Insider Special: Good, Bad, & Kitchen Sink

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The Good, the Bad, the Kitchen Sink

By Terry Brown

Monday, November 25 Updated 7:40 AM EST

Finding it hard to believe that if the Lakers win every single one of their remaining games, they'll finish the season with the best record in the history of the NBA but by only one game ahead of the 1996 Bulls, who went 72-10.

Sixty-eight games and counting . . .

The Good

Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers

Week's work: 3-1 record, 34.7 ppg, 5 rpg, 5.2 apg, 2.2 spg, 8 triples on 45.5 percent shooting

Someone forgot to tell the former MVP that he wasn't invited to the Kobe Bryant-Tracy McGrady debate. With no other all-star on his squad like Bryant last week and in the same conference as McGrady, all Iverson has done is push his team to a 10-4 record, which is a tad bit better than those other guys' combined mark of 13-16.

Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons

Week's work: 3-1 record, 7.7 ppg, 18.2 rpg, 0.7 apg, 1.2 spg, 4.2 bpg, 63 percent shooting

In two games this week, he had 43 rebounds. In between, he put together a triple-double that included 10 blocks. Use both hands and pull off a shoe if involved in prior hunting accident. That's 10 blocks in one night. The amazing thing, though, was that he scored 12 points in that game to qualify.

Yao Ming, Houston Rockets

Week's work: 2-2 record, 15.2 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 0.7 apg, 2.5 bpg, 68.7 percent shooting

Slap fights against Brendan Haywood and Shawn Bradley made up for pimp slaps he took from Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Michael Olowokandi. Let's see if he can play dirty against Dale Davis Tuesday.

Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers

Week's work: 2-2 record, 20.5 ppg, 9 rpg, 2 apg, 1.5 spg, 0.5 bpg, 58 percent shooting

Either the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning, depending on which side of a Shaq Daddy drop step you're on.

The Bad

Bryon Russell, Washington Wizards

Week's work: 0-2 record, 3 ppg, 3 rpg, 1 apg, 2.5 spg, 0.5 bpg, 25 percent shooting

Still smarting from where the door knob hit him, he scored a season-high 16 points against his former team the Jazz last week. Before and after, he struggled to 5.5 points per game in his other 12 contests. When vengeance is all that's left then there really isn't much left.

Tom Gugliotta, Phoenix Suns

Week's work: 0-3 record, 2 ppg, 6 rpg, 2 apg, 1 spg, 0 bpg, 5 turnovers, 22 percent shooting Who would have thought that a guy who missed 7 of his last 9 shots would sit out his team's latest game, an embarrassing loss to the Nuggets, with pain in his right foot?

Malik Rose, San Antonio Spurs

Week's work: 3-1 record, 5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2 apg, 0.2 spg, 0.5 bpg, 6 turnovers, 30 percent shooting

He hasn't seen double figures in eight games and counting, actually putting up a goose egg Sunday night. Started the week with 29 minutes from Pop. Ended it with 12.

Tyrone Hill, Cleveland Cavaliers

Week's work: 0-4 record, 6 ppg, 7 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0 spg, 0 bpg, 3 turnovers, 33 percent shooting

He might have actually done his team a favor by sitting out the last two games with the flu, though that had to be one heck of a bug bite knowing that his team had only nine players dressed for the beatings.

The Ugly

This finest the NBA has to offer this side of Irish politics. Prior to this year, Damon Stoudamire started 503 of the 507 games he played in, averaging 13.5 ppg, 6.5 apg. 3.9 rpg and hitting 104 three-pointers last season (all highs for his six-year stay in Portland). But last week, the Blazers tagged him with two DNP-CDs and the one game he did get daylight was for 14 minutes in which he scored zero points. Before that was another DNP and three games in which he scored a total of two points. Factor in all the splinters and the former starting point for the Portland Blazers is averaging 6.4 points per game. Oh, yeah, did I mention that he got popped again for marijuana last week with franchise-star Rasheed Wallace.

The Kitchen Sink

KIDD GLOVES

Roll over. Play dead. Score 20.7 points per game when you've never averaged more than 16.9 in any season before.

Who said you can't teach a seasoned nine-year veteran point guard new tricks?

Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets is not only scoring more points than he ever has before, 14.3 ppg is his career average, but also shooting better than ever at 46 percent.

The problem, though, is that he's averaging only 8.5 assists per game, the lowest since his rookie year and down from his career standard of 9.4. As a result, every other starting position and the top two reserve spots are scoring less than last year.

Remember when Kidd, Kenyon Martin and Keith Van Horn were all within fractions of each other in points, the team's three leading scorers at 14.9, 14.8 and 14.7, no names needed or required.

This year, Martin is down to 13.5 and Richard Jefferson in place of Van Horn is at 13.4. Dikembe Mutombo in place of Todd MacCullouch is at 7.4, down from 9.7. Lucious Harris and Rodney Rogers are at 16.3 when last year's top two reserves averaged 19.1.

Simply, when the New Jersey Nets win nowadays, Kidd averages 19.9 points per game and attempts only three three-pointers. When they lose, he averages 22.5 and heaves up 5.5 three-pointers.

Now bark three times and pass the ball before the Nets get too dependent on a career 40-percent shooter who shot 39 percent last year.

ON YOUR MARKS . . .

Only three teams in the history of the NBA have had better starts than the 13-0 Dallas Mavericks. The 1958 Boston Celtics went 14-0 before eventually losing to St. Louis in the NBA Finals. The 1949 Washington Capitals had a starting record of 15-0. But they, too, lost in the NBA Finals to the Minneapolis Lakers. Only the 15-0 Houston Rockets of 1994 went on to win the whole thing over the New York Knicks.

POINT CENTER

In another two weeks, Brad Miller could have more assists this season than he did in all of his first two years in the league. By the All-Star break, he could have 40 more than he did all of last year when he averaged a then career-high of 2.1 assists per game.

The Indiana Pacers have shot out to an Eastern Conference-best 10-2 record by averaging 23.9 assists per game compared to their opponent's 16.6. And you don't need to look any further than that big white guy in the middle with the square chin for the reason why.

Miller is averaging a career-high 3.5 assists per game (after averaging 1.5 for his career prior), which isn't as much as Vlade Divac (career high 4.6 this season) but is right there with Shaquille O'Neal (3.8 career high in 2000).

MEMPHIS BLUES

Pau Gasol has lost seven minutes per game and can't get up. Drew Gooden is down one and a half. Jason Williams and Stromile Swift are suffering the same fate. Of the five leading scorers for the Memphis Grizzlies, only Gordan Giricek is averaging more minutes per game since Hubie Brown took over on Nov. 12, and he's getting only 24.

Tryouts have begun. Again.

In last week's overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in which 53 minutes were available at each position, not one Grizzly played more than 33 minutes, scored more than 14 points or grabbed more than eight boards. Kevin Garnett of the Timberwolves, on the other hand, played 47 minutes, scored 34 points and grabbed 22 rebounds.

Earl Watson, though, can't complain. Before coach Brown took over, the point guard was averaging only 12.2 minutes per game. Now, he's at 21.6. And with Jason Williams out with a sprained left ankle, he helped Memphis to their first win of the season.

KANDI FROM A BABY

Turn your head and cough 3.23 times per game.

Clipper center Michael Olowokandi does it every game so far. Behind the career highs in scoring, shooting, rebounds, blocks and minutes is the whopping increase in his tendency to turn over the ball.

Point guard Jason Kidd has averaged only 3.38 turnovers per game in his career and he has to receive the outlet or inbound pass, bring the ball across halfcourt and initiate the offense. Teammate Andre Miller is at 3.15 in his last three seasons as a starter. Gary Payton has turned it over only 2.5 times in his 13-year career at the point.

Look at Indiana Pacer Jermaine O'Neal. He averages 18.3 points and 2.4 turnovers to Kandi's 15.2 and 3.2, respectively. Golden State center Erick Dampier is at 12.1 and 1.7.

The point is, Olowokandi gets more touches and shots than any player on the Clipper team, but is still averaging only the third highest amount of points.

CLEVELAN CAVS STARRING ARIUS MILES

You read it right. There is no D.

In the last 10 games, the Cavs have surrendered 1,014 points after giving up only 84.5 in the first four games of the season. Darius Miles may not have been lighting up the scoreboard since his arrival from Los Angeles (only 12.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game), but he was second on team in steals (1.6) and blocks (1.4) and first in 6-foot-9 guys able to defend three positions in zone or man, before going down injured half way through the 10-game losing streak.

TARDY BELL

Amare Stoudemire, Prep Phenom 11 games running

This Year: 7.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.7 bpg on 32 percent shooting

Jonathan Bender, Prep Phenom four years removed

This Year: 7 ppg, 4 rpg, 1.8 bpg, 41 percent shooting

GOBBLE GOBBLE SPECIAL

Dallas Mavericks (13-0) versus Indiana Pacers (10-2)

Thursday, Nov. 28 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana on TNT

Both teams lead their respective conferences in record and are holding their opponents to 40 percent shooting while shooting 46 percent, themselves. But only one of them has to play the 11-3 Pistons in Detroit the night before. And that's the same team that could be going for an NBA-record tying 15 straight wins to open the season.

THE END

"I've lost $2½ or $3 million this year alone by being on national TV because that's money you don't get from your local TV package. That's NBA economics. The worse of a team you are, the more money you make." — Dallas Mavs owner Mark Cuban casting his vote for Donald Sterling as Executive of the Year.