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Breaking down Week 4

by Chad Ford

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Also Below: Get on the Shaq Train | No J-Will equals Grizz win | Paging Dr. Rivers | How are the Nuggets pulling this off? | Jordan getting restless

No reason to get it excited. After a miserable start, the Lakers are finally back in the groove with Shaq daddy grinding at the front of the line. The Grizzlies proved that no one can go 0-82. Can the "Doc" in Rivers cure what ails the Magic? Or will we be left wondering whether Orlando can score more than 11 points a game with a starting lineup of Jacque Vaughn, Jeryl Sasser, Ryan Humphrey, Olumide Oyedeji and Andrew DeClercq. Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik feels Doc's pain. And why is Michael Jordan fathering more kids when he can't even take care of the ones he has in Washington?

Get on the Shaq Train

MVP voters ... start your engines. Tim Duncan is still awesome, Jason Kidd finally has learned to shoot, Tracy McGrady is burning down the nets and Dirk Nowitzki is leading the Mavs' 13-0 charge. But let's not forget who their daddy is.

These days, Shaquille O'Neal looks like he could make a living in a white jump suit singing Viva Las Vegas. But when Shaq daddy is on the court, teams begin to swoon. After a miserable 3-9 start, daddy's home. And the Lakers are suddenly on a roll.

O'Neal, who returned Friday from offseason foot surgery, has a serious beer belly and six months of rust to work off. But the Lakers will take the 24 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes they got from Shaq in Sunday night's 111-99 win over Milwaukee.

"Things are different when I am in there," O'Neal told the L.A. Times. "I get doubled a lot. I kick it out to guys, and guys can take their time hitting shots. We do not have many one-on-one players on this team. We are just getting back into form. It may take a week or it may take over a month, but we will be there when it is all said and done."

"I am rusty," he added. "I am like an average big man right now, and that is not good enough for me. But, I am good enough to give you 20-something [points] and 10 [rebounds]. But that is not acceptable for me. I look forward to getting better, and I look forward to becoming dominant again. It may take me a week or a month, but I will be back before March."

Will all the Lakers' troubles disappear with the return of Shaq? The answer probably is yes. The Lakers' problem areas are scoring and shooting percentage. Currently, they're 22nd in the league in scoring (90.5 ppg) and 26th in field goal percentage (39.8 percent). Their defense, rebounding and assists are all above average. The Lakers need to average only 10 more ppg to go from 22nd to third in scoring. Shaq will give them that in a quarter. The Lakers' 111 points against the Bucks Sunday night was a season high.

Still, coach Phil Jackson understands that Shaq can only do so much. For the next month, Jackson plans to hold him to fewer than 30 minutes a game.

"It's good to have Shaquille back, but it's not going to solve all of our problems," Jackson told the N.Y. Times. "We're going to probably take a month to really get into what we need to do to win games consistently again. It's a process. We can't kid ourselves. The way we started, it's going to be a real haul for us this year. But I think we'll get there."

Jackson's goal for now? Home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

"We just hope to get home-court advantage in the first round," Jackson said. "You run into a team with no injuries in the middle of a hot spell, anything can happen in the first round. There usually aren't too many surprises after the first round, but getting there and getting past it is an obstacle. So we do need to start playing well eventually."

For Lakers, Rust May Be History

Tim Brown / Los Angeles Times

The Lakers Are Finally a Team Again

Mike Wise / New York Times

Lakers Are Still Drama Kings

Mark Heisler / Los Angeles Times

Lakers' Condition Is Temporary Disorder

Michael Wilbon / Washington Post

No J-Will equals Grizz win

Break out the fireworks. The Grizzlies won't be going 0-82 this season.

"It's like the city has been waiting to explode," Shane Battier told the Memphis Commercial Appeal after the game. "Finally, we have something to celebrate."

That's right. All together now. One in a row!

"It's my first win in the NBA!" said rookie Drew Gooden, who, in his last two years at Kansas, only lost a total of 11 games.

Even Michael Jordan was throwing out the compliments after the Grizzlies embarrassed the Wizards 85-74 on Saturday night. "It was a big step for them. Hubie [brown] is going to get them to play hard every night. Playing hard is how you win in this league."

Talk about your lowered expectations. The Grizzlies win their first game in 14 contests and Stromile Swift is running buck naked down Beale Street.

Of course, with the win, come the obligatory "Hubie Brown's a genius" quotes, despite his paltry 1-5 record.

"It's been a high-intensity time period," Brown said. "Are we happy with the work? Absolutely. ... We regroup our lives here. Then we start tinkering, looking for the right combinations. You start changing the chemistry."

Before we get too cynical, Brown seems to have inspired effort on the defensive end. The Grizzlies, who were outscored by an average of nearly 11 points in their first eight games, have closed that gap to five. Memphis gave up 104 points a game when Brown took over. Now, the Grizzlies yield 97.

"We had to go step-by-step, and we keep adding one little thing a day," Brown said. "We even had the audacity to put in a zone [defense] the morning of a game. But that's because you're relying on the athleticism and courage of your kids."

Ironically, it may have been Jason Williams, of all people, who discovered the key to a Grizzlies victory. Reports that he looked in the mirror and saw a big zero are highly exaggerated. But with Williams out nursing a sore ankle, his replacement, Earl Watson, calmly led the Grizzlies to victory.

After the Wizards came back from a nine-point deficit to tie it at 74 late in the fourth quarter, Watson, who scored a career high 17 points, hit a huge 3-pointer to bury Washington.

"This was big, naturally," Watson said. "It was a matter of time but for us to collectively make it happen instead of letting it happen meant a lot."

Considering that Watson is one of Jerry West's favorites, are we going to see more of Watson in the fourth quarter and less of J-Will?

"You can't make rash decisions on players," Brown said. "Players learn at different speeds. We didn't want to change the lineups, because we didn't want to cause doubt. We had to have patience and keep putting them out there. We had to keep allowing them to decide where they want to be in the pecking order."

After Saturday night's win, Williams' absence may have answered the question for them.

Sweet victory arrives

Geoff Calkins / Memphis Commercial Appeal

Griz showing clear progress under Brown

Ronald Tillery / Memphis Commercial Appeal

Griz finally pull out of tailspin

Ronald Tillery / Memphis Commercial Appeal

Paging Dr. Rivers

Grant Hill's problem ankle is looking like its old self again. Tracy McGrady's back is acting up again. Darrell Armstrong still is limited by a strained right shoulder. Horace Grant cannot get his left knee strong enough to play. Steven Hunter is feeling better, but he's still probably a month away.

The Magic E.R. is full and coach Doc Rivers wonders how much more his team can take.

"We are a thin team, and we just can't sustain a whole bunch of injuries and be a very good team," he told the Orlando Sentinel. "But we're just good health away from being a very good team ¡ª if only we could get some time playing together. Things are going to work out, but it's the time of the year when nothing is working out."

True. The Magic have lost six of their last nine. They barely escaped Sunday night with 77-75 win over the lowly Heat. At times, Rivers was forced to play a team consisting of Jacque Vaughn, Jeryl Sasser, Ryan Humphrey, Olumide Oyedeji and Andrew DeClercq. Combined, the five had averaged a combined 11.1 points in the first 14 games.

That's ugly. Denver Nuggets ugly. Were it not for the heroics of Mike Miller (31 points, 19 boards) and Shawn Kemp (14 points, 9 boards, 4 blocks) the Magic would've been looking at another ugly loss.

Rivers has his fingers crossed that Hill and McGrady will be ready to play Wednesday, when the Magic take on the Lakers. Hill is experiencing inflammation in a tendon in the ankle. Magic physical therapist Vinnie Hudson said the tendons are getting used to "increased range of motion." In essence, Hill's foot has not moved this freely in quite awhile, so there is an adjustment period.

The Magic clearly look discombobulated without Hill in there. The constant wondering about his status has knocked the Magic out of any type of offensive rhythm. Still, Rivers is just happy that Hill can play some of the time.

"I'd rather be without rhythm and have Grant than be without Grant and have rhythm," Rivers said.

McGrady hurt his back sleeping on a couch Friday night. McGrady, who suffered from back spasms all last season, thought he had the problem under control after extensive physical therapy this summer. He claims that this pain is an isolated incident.

"I slept on it wrong, and just woke up in pain," he said. "But this is not at all related to what I went through at the end of last season. It's a different spot completely, a different problem. I'll be back by Wednesday [against the Los Angeles Lakers]. I'm an optimist. Maybe with me out, it will give the guys some confidence that they can play without me."

It was Miller's moment

Jerry Brewer / Orlando Sentinel

Hill now struggling with tendinitis issue

Jerry Brewer / Orlando Sentinel

T-Mac's back again becomes sore spot

Tim Povtak / Orlando Sentinel

How are the Nuggets pulling this off?

On paper, the Denver Nuggets have one of the worst teams in NBA history. It wasn't a stretch to claim that this group of young rookies and washed up veterans would struggle to get 10 wins this season. So how in the world have they managed to compile a 4-9 record? A win over the Grizzlies you can understand. But what about their victories over the Blazers, Clippers and Suns?

The Nuggets are winning games despite being ranked dead last in scoring (76.5 ppg) and field goal percentage (38.6 percent). They also lead the league with an average of 21.5 turnovers per game.

Credit Jeff Bzdelik, who has thrown in the towel on his offense and gotten his players in a defensive mindset. The Nuggets have only one legit scorer, Juwan Howard, but they have a number of athletic, tough kids (led by James Posey) who are capable of playing great defense. The Nuggets are second to only the Pistons in points allowed (83.6 ppg). They lead the league in causing turnovers (20.1 opponent turnovers per game). They're also ranked 10th in the league in steals. A little bit of luck also helps.

The Nuggets defeated the Suns Saturday night on one of the more memorable plays of the season. Shawn Marion dunked the ball with 0.6 of a second remaining to give the Suns a 79-78 lead. The Suns thought the game was over and started to celebrate. The Nuggets' Ryan Bowen began sprinting down the court. Donnell Harvey passed the ball from his baseline to the opposite free-throw line and into Bowen's hands. Bowen then took one step before laying the ball in before the buzzer.

"It wasn't a play that was designed," Harvey told the Denver Post. "I just saw him running down the court open, and I knew I could deliver it to him. The only thing I was concerned about was making sure he was close enough to the basket so he could lay it up."

Friday night, the Nuggets beat the Clippers on a buzzer beater by Posey. Before the jumper, Posey had made only 10 of his previous 48 shots. "All I could do was keep shooting," Posey said. "That's the only way I could get out of it."

Bzdelik said the last-second hustle is indicative of his team. "We're a young team and we're battling," Bzdelik said. "Our team shows great character, great passion, great heart, great enthusiasm. For them to battle through this and begin to reap the reward of working on their execution, it's big."

Nuggets beat buzzer again

Marc J. Spears / Denver Post

Nuggets by a hair

Chris Tomasson / Rocky Mountain News

Jordan getting restless

Michael Jordan's grandkids aren't getting it done. So Grandpa MJ wants coach Doug Collins to let him show them how it's done.

The Wizards are 6-7, losers of three straight, and they're entering a brutal stretch in their schedule that features Indiana twice, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Orlando.

"As talented as we are on paper, we're not talented when we're out there on that basketball court," Jordan said after a brutal loss to the Grizzlies.

Teams are taking away what the Wizards do well by zoning them. The Wizards are basically forced to fire up outside shots. In the last two games, Washington took 30 three-pointers and made 12. Jerry Stackhouse, a notoriously shaky outside shooter, took 15 of those long-range shots, making five. He missed all eight attempts against the Grizzlies.

The Wizards are searching for answers. Collins is pining for more toughness claiming the team's younger players "don't take hard fouls."

Jordan is pining for more Jordan. "I've been very passive, this being early on in the season," Jordan told the Washington Post. "I'm getting to a point now where if they're not going to improve every game and get consistent then I might as well move my minutes up. There's no reason to save it for next year."

Does that mean Jordan is ready to increase his minute load or even work his way back into the starting lineup?

"I'm not going to say all that. We've got to find a better rhythm, whether it's with me on the basketball court of not. I think [Collins] has been trying to give our young kids a chance to step forward. Obviously, I'm starting to come along physically. I'm starting to play more minutes. I feel good. It's not that we're panicking. I think it's important to starting showing, at this time, a good team, consistently. If that means I've got to be on the floor, great. If we can do it without me on the court, you won't hear nothing from me."

Of course, we're hearing a lot from Jordan lately which means . . .he's pushing Collins to increase his workload. Jordan did the same thing last season and the result was disaster. Is Jordan's long-term memory that bad? Are wins more important that building the future of the franchise? Or is he just so sick of losing that he wants to roll the dice and let the chips fall where they may?

Jordan, Wizards Hope They Produce Some Answers

Steve Wyche / Washington Post

Wizards Are Number One In Their Loss to Grizzlies

Steve Wyche / Washington Post

Peep Show

Sonics: Kenny Anderson, who has missed five straight games with back issues, may be trying to force the Sonics' hand and deal him or buy him out the Boston Herald reported. He knows the club wants to add another point guard, but luxury tax pressures have kept them from doing so. The club has already said it would pay $6 million of his $9.185 million deal to set him free, but it is doubtful another club would be willing to make up the more than $3 million difference. While Anderson may be looking for more incentive to depart, that's as high as the Sonics are willing to go. But something will be done. One ranking Sonics source told the Herald Anderson will be gone one way or another by the February trade deadline.

Knicks: GM Scott Layden has until Monday to use the Knicks $4.5 million disabled player exception. With no top tier centers available, the Knicks will have to settle for a power forward, trade or maybe nothing at all. "It's still very early in the season, and I think deals generally happen after the first 20, 25 percent of the games have gone by," Layden told the N.Y. Times. "This'll be a busy week. Believe me, we've talked to every team about the exception, so everybody's aware of it. But we're not going to use it foolishly. Just because of that deadline, we're not just going to waste a move." . . . Will the Knicks be able to move Latrell Sprewell? "I'd like to keep him," coach Don Chaney said. "But if a great deal comes along you have to do your job and do what's best for the team. I think we all would like to keep him here. There's no question about that." The N.Y. Daily News reports that if the Knicks trade Spree, Antonio McDyess may bolt when he becomes a free agent. . .And you might as well forget the hype out of New York regarding trades that involve Stromile Swift and Lorenzen Wright to the Knicks. According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Swift is no longer on the block. Although the Griz would part with Wright, Jerry West has not talked trade with the Knicks.

Sixers: The love-hate relationship between Allen Iverson and coach Larry Brown is back to love again. "I hope he wants to stay here," Brown told the Philadelphia Inqurier. "But, if he told me tomorrow he wanted to leave, I respect him enough to work it out. But, he hasn't said that to me... .Allen's thing has not affected one person in that locker room or on this coaching staff. You've got to ask him. I don't think it's affected the way he's played. I told him, two nights ago he played the best game I've ever seen him play against New Orleans. He wasn't any less effective against Memphis [on Wednesday night]."

Blazers: Forget about the boos and the drug arrest. Damon Stoudamire's benching is what's really upsetting him up. "To be honest, sitting on the sidelines makes you want to tear up," Stoudamire told the Oregonian. "I'm not going to sit here and . . . lie, it hurts. It hurts a whole lot." Stoudamire is hoping he gets a chance somewhere else soon. Given all of the trade rumors swirling around him, he may get the chance. "I guess the thing that has been the most difficult for me through this whole thing is that I feel that I have been portrayed as a cancer on this team, and I don't feel that is justice," Stoudamire said. "Because if anything I feel like I have helped this team out a lot, whether I play or don't play. The bottom line is I'm good enough to play in this league. I know that given an opportunity, and having the coach's backing, I can do great things."

Pistons: With the Pistons' offense failing to score enough points, coach Rick Carlisle made two changes in the starting lineup. Zeljko Rebraca is out at center, replaced by Cliff Robinson, and rookie Tayshaun Prince is starting at small forward in place of defensive stalwart Michael Curry. "I think the chemistry of the people on our team is great," Carlisle told the Detroit Free Pres. "I think our basketball chemistry has been a little off. I just think this is the time to look at this. I'm going to give it an honest look. We gave the other lineup an honest look; it was 20 games including exhibitions. We're going to take a hard look at this one to see where we are. I wouldn't make the move if I didn't think it was an opportunity for us to be better. Whether that happens immediately or gradually, I don't know."

Nets: Chris Childs returns to the Nets today, after being suspended for coming into camp out of shape, he will have to convince his teammates he is worthy of playing time, Nets Coach Byron Scott said. "I don't think he's going to have to deal with resentment,'' Scott told the N.Y. Times. ``I think he is going to have to earn their respect, though. He hasn't been here. Oct. 1 was the first day of training camp, and everybody else in that room has been here pretty much the whole time.'' Scott added: "I think the guys will welcome him back.'' . . . While the Nets clearly didn't want Childs putting on weight in the off-season, they didn't mind the extra 15 pounds Kenyon Martin added. With Martin moving to power forward this season, he felt he needed the extra muscle to survive. "I've been giving up a few inches to a lot of guys. That's why I've been in the weight room. I've got to make up for it. You've got to [be more physical] when you're giving up - in his [Garnett's] case, he's like 7-1. You give up seven inches, you have to be physical," Martin told the N.Y. Post. "I feel [height] would be my disadvantage and I have to have an advantage so I have to be more physical with those guys."

Bulls: Coach Bill Cartwright is still fuming over Saturday's 20 point blow out loss to the Jazz. "You try not to use anything as an excuse, whether it's youth or four games in five nights," Cartwright told the Chicago Tribune. "But some of it is just competitiveness. You have to fight to get a rebound. You have to fight to get a guy off the post. You have to make a stand. You have to help your teammate. It's just effort and awareness."

Pacers: Here's a headline you don't read everyday. "Austin Croshere inspired by Mercer's play?" Huh? Croshere is taking solace in the fact that Mercer is having a positive contribution coming off the bench. Croshere is stuck there too. "I tell you what, what he's doing is inspiring for this team," Croshere told the Indianapolis Star. "He's playing as well as he is but not getting a whole lot of minutes and not complaining. You look at somebody like that, it makes it clear that when you come back you just have to fit in."

Cavs: Rookie point guard Smush Parker asked coach John Lucas if he could miss practice to meet with his Realtor. "If he misses practice, he might not need a Realtor," Lucas related. Is Parker on that shaky of ground? "It's a scary thing," Parker told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "That's why I've been tearing my hair out. It's stressful being in a position like mine where nothing is guaranteed. You don't want to mess up or slip to where anything can happen and you are out of here the next day and I'm packing my bags and back home in New York. I don't want that to happen."

Celtics: Antoine Walker is the latest NBA star to throw his name into the USA Basektball arena. "Anytime you've got an opportunity to represent your country, especially with the way things happened this summer, it's going to be a big thing," Walker told the Boston Herald. "That's a personal accolade and an opportunity of a lifetime, so, yeah, I would love to play. But it's not my decision. I'm sure they're going to pick the best team possible to win the gold medal, so we'll wait and see.''

Signs point to early exit: Anderson move nears

Steve Bulpett / Boston Herald

Knicks Left Looking Up at Taller Timberwolves

Chris Broussard / New York Times

Spree-McDyess dream team

Frank Isola / New York Daily News

Bulls' triangle has lost its shape

Ronald Tillery / Memphis Commercial Appeal

Sixers Notes | Brown praises Iverson's game focus

Ashley McGeachy Fox / Philadelphia Inquirer

Stoudamire: No pouting, no giving up

Jason Quick / The Oregonian

New lineup to get 'an honest look'

Perry A. Farrell / Detroit Free-Press

A Slimmer Childs Set to Rejoin Nets

Liz Robbins / New York Times

Kenyon Gets Super-Sized

Fred Kerber / New York Post

Bad trip has Bulls in deep funk

K.C. Johnson / Chicago Tribune

Croshere inspired by Mercer's play

Mark Montieth / Indianapolis Star

Shooting for security

Branson Wright / Cleveland Plain Dealer

Walker wants to join gold rush

Steve Bulpett / Boston Herald