Insider Special: Good, Bad, & the Kitchen Sink

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The Good, the Bad, the Kitchen Sink

By Terry Brown

Monday, December 2 Updated 11:10 AM EST

Only 388 shopping days left before Michael Jordan announces another comeback in another uniform with another number that your kid absolutely has to have under his Christmas tree.

The Good

Stephon Marbury, Phoenix Suns

Week's work: 3-1 record, 24.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 8 apg, 2.7 spg, 4 triples, 42% shooting

Before the week started, the Suns were 5-5 and looking at games against the Bucks, Nets and Spurs. Now, they're 8-6 with the fifth seed in the playoffs as Starbury goes from Allen Iverson under roos to Gary Payton pull ups.

Mike Miller, Orlando Magic

Week's work: 3-0 record, 25 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.3 apg, 7 triples, 50% shooting

While everyone else was watching Kobe and Tracy, Miller became the third starting swingman for the Magic, who are a perfect 3-0 with our hero getting PA service before tip off.

Sam Cassell, Milwaukee Bucks

Week's work: 2-2 record, 25.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 6.2 apg, 1.2 spg, 49% shooting

Hard to believe that U.S. Senator Herb Kohl signs the paychecks of both Tim Thomas and this guy at the same sitting without slitting his wrist in the process, especially now that Shuttlesworth is out of commission.

Elton Brand, Los Angeles Clippers

Week's work: 1-3 record, 21.2 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.2 spg, 4 bpg, 46% shooting

If the Clippers won't pass him the ball, then I guess he'll just have to keep on stealing it and blocking it away from the opponent to get his touches. Last year, another so-called undersized fella led the league in blocked shots, too, except this one scores about four times as many points and doesn't scare small children.

The Bad

Theo Ratliff, Atlanta Hawks

Week's work: 1-2 record, 2.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1 apg, 0.3 spg, 0.6 bpg, 6 turnovers, 18% shooting

Very well could be the worst 68 minutes played by an NBA starter so far this year.

Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

Week's work: 1-3 record, 24-34 from the free throw line

With seconds left and KG and Co. trying to giftwrap a desperately needed win at Staples for the defending champs, Bryant blows the last of three free throws as the Timberwolves go on to win by 3. Does it really matter if he scores 45 or 55 or 65 the game before if his team loses by one or two or three the next night as he shoots 67 percent from the charity stripe since Nov. 19?

Jason Richardson, Golden State Warriors

Week's work: 2-1 record, 10.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 28% shooting

Look, the Warriors aren't going to win too many games this year as it is, so when they do stack two together, you'd expect one of their stars to score more than 14 points in two days. Or maybe one is because of the other?

Eddy Curry, Chicago Bulls

Week's work: 0-2 record, 1 ppg, 2 rpg, 0 apg, 0 spg, 0 bpg, 5 personal fouls, 3 turnovers, 0% shooting

An XXXL NBA uniform is a terrible thing to waste.

The Ugly

Last year, the Charlotte Hornets were the only team in the NBA to have won more games on the road (23) than at home (21). This year, the New Orleans Hornets are 9-0 in their new digs while going 2-6 away from them, the two wins coming against teams with a combined home record of 4-12. The Hornets are averaging 101.4 points per home game and 87.6 points per road game and 84.5 per road loss.

Eleven of their next 15 games are on the road.

The Kitchen Sink

TINY TIM

Tim Duncan has never scored less (20.8 ppg), shot worse (46%) or averaged fewer rebounds (11.7) in five years.

In his first game of the year as the reigning MVP, he scored 14 points on 3 of 14 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Lakers. In his latest game, two days ago, he scored 14 points on 6 of 16 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds against the Jazz.

In between, he's had a game of six points, another one of six rebounds and three of them with zero blocks. One night, he failed to get to the free throw line at all, went 7-for-7 the next game and then 4-for-10 the next.

At home, Duncan averages 19.6 points per game; on the road he scores 21.5. In wins, he scores 18.8; in loses he scores 23.

No rhyme, reason or any game in which he has grabbed more than six offensive rebounds. In only his sixth season in the NBA, he is averaging fewer minutes than ever before. I mean, the guy is still wearing his practice shorts backwards for good luck.

Flip 'em. Hang garlic in the window. Avoid black cats, ladders and broken glass. Skip any game that falls on Friday the 13th. He's already said he's afraid of heights and sharks, yet he was born on an island and grew to 7-feet tall.

In the year of Laker vulnerability, the San Antonio Spurs are a mediocre 11-7, are already five games behind the Dallas Mavericks and have as many loses as the Suns and Rockets, two teams that failed to make the playoffs last season.

Scared yet?

The last time the Spurs started out this slow, 6-8 in 1999, they went on to claim the franchise's first and only NBA Title after winning 86 percent of their remaining games.

CARDIAC ARTEST

Reggie Miller isn't the Indiana Pacer who has scored in double-digits in 14 of the team's 15 games.

Franchise centerpiece Jermaine O'Neal isn't the one who's shot 50 percent from the field in nine of those games.

Hall of Fame point guard Isiah Thomas isn't the player averaging a career high 3.2 assists per game after handing out only 1.8 for the team last season.

The answer is Ron Artest. All of the above.

The Pacers are an Eastern Conference-best 14-2 because the player nearly listed last in the Ron Mercer, Brad Miller, Jalen Rose, Travis Best, etc, etc, etc, and second-round pick in 2002 deal last year is averaging career highs in points, rebounds, assists, field goal percentage and free-throw percentage.

He is second on the team in points scored, first in steals, third in assists and leads all starters and primary reserves in shooting while hitting more three-pointers than anyone on the team.

And the next time he or any other Pacer not involved in the World Championship fiasco is mentioned for the All-Star Game will be another first.

LESS IS MORE

The Atlanta Hawk trio of Glenn Robinson, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Jason Terry is averaging 62.2 points per game followed by the Dallas Maverick trio of Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash at 61.2, followed by the entire Denver Nugget team at 76.9.

SHAQLES ON MY FEET

Vengeance, to put it mildly, is not Shaq's.

Without him, the Lakers won a pitiful three three games against teams with a combined record of 19-31. With him, they won an even more pitiful three games against teams with a combined record of 14-35.

The three-time defending champs have yet to beat a team with a winning record.

Sure, Shaq has gone from 17 points in his first game back to 24 in his second to 33 in his fifth and 31 in Sunday night's loss to Minnesota. But in that same time, the Lakers have given up 100.5 points per game after surrendering only 94.5 while O'Neal was toe up.

This is the same Laker team that has held opponents to 93.9 points per game in the last three seasons. And they still have to play Dallas on Friday.

THIN AIR

Orlando Magic swingman Tracy McGrady, who is leading the league in scoring, would have to average 46.8 points per game over the remaining schedule to match Michael Jordan's 37.1 points per game in 1987. As it stands now, McGrady's tallying 31.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg and 4.6 apg, which compares rather nicely to Jordan's 1991 season of 31.5 ppg, 6 rpg and 5.5 apg when His Airness won his first NBA Title.

EAST MEETS WEST

Yao Ming, Pride of Shanghai Physical & Sport Technic Education Institute

Last 5 games: 22.8 mpg, 8.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2 bpg

Tyson Chandler, Pride of Dominguez High School (CA)

Last 5 games: 21.2 mpg, 7.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 0.8 bpg

SPECIAL ALA MVP

Philadelphia Sixers (14-4) versus San Antonio Spurs (11-7)

Friday, Dec. 6, 2002 at the SBC Center in San Antonio, Texas

The former Most Valuable Player standing 6-foot-0 with a chip on his shoulder squares off against the latter Most Valuable Player standing 7-foot-0 in dire need of one.

THE END

"I am like an average big man right now." — Shaq on violin

[Traceman]

the flu but he did have a horrible week. Hopefully, the doctors can figure out what is wrong with him because we need the Theo that started the season for us not this guy with no energy and no production. When Hendu is CLEARLY outplaying your All Star center, something is definitely not right and needs to be corrected asap.