don Nelson didn't want this drubbing to drag the Great White Nope down.

"He played hard and he played well," Nelson told the Dallas Morning News. "We just ran into a buzz saw in Yao. Nobody we put on him could stop him."

His teammates also rushed to his defense.

"Shawn's a smart guy," said Michael Finley. "He knows this is just one game. He knows he has to come back the next game, put this one behind him and rebound from it. A couple of blocks the next game, a couple of shots and he'll be fine."

"That stuff happens," added Eduardo Najera, who did a credible job late against Yao. "He's just got to be mentally tough to bounce back. I'm sure he's going to come out against Seattle [on Saturday] and play well."

Eduardo, we've been saying that for years. Unfortunately, Bradley always comes up with new ways to prove us wrong.

Yao nearly unstoppable for a half

Jonathan Feigen / Houston Chronicle

Yao stands tall, Bradley shrivels

Mike McAllister / Dallas Morning News

Yao finds comfort zone

John P. Lopez / Houston Chronicle

Barkley pays up as Yao pays off

David Barron / Houston Chronicle

Deja Bulls?

Want a telling sign that the Chicago Bulls are in serious trouble one month into the season?

Three agents, Aaron Goodwin (who represents Jamal Crawford), Arn Tellem (who represents Eddy Curry) and Bill Duffy (who represents Jay Williams) were on hand for the Bulls game versus the Warriors on Wednesday.

What do you bet that coach Bill Cartwright doesn't like agents that much at the moment. Goodwin has been complaining about Crawford's minutes. Tellem is wondering why the Bulls haven't been developing Curry. Duffy is leading the charge for the Bulls to scrap the triangle offense so his client can start to play his game.

On any other given night, David Falk is calling GM Jerry Krause wondering why the Bulls' best player is on the trading block. Agent Henry Thomas is trying to figure out how a second-round draft pick, Lonny Baxter, is stealing all the minutes away from his client, Marcus Fizer. And did we mention that Eddie Robinson, via agent James Bryant, is trying to push for a trade?

Throw the habitually dysfunctional Blazers out of the equation for a moment and then try to come up with a team more screwed up than the Bulls. Wasn't it around this time last season that Tim Floyd starting taking heat for his inability to figure out how to win a basketball game while developing a kids just a few month removed from high school?

Krause has Cartwright performing the same juggling act this season, and the results couldn't be more discouraging. The Bulls are losing, no one is happy with their role and Krause stubbornly refuses to trade away several players causing the most friction. Even worse, there are signs that some of the players are starting to turn on Cartwright.

They're all struggling with the triangle offense, primarily because they don't have the personnel or experience to run it. More than one player has asked if Cartwright can come up with his own game plan, one that fits the talents and abilities of the players he has. Michael Jordan isn't walking through that door folks. Neither are Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.

If Cartwright can't convince Krause to do something different (either via trade or offense), Cartwright's days in Chicago will be numbered.

Curry, for one, is just trying to hold on. "I'm just trying to hold it together, trying not to lash out at anybody," Curry told the Sun Times. "I'm just trying to keep my peace and whatever happens, I talk to family and friends about it rather than complaining to Coach. I never will lose faith in Bill until he gives me a reason to lose faith. I just feel when the time is right, he'll play me like I feel I deserve to be played."

It's becoming clearer that the strain is beginning to wear on Cartwright. He's getting more surly by the minute. Like Floyd, his refusal to play Krause's kids will likely be his undoing. Krause's demands border on the ridiculous. He keeps talking about playoffs while pushing him to play kids who aren't ready to lead an NCAA team to a tile, let alone an NBA team to the playoffs.

Cartwright's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't.

As the Bulls sink deeper and deeper into the pit, damned seems like the right word.

Bulls remain one big mess

Jay Mariotti / Chicago Sun-Times

A long way from home, strain shows

K.C. Johnson / Chicago Tribune

Disgruntlement grows as losses mount

Roman Modrowski / Chicago Sun-Times

What's wrong with Pau Gasol?

Hubie Brown may have a long-term effect for the good in Memphis, but his short-term influence on Pau Gasol has pushed the second-year big man into a sophomore slump.

Brown's new offense is de-emphasizng the low-post game, leaving Gasol wondering what his role with the team.

"I wasn't very comfortable the first three games. You could see it in my face," Gasol told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "I'm a very expressive player. You can look at me and tell this guy isn't comfortable right now. He's not playing the way he's capable of playing. But I've got to be professional and I'll do whatever the coach asks me to do."

Gasol's shot attempts dropped from 13.7 a game under Sidney Lowe to 8.5 under Brown. His field goal percentage has fallen from 55 percent to 35 percent. And his points per game have plummeted from 21.1 ppg to 11.

Gasol came into the season energized after winning the Rookie of the Year honors in the NBA and then following it up with a dominating performance at the World Championships. Four games into Brown's tenure, Gasol's confidence seems to have disappeared. Gasol said he's gone from being upset to exercising patience with the situation.

"I fought a lot last year to get my minutes and to get my touches to show everybody that I'm dangerous in the post," Gasol said. "I can score and create a play for my teammates and that's what I'm trying to show now. But we have a different coach and a new situation. I just have to be patient. [Coach] Brown is still trying to figure out what is the best way to play."

"I can't mad. I can't get frustrated. I can't get more frustrated than I am right now for losing 12 games in a row. So I'm trying to be mature. It's just four games. I've got a long career in front of me."

Gasol struggles to find his role in Hubie Ball

Ronald Tillery / Memphis Commercial-Appeal

Write Back: Kobe or T-Mac?

A lot of you fired off angry e-mails over Thursday's story on Building a Better Dream Team. I guess it's time to give some of you a forum to express your undying love for Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson. Here's a brief sampling of the hate mail. For the record, several international experts picked this team, not me. But that didn't seem to stop you.

Q: A little insight into the debate about whether Kobe or T-Mac is the better player. When people have defended Kobe in these arguments they have pointed to the fact that without Shaq the Lakers have one of the least talented teams in the NBA. However, if I'm not mistaken, I heard more than one person say that the Magic were the least-talented team in the playoffs and I've even heard you say that McGrady won 44 games by himself last year. So, if Kobe is a better player than T-Mac, how come T-Mac can win a game by himself but Kobe can't? -- Sam Taclaus, Oldwick, N.J.

FORD: I actually thought that Kobe was the leading contender to win MVP this year before the season. I expected him to do what T-Mac did with the Magic when Grant Hill was gone. While you can't knock Kobe's effort, his reputation among his teammates betrays him. I still believe that fundamentally, Kobe is the best player in the NBA. However, T-Mac gets the nod because of his size, athleticism and shooting range. He's more versatile and in the NBA, that is king in the international game. For a great piece on the two, check out Terry Brown's scouting report today. He doesn't really answer the question, but he gives both camps some ammunition.

Q: Are you some sort of freaking idiot? Kobe on the bench? Grant Hill starting? Are you saying Kobe can't dish? Can't take a backseat to someone else? T-Mac is average at best at the defensive end. Championships are won at the defensive end, not the offensive end. To put Kobe on bench is a slap in the face to both Kobe and Lakers fans. -- Jared Moon

FORD: First, on Hill. The thinking among both sources was that the team needs chemistry. Putting teammates on the floor together gives that a kick start. Second, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Having too many go-to guys on the floor together doesn't bode well for the offense. I agree that he'd be better on the second unit, as THE MAN, as opposed to being on the first unit trying to wrench the ball away from T-Mac, KG and Duncan.

Finally, defense wins NBA championships? How about Shaq and MJ win NBA championships? One of the biggest mistakes USA Basketball made when it put together the World Championship team was adding too many defenders without solid offensive games. Guys like Ben Wallace and Antonio Davis are great players, but they couldn't hit a jump shot. What the team needs to excel in international play are players who can shoot the basketball, create off the dribble and get to the line.

Q: Let me get this straight, you want Tracy McGrady, who has never won a playoff series and got severely outclassed by Baron Davis in last year's playoffs, Grant Hill, who has never one a playoff series and has played in fewer games the last few years than Shawn Kemp, Rashard Lewis, who has never done anything in the NBA but live off his potential, and Ray Allen, who tends to disappear a lot in almost all of his important games, instead of Iverson. Iverson has never lost a first-round playoff series, plays hurt, puts a team on his back and has established himself as the best shooting guard in this league and its best competitor. -- Matthew Authier

FORD: Iverson was on the bubble. The thinking was that he needs the ball to dominate. He's never been considered a great teammate and could cause friction if he started chucking up 30 shots a night (the same argument could be made of Kobe). His size, streaky shooting and hot-cold relationship with Larry Brown don't really help his candidacy. Allen isn't the clutch player Iverson is, but the Team USA needs shooting and he's the best we have.

Peep Show

Lakers: Shaquille O'Neal is expected to be on the court this evening, but coach Phil Jackson says Shaq won't start there. Shaq said he would gauge his toe this afternoon, after a morning shoot-around, and decide whether to play then. Privately, he has told friends that he intends to play tonight. "[The doctor] said everything looks OK," O'Neal told the L.A. Times. "I played today, felt pretty good. We'll just see tomorrow. That's all I'm going to say." The plan, according to Jackson and assuming O'Neal is ready, is for O'Neal to play about half the game. "He's going to be upset about that," Jackson said.

Blazers: Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire are once again giving new meaning to the nickname Blazers. According to reports, Stoudamire and Wallace have been arrested and released on misdemeanor marijuana charges in southern Washington. State troopers found a gram of the drug in Stoudamire's vehicle.

Clippers: L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke just lambasts the Clippers today for letting their contract issues distract them. "It's amazing what people will forgive in professional basketball players that they would never forgive in themselves. Your boss is a jerk and you haven't had a raise in two years and your morale stinks and what do you do? I'm guessing you still show up for work every morning. The Clippers have all had nice raises, with guaranteed contracts for this season, but the boss refuses to meet their future salary demands, so what do they do? They blow the opener against Cleveland, fail to show up in Portland, lose a big lead against Seattle, botch a chance to beat short-handed Sacramento."

Suns: Want an explanation behind the surprising early success of prep star Amare Stoudemire? The Arizona Republic's Paola Boivin writes a great piece explaining how Stoudemire's troubled past is helping him adjust quickly to the NBA.

Knicks: Baron Davis is the latest player to claim that Lee Nailon is an all-star in embryo. "He can score, man, I'm telling you," Davis told the N.Y. Post. "People still don't realize how well he can score the basketball. He shoots a high percentage. If he did get 35 minutes a game in this league, he'll be definitely one of the top scorers in the league. If you gave him the ball and told him to go, he'd average 20 to 24 points per game, easy."

Raptors: Vince Carter was a partial participant in the team's practice Thursday. "That's all I was looking for ... a chance to get back on the floor and just do anything," Carter, who has not played since Nov. 2 because of a strained left quadriceps tendon, told the Toronto Sun. "That could mean I'm close [to coming back], but maybe not. It's just their decision now." By "their" decision, Carter was referring to the Raptors' doctors, trainers and coaches, although head coach Lenny Wilkens said it's up to him to give Carter final clearance. "I would say maybe a week, maybe less ... we'll see," Wilkens said. "I'm going to guard him against himself. The doctors can say yes, and Vince can say it, but I have to watch him in practice. And when I'm satisfied, that's when it'll happen."

Pacers: Jermaine O'Neal was examined by a local physician Thursday after experiencing chest pains in the Pacers' 97-95 victory at Toronto on Wednesday. "Nothing's wrong," coach Isiah Thomas told the Indianapolis Star. "And if there is something wrong, you try and take care of it right away."

Kings: Peja Stojakovic is suffering from plantar fasciitis again. The problem began late last season, persisted during his participation at last summer's World Championship, and excluding an occasional respite, continued into the opening weeks of 2002-2003. If the condition persists, it may require surgery. Peja isn't talking about surgery just yet. "I just hope it goes away," Stojakovic told the Sacramento Bee. "I try not to think about it. I have talked to people who say they had problem for a month, and then it stops. But this has been going on since last year, and it still bothers me. It feels like there is a stone in my

heel. It is a pinching feeling when I walk or run. Sometimes it feels better than other times."

Bucks: Joel Przybilla's comeback took a detour Thursday when the 7-foot-1 center was forced to sit out the Bucks' morning practice session at the Cousins Center. Przybilla suffered a bruised left foot Wednesday in practice and Bucks coach George Karl said the former University of Minnesota player was scheduled to have a medical exam later Thursday. "I doubt he'll be activated," Karl told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Nuggets: Will Mark Blount make big money this summer in free agency? You look at his numbers (7.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 1.27 bpg) and say no way. But the Rocky Mountain News' Chris Tommasson breaks down why teams always pay big money for big guys -- production be damned. Tommasson comes up with 12 NBA big men who have averaged fewer than 8.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in their careers but signed contracts that pay them an average of $4 million or more a year. Ironically, the Sonics have 11 of them on their roster.

Warriors: Expect Steve Logan, who's missed the early NBA season in a contract dispute, to sign a deal within days, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. Logan will likely sign a two-year contract with Golden State, which drafted him No. 30 overall in last summer's draft.

Hawks: The team signed point guard Matt Maloney on Thursday to replace Dan Dickau, who's out the next six weeks recovering from surgery.

Comeback Player of Year?

Tim Brown / Los Angeles Times

Stoudamire, Wallace arrested on marijuana charges

Staff / kgw.com

Time for Clippers to Stop Whining, Start Working

Bill Plaschke / Los Angeles Times

Challenges nothing new for Stoudemire

Paola Boivin / Arizona Republic

Baron Still Buzzing Over Nailon Knock

Marc Berman / New York Post

Carter gingerly takes the floor

Bill Harris / Toronto Sun

O'Neal cleared to play after chest pain scare

Sekou Smith / Indianapolis Star

Peja's foot ailment is painful, frustrating

Ailene Voisin / Sacramento Bee

Przybilla's comeback set back

Charles F. Gardner / Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Blount has size to cash in as free agent

Chris Tomasson / Rocky Mountain News

Minor disputes keep Logan out of uniform

Roger Brown / Cleveland Plain Dealer