Insider Special: Good, Bad, & Kitchen Sink...

[Guest]

The Good, the Bad, the Kitchen Sink

By Terry Brown

Monday, December 9 Updated 11:15 AM EST

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is the top-selling jersey of Paul Pierce, but only if you think that Celtic great Bill Russell, the center who won 11 titles in the '60s and the game's greatest defender, could have stopped either 7-foot-6 Yao Ming, a player who shares his position, or swingman Tracy McGrady, a player who shares his height.

Sincerely . . .

The Good

Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers

Week's work: 3-1 record, 27.2 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1 spg, 3.5 bpg, 52% shooting Not even Michael Jordan refused a call to the bench when summoned by Phil Jackson. In the first quarter, with the Lakers getting smacked around by the Dallas Mavericks, Shaq Daddy refused to leave the floor as Samaki Walker attempted to check in. The league hasn't been the same since.

Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks

Week's work: 3-1 record, 26.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 3.8 apg, 2.2 spg, 1.5 bpg, 11 triples, 47% shooting

Why doesn't this guy have his own shoe, sandwich and cereal box cover yet?

Shawn Marion, Phoenix Suns

Week's work: 2-2 record, 25.2 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 3 apg, 2.5 spg, 2 bpg, 11 triples, 50% shooting

Can a player ranked third in the NBA in steals per game actually average 10 rebounds per game on the season while hitting 11 three-pointers in one week?

Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves

Week's work: 1-2 record, 19.3 ppg, 15 rpg, 7.6 apg, 1.3 spg, 2.3 bpg, 1 triple, 51% shooting

After a hard-fought win against the Golden State Warriors, two assists shy of back-to-back triple-doubles, Garnett made a point of high-fiving each and every teammate, coach, trainer, travel agent and popcorn vender before taking off the wristband from his left forearm and tossing to some lucky young kid in the stands. And Bill Walton has the nerve to say he doesn't finish games strong enough.

The Bad

Eddie Jones, Miami Heat

Week's work: 1-3 record, 8.2 ppg, 3 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1 spg, 0.2 bpg, 28% shooting

Goes for one point on 0 for 5 shooting in one game this week, making it four of his latest five games in which he has failed to reach double-digit scoring and 14.7 points per game on the year (his lowest since 1996) for a team that scores only 82.2 of which he is the leading scorer.

Todd MacCulloch, Philadelphia Sixers

Week's work: 1-2 record, 4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0 apg, 0.3 spg, 0 bpg, 41% shooting

Tallied 12 points and 13 personal fouls this week while the guy he was traded for went down with injury and his backup, Jason Collins, averaged 9.5 points and eight rebounds per game in New Jersey.

DeSagana Diop, Cleveland Cavaliers

Week's work: 1-2 record, 3.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1 apg, 0 spg, 1 bpg, 50% shooting

Somehow found a way to foul out of a game in only 14 minutes against the intimidating frontline of the New York Knicks. Should pay this kid by the minute and have Jerry Krause sign the check since Diop's making even Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry look good.

The Ugly

The Dallas Mavericks are now the proud owners of a 75-27 record over the last two seasons and 24-consecutive game losing streak on the road to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Last year, the Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets and Chicago Bulls, three teams with a combined 100-206 record over the last two years, each defeated the three-time defending champs in Staples Center.

The Mavs get to think about that for the next four months because they don't play the Lakers on the road again until April 8, 2003.

The Kitchen Sink

OVERTIME IN THE FRENCH QUARTER

Vertigo, anyone?

When last we saw Jamal Mashburn, he was upside down backwards or was it inside out in reverse, unable to start the regular season last year much less finish the postseason because of some mystery illness that wouldn't allow him to walk to the bathroom by himself, which meant chewing gum and shooting a basketball were completely out of the question.

Twenty-one games and a new home later, Mashburn has played more minutes for the New Orleans Hornets than every guard, forward and center in the league this year except Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett, averaging 40.3 per game to go along with a team-leading 21.7 points per game and 6.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.3 steals.

He is averaging more minutes per game now than he ever has before in his career and the Hornets are the hottest team in the Eastern Conference with a four-game winning streak, only half a game from leading the entire conference.

Mash has yet to score less than double-digits in any game this year, never gone two games without a three-pointer and could very well finish the season with more steals and assists than ever before.

But you have to wonder if he and point guard Baron Davis, the only teammates in the NBA besides Boston's Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker to average more than 40 minutes per game, are in for a repeat of back spasms and bed rest that roadblocked last year's postseason run as they're both averaging even more minutes this year.

KING FOR A DAY

Who would have thought that as we round the quarter mark, the defending regular-season champs are being led in total points by their reserve point guard. Sacramento's Bobby Jackson has scored 457 points to Chris Webber's 435.

Needless to say, Jackson is averaging a career-high 20 ppg after putting up 9.2 over his six years in the league. Mike Bibby, the Kings' starting point guard on the verge of returning from injured reserve, has never averaged more than 15.9 points per game in a season.

RETURN TO SENDER

In his first game as a Celtic, Vin Baker scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Boston defeated the New York Knicks, 100-91, in their first preseason game of the year.

He was peaking.

Since then, Baker has gone on to record career-lows in points (5.4), rebounds (4.4), assists (0.7), steals (0.2), blocks (0.4) and minutes (17.8) per game. This, after they said a return to the Eastern Conference, and a brick shot away from his Connecticut crib, would do wonders in reviving a career that began in Milwaukee but collapsed in five miserable seasons with the Sonics. In his last season with the Bucks, Baker averaged 21 points and 10.3 rebounds per game every game.

So far in the month of December, he has a grand total of 16 points, 13 rebounds and 13 personal fouls.

THREE STRIKES

Jason Williams of the Memphis Grizzlies has taken 190 shots this year, exactly half of them from three-point range, making only 28 triples on the season for an overall 39 percent shooting mark. If he hadn't taken a single long-range shot at all, he'd be shooting 49 percent from the field, better than every guard in the entire league except John Stockton (50.6%) and Bobby Jackson (50%).

SPUR IN THE SADDLE

San Antonio power forward Malik Rose pulled down 83 rebounds in his first 10 games of the year and only 38 in his last nine.

BOXING OUT THE STILT

Ben Wallace led the league last year in rebounds per game at 13 and leads this year at an even better 15.2. Combined together, he is averaging 13.4 rebounds per game over the last two years. Not bad for an undersized 6-foot-9 power forward forced to play center more times than not. But, then again, Dennis Rodman led the league in rebounding for seven straight seasons beginning in 1992 and never averaged less than 14.9 per game, going as high as 18.7 in that first season.

But even if Rodman averaged 20 rebounds per game over an 82-game schedule, that would have netted him a total of 1,640 boards, well behind the record set by Wilt Chamberlain back in 1961 when he tallied 2,149 rebounds in a single season, a year after grabbing 55 rebounds in a single game in 1960 against the Boston Celtics.

SEPARATED AT BIRTH

Antawn Jamison, No. 4 pick of the Toronto Raptors in the 1998 draft

Last two years and counting: 2119 points, 697 rebounds, 196 assists, 92 steals, 57 blocks, 44% shooting

Vince Carter and cash, No. 5 pick of the Golden State Warriors in the 1998 draft

Last two years and counting: 1651 points, 347 rebounds, 263 assists, 102 steals, 50 blocks, 42% shooting

COWBELL SPECIAL

New Orleans Hornets (15-6) versus Sacramento Kings (18-5)

Sunday, Dec. 15, 2002 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California

The two hottest teams in the league, the Hornets with a four-game win streak and Kings with a league-leading six, are set to do battle as Baron Davis and Co. roll into Sac-Town road-weary and dog-tired with no relief in sight. But the Kings will be finishing a three-game road trip themselves and a red-eye from Salt Lake the night before.

THE END

"When I look at him, I cry. I put my head in a towel and weep." — Nugget head coach Jeff Bzdelik, not afraid to show his soft side for Marcus Camby

[Jamil]

8th pick in the draft, averaging 1.6 ppg in his 2nd season.

That's downright pitiful. Yinka Dare wasn't even this bad.

[Boondocks]

Wasn't Diop injured his rookie season?

I think it's too early to tell, afterall he's till 19/20 yrs old and has a great build to be a center.

[cyman3]

during that class.... Diesel, wasnt it u that believed he could turn out into a Dekiembe Mutombo?

[Guest]

20 year olds with bad feet aren;t going to work.He had

bust written all over him the day he was drafted.

[Diesel]

I liked him better than Curry. I still believe that he will turn out to be a good shotblocker. It just remains to be seen if he can get over that broken foot in the next 2 yrs.

My favorite in that class is still Brendon Heywood. I wish we could have traded for him. He's solid but if he were to work with the right person, he can be the best C since Lonzo.

[Traceman]

Haywood is the same inconsistent player he was at UNC. The same guy who got outplayed by the lesser talented Alvin Jones on most occasions. He is Stanley Roberts all over again. All the tools and no heart. I'd MUCH rather have Nazr than Haywood.

[jaywalker72]

...however, he is in the same club as Stromile Swift right now, the dreaded "One in Ten" Club.

This is a club that features players that tantalize and hypnotize some with their obvious talent....However, that talent only shows through in about one in ten games, leaving teams frustrated to no ends, and people hoping that these guys can be more consistent.

No question, if someone could get Haywood to bring the pain more consistently, he would be one of the better centers (not that hard, is it?), but the league has seen more than it's share of players that could have done the same thing, yet squandered their chances.

Certainly, Swift and Haywood are driving thier careers down the Benoit Benjamin Parkway, soon to merge onto the point of no return known as William Bedford Highway...

[Diesel]

I did say "if he worked with the right people".

UNC is no place to train a C. Name any great Cs that have come out of UNC? UNC under Smith and others were all about the Wings and Gaurds. The Cs there usually got putback scores. Defensively, the Cs are taught to sit back and wait. Nothing really agressive.

However, if you ever sit down and watch Heywood, he has all the tools. He has the size... AND he has the game. He has great post up moves already. The problem again is that he's playing on the wrong team with the wrong coaches. He needs to be with a team like Minnesota. Flip Saunders would take time working with Heywood and KG would do wonders by sharing the post pressure with Heywood. However, what they have in Washington is a remake of UNC. It's not a C's game. Put Heywood in a structured environment with the right motivating coach and I guarantee that he'd be the man.

[Traceman]

So is Dean Smith. It's all about Haywood and his lack of desire. He plays every now and then but he never gives a consistent effort. It is never going to change. He is a bum. I'd rather have Nazr than Haywood any day.

[Diesel]

Heywood never played for Rivers.

He was drafted by Cleveland, traded to orlando and traded to Washington before ever going to a camp.....

Secondly, my point about Smith is the same about Collins. There isn't and won't be any attempt to run offensive plays through the C or to even make the C a second option.

Imagine telling Stackhouse and Jordan that Heywood is the first option and all plays will keyp off of him. Or telling them he's the second option on offense.

Please.

[Traceman]

That's why the trade was made. You have to play hard every night playing for Doc and Haywood has never done that. When the team would rather keep Jeryl Sasser than you, you know you don't have much value. Orlando virtually GAVE him to the Wizards.

[beav]

"Name any great Cs that have come out of UNC"

Who can forget the pride of black mountain NC, Brad Daugherty?