Wednesday Insider

[Guest]

Tangled Nets

by Chad Ford

Send an Email to Chad Ford

Also Below: Cavs, Bulls falling apart | Frustrated Kupchak keeps evaluating Lakers | Random Game Notes | Peep Show

NBA Power Outage: Riley can't generate the Heat

Insider Fantasy File: Nov. 26

The Lakers aren't the only NBA champions who have seen better days. Last year's Eastern Conference champs, the New Jersey Nets, suffered a few nasty turns of fate on Tuesday that may have the team joining the Lakers on skid row soon.

The team learned Tuesday that it's losing starting center Dikembe Mutombo for three to four months with a wrist injury. That news comes on the heels of the Nets putting starting two guard Kerry Kittles on the injured list with a sprained knee.

Talk about your reversal of fortunes.

Last season, everything went right for the Nets. They avoided major injuries, had a palatable team chemistry and caught every break imaginable. This year, things are breaking the wrong way.

After being swept in the finals, Nets GM Rod Thorn got aggressive this summer. He traded two starters, Keith Van Horn and Todd MacCulloch, for an all-star in Mutombo. Opinions of the trade were split at the time. With Mutombo, the Nets were expected to be the best defensive team in the league. The move also freed up a starting position for second-year swingman Richard Jefferson.

One month into the season, it's becoming apparent that the Sixers got the better end of the deal. The Sixers sit a top the Atlantic Division with a 14-4 record and appear to be firing on all cylinders after a down season last year. The Sixers were anxious all summer to move Mutombo and the Nets are painfully beginning to understand why. The big guy has seen better days.

Dikembe Mutombo

Center

New Jersey Nets

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

16 7.3 7.1 1.0 .414 .761

Forget about the injury for a second. Mutombo's numbers through the fist 16 games of the season are all career lows: 7.3 points (down from his career average of 12.3), 7.1 rebounds (also down from 12.3), and 25 minutes (down from 36.2) per game.

Mutombo was 35th in the league in rebounds and 13th in blocks, averaging two. Van Horn ranks18th in rebounds. He is shooting 47.2 percent from the floor, while averaging 16.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, compared with 43.3 percent shooting, 14.8 points and 7.5 rebounds last season.

Of course, what do you expect from a 79-year-old center?

Without Mutombo, the Nets are forced to play second-year center Jason Collins and Aaron Williams in the middle. Their numbers this season, a combined 8.7 ppg and 7.1 rpg, aren't any better than Mutombo's.

The Nets miss Van Horn's perimeter shooting and rebounding in the post. Kenyon Martin bulked up this summer to handle more minutes in the paint, but through the first 19 games he's averaging just 12.9 points and 6.8 rebounds. Even more alarming, Martin is shooting just 42 percent from the field, a career low. To top it off, Martin's fouled out of three of the last four games for the Nets.

Jefferson isn't having the career year some thought he would have, either. His averages of 13.4 ppg and 5.8 rpg are an improvement, but the Nets' brass thought he was capable of putting up 18 points and eight boards a night. Neither Martin nor Jefferson can make up for Van Horn's three-point shooting. Even Kittles is averaging a career low (12.6 ppg) in scoring this season.

Jason Kidd

Point Guard

New Jersey Nets

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

19 21.1 6.4 8.3 .451 .887

That has put an extra burden on Jason Kidd to not only run the offense, but produce more points as well. Kidd is averaging a career-high 21.1 ppg. He's accounted for 20 percent of the Nets' total shots. In last season's Eastern Conference championship campaign, Kidd put up only 17 percent of the Nets' tries.

"It's a good thing that he's shooting the ball so well and he's scoring points," coach Byron Scott told reporters. "I think it's a bad thing because we want other guys to step up also. I don't want Jason to feel that he has to carry the whole burden.

"You want your best players taking the big shots but it is going to come somewhere along the line where other players are going to have to step up also."

It's no surprise that Kidd's assists average (8.4) is down from the 9.9 he dished last season. Kidd has joked that he is becoming a shoot-first, pass-second point guard.

"It doesn't always have to be me," said Kidd. "My teammates feel comfortable making plays. My teammates are right there with me in the fourth quarter. It's just a matter of the ball bouncing our way and right now it is not bouncing our way."

Scott is taking the adversity in stride. He knew the Nets' good fortunes wouldn't last forever.

"It makes it tougher, but that's what it's all about," Scott told the N.Y. Times. "It will give guys on the bench an opportunity to step up, show what they can do. . .You knew it wasn't going to happen two straight years, that you were going to go pretty much injury-free. You knew something was going to happen. But we've got guys who are capable of stepping in and keeping our ship above water."

Jefferson isn't worried either, as long as Kidd stays healthy. "Jason Kidd is going to do 75 percent of what it takes for us to win. The rest of us have to meet him the other 25 percent. We have to be aggressive and start helping him."

Kidd Can't Shoulder Whole Load

Fred Kerber / New York Post

Kidd Can't Shoulder Whole Load

Fred Kerber / New York Post

Fair Deal or Real Steal?

Ashley McGeachy Fox / Philadelphia Inquirer

Cavs, Bulls falling apart

Ricky Davis

Guard-Forward

Cleveland Cavaliers

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

17 19.5 3.7 3.6 .418 .726

Beleaguered guard Ricky Davis sat down with Cavs GM Jim Paxson, coach John Lucas and the rest of his teammates Tuesday. After the meeting, Davis got an official "Get out of the Dog House" card from Lucas.

"This is over and it's done," Lucas told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I'm excited to have him back because that gives us another weapon."

Lucas suspended Davis for two games after Davis got in an argument on the court with teammate Tyrone Hill. Lucas indicated that Davis would return to the starting lineup, and it will be just in time. The Cavs are suffering through a 15-game losing streak. The Bulls are rolling into town riding a seven-game losing streak. Something has to give. Tensions are riding high on both teams and the coaches and players alike are feeling the heat.

Rumors have been circulating that Lucas himself is on the hot seat in Cleveland. The Cavs knew they wouldn't be a playoff contender this season, but folks in the front office feel that the team is better than its record.

Although this latest hurdle has been cleared, Lucas anticipates other challenges. He'll keep his guard up.

"This is a team full of incidents waiting to happen," Lucas said. "When the next one comes up, we'll deal with that."

The Bulls are coming off of a 25-point blowout loss to the Hornets Tuesday night.

"This is rock bottom," Tyson Chandler told the Chicago Tribune. "It's embarrassing for the city and our organization."

"This is the most humbled I've been as a basketball player, not just because we're not winning," Jalen Rose said. "It's the way we're going about our job. For whatever reason, we're not excited about having a game. We're not jumping around, bumping chests, slapping high-five. That [translates] to a lackluster effort."

Rose knows that the Cavs are anxious to add to the Bulls' misery.

"They're going to circle that game and say, 'We can, should and will win,'" Rose said. "We have to combat that so we don't have another debacle."

You should circle the game tonight as well. Whoever loses this game is in for some more major turmoil.

GM Jerry Krause is trying to be patient, but the Bulls are regressing. Krause's excuses about the Bulls' tough schedule aren't crazy. But after four years of losing, exactly how much longer does he expect fans to be patient?

The Bulls were greeted Tuesday night by a season-low crowd of 16,823. The fans who did show up lustily booed them off their home court.

"We understand we're young, and we're not at all down on the team," he said. "We knew what was coming. . .I'm not concerned at all. They're still going to develop into fine players, but the biggest thing is we just have to have patience. We knew what was ahead. We're in a marathon, and they're both going to be playing for a long time."

Davis back in lineup

Branson Wright / Cleveland Plain Dealer

Small crowd jeers Bulls

K.C. Johnson / Chicago Tribune

Try this conspiracy on for size

Roman Modrowski / Chicago Sun-Times

Frustrated Kupchak keeps evaluating Lakers

The Lakers seem to be missing something this season. And Lakers GM Mitch Kupchek knows it.

"You feel the frustration, clearly, of a team that's underachieving," Kupchak told the L.A. Times. "This organization has always leaned toward being patient, versus making the move prematurely. I had a discussion with Dr. [Jerry] Buss a week or so ago, and we were talking about the team and the record. I asked him how he was doing with it. He said, 'I've been doing things this way too many years to be anxious at this point in time.' "

Still, Kupchek wonders if this team has what it takes to win a fourth straight championship.

"We don't feel we're at the point we can fairly evaluate this team. We may not be the team that gets us to the Finals or the conference finals, whatever. But I know we're better than a team that's rebuilding. Until we get to the point where we can fairly assess this group and how good it can be, then we can't."

Frustrated Kupchak Keeps Evaluating Team

Tim Brown / Los Angeles Times

Random Game Notes

Obviously, the Rockets read my column on Monday and decided to give Yao the [censored] ball Tuesday night versus the Spurs. The result? Yao took a career-high 18 shots, scored 27 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. And, the Rockets got the win.

"I feel great," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "Regardless of the result of the game, we have a direction. We have very good guards and a lot of talent. But to have an inside presence, a legitimate inside presence, is big. It's big. That doesn't come around often."

"The big man is here," Glen Rice said. "He is for real. To see him dunking like that — man, that's awesome."

Yao was worried about what his teammates thought of him. "I hope," Yao said of his wide-eyed teammates, "they don't think I'm a monster."

No, that would be the Spurs. For the first time in a long time, the Rockets actually outscored the Spurs in the paint, outrebounded them by 17 and held them to their worst offensive game of the season.

"He's definitely going to be one of the top players in the league," David Robinson, who had a particularly rough night trying to keep Yao off the glass, told reporters.

"He was impressive," Duncan said. "He shot better than I thought he could. We had a hand in his face and it didn't matter."

Alvin Williams

Point Guard

Toronto Raptors

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

17 17.0 3.9 5.6 .464 .797

Early in the season, my vote for most improved player has to go to the Pacers' Ron Artest. We've always known that he's a tenacious defender, but the emergence of his offensive game makes him one of the most all-around dangerous players in the league. But not far behind is the Raptors' Alvin Williams.

With Vince Carter ailing and the Raptors on the ropes, Williams finally found that extra gear in his game. After another slow start, Williams has been phenomenal of late. His 27-point, seven-assist performance agains the Mavs on Monday was scintillating. Williams not only has found his offensive groove, he's turning into a pretty decent point guard as well. He ranks third in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio and is shooting a very efficient 46 percent from the field. If Williams can continue to play this way alongside Carter, the Raptors will get dangerous again in a hurry.

The Warriors have won three in a row and are a respectable 7-11 in the Western Conference. But let's not get on the bandwagon just yet. Only two of their wins, an opening night victory over the Spurs and a blowout of the Magic, have come against teams with a winning record. Their last three wins came against the Nuggets (twice) and Suns.

Warriors coach Eric Musselman will take what he can get. "Above all else," Musselman told the San Francisco Chronicle, "we're putting a lot more pressure on the ball. Earlier in the season, our whole concept was we didn't want to get beat off the dribble; we wanted to keep the lane compact and make teams beat us from over the top. We accomplished that, but we were giving up too many easy looks."

Antawn Jamison

Forward

Golden State Warriors

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

18 24.6 6.5 1.6 .448 .812

After a rather large bump in the road last season, Antawn Jamison seems to have found his groove again. For the season, he's averaging 24.6 ppg on 45 percent shooting from the field. Credit Musselman's decision to play Troy Murphy instead of Danny Fortson for Jamison's re-emergence. With Fortson on the floor, there wasn't enough room in the paint for Jamison to operate. The Warriors wanted to move Jamison to power forward this year, but Musselman knew that he'd be a defensive liability down low. Instead, he starts Murphy, who likes to hang around on the perimeter on the offensive end but is comfortable guarding low-post players on defense. That switch has allowed Jamison to do his thing in the paint without giving up even more points on the other end. Fortson, however, has paid a major price. He got a DNP-Coaches Decision Tuesday night.

The rest of the credit should probably go to little Earl Boykins. He's given the Warriors a legitimate sub for Gilbert Arenas. Boykins led the Warriors in assists Tuesday night and dropped 20 points on the Nuggets in their first meeting.

"He's brought life to this team," Arenas said.

"As an outsider coming in here," Musselman said of when he was hired in July, "Gilbert was thought of as a guy who could really score the ball when he didn't have it as the primary handler. We understand long term that Gilbert is our point guard. But what this does is alleviate the fact that if another one of our off-guards is struggling, we can throw him over there and get point production."

Houston's Yao grabs 27 points in win over Spurs

Jonathan Feigen / Houston Chronicle

Alvin Williams: the Raps' top player?

Doug Smith / Toronto Star

Warriors blitz Denver to earn 3rd win in row

Brad Weinstein / San Francisco Chronicle

Boykins packs big punch

Brad Weinstein / San Francisco Chronicle

Peep Show

Wizards: Coach Doug Collins removed second-year power forward Kwame Brown from the starting lineup for Tuesday night's home game against the Bucks in favor of Christian Laettner. "I'm hoping maybe that if he's feeling pressure or whatever, maybe it will heat him up a little bit," Collins said of Brown. "I'm not sure it's going to be the answer but let's see," Collins told the Washington Post. "Right now I'm reaching for something that will work for us."

Hornets: The team is exploring the possibility of signing a point guard, but no decision will be made until after backup point guard Bryce Drew gets a medical evaluation today on his injured left eye, Bob Bass, the team's executive vice president of basketball operations told the Times Picayune. With starter Baron Davis resting his ailing back for possibly the remainder of the week, the Hornets did not have a backup point guard Tuesday. "We've done our homework, and we have looked at two or three players [point guards] to determine their availability," said Bass, who did not make the three-game trip with the team. "That's where we are, and we'll talk more with [coach] Paul [silas] after Bryce's medical update." . . . Silas said Davis' bad back, caused by a herniated disk, can get better with stretching and other exercises. "Luckily his [herniated disk] is not on a nerve, so there's no pain shooting down his leg," Silas said. "But it still bothers him; the spasms come, and he has to fight through that. But what I want him to do is sit out and try to give this thing rest, so he possibly can play at 85 to 90 percent."

Bucks: Coach George Karl said Tuesday that his gut told him Ray Allen, who's been on the injured list with a sprained ankle, probably would be activated off the injured list for Thursday's game against the Hawks in Atlanta. "He hasn't run on it yet but he feels good," Karl told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "I think he'll probably play some Thursday."

Clippers: Lamar Odom practiced with the Clippers for the first time in almost 11 months. He participated in many of the drills, moving at about 60 percent on his injured right ankle. "I feel like I just took a step forward," Odom told the L.A. Times. "With a couple more practices like this one I should be better. t doesn't react right yet. I've got to tell it what to do. 'Move. Go that way.' There's still some swelling."

Laettner Gets Start Over Brown

Steve Wyche / Washington Post

With Davis ailing, Hornets ponder point guard

John Reid / New Orleans Times-Picayune

The Buck Report

Tom Enlund / Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Odom Finally Practices

Elliott Teaford / Los Angeles Times