Insider Special: Good, Bad, & the Kitchen Sink

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The Good, the Bad, the Kitchen Sink

By Terry Brown

Monday, January 13 Updated 12:16 PM EST

One fine day in the future, Yao Ming may very well become the best center in the NBA and we're all going to be wondering how some 7-foot-8 kid from Reykjavik, Iceland, averaging half as many points and rebounds, outpointed him and everyone else save the slam dunk champion formerly known as Vince Carter for the All-Star Game.

In the meantime, maybe they can hand out pet rocks and hoola hoops at this year's festivities while VaNELLY Ice does halftime.

The Good

Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

Week's work: 3-0 record, 34 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 6 apg, 3 spg, 0.6 bpg, 12 triples, 57% shooting

He started the week with a record-setting three-point performance, hit stride with a triple-double then finished the week with 36 points without a single three to lead the Lakers to their season-high fourth win in a row with an average margin of victory of 18.5. For his next trick, he'll try to get the Lakers playoff qualified one week from tonight.

Jermaine O'Neal, Indiana Pacers

Week's work: 4-0 record, 19.2 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.7 spg, 3 bpg, 53% shooting

Wasn't sure if I was supposed to snub him this week because he's been averaging 20 and 10 all season or write his name in permanent marker on the seating chart because he's been averaging 20 and 10 all season. Whatever. In four straight wins this week, O'Neal has led the Pacers in scoring twice and rebounding twice since his coach told him he wasn't playing tough enough. Cue Kool Moe Dee here.

Jason Terry, Atlanta Hawks

Week's work: 2-2 record, 25 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.5 apg, 2 spg, 0.5 bpg, 8 triples, 47% shooting

Hint-Hint: In the 22 games that the Hawks have lost this year, Terry has shot 6.9 three-pointers per game. In the 14 that they've won, he's shot only 4.4 three-pointers per game. This week alone, he shot 22 of them in their two loses and six of them in their two wins despite going 8-of-22 and 0-of-6, respectively. In other words, that nice 47 percent from the field this week would have been an even nicer 58 percent without grunting on release.

Peja Stojakovic, Sacramento Kings

Week's work: 3-1 record, 21 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1 spg, 12 triples, 56% shooting

Imagine how good his numbers would have been if he hadn't laid a three-point egg on 1 of 5 shooting against the Bucks to start the week. Since then, he's scored 81 points and drilled 11 threes in three games. Now try to imagine how good his numbers would be if he hadn't been averaging 15.9 points on 42 percent shooting before Sunday night, the lowest numbers in a season since he became a starter in Sacramento more than two years ago.

The Bad

Sam Cassell, Milwaukee Bucks

Weak work: 2-0 record, 7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1 spg, 0 bpg, 30% shooting

Take away Sam's 14 points last week and the Bucks still win both games that they played with him in the lineup. After all, he didn't hit a three or a free throw. In fact, didn't even shoot a free throw. Come to think of it, the Bucks also won another one with him completely out of the lineup with lower back pain. In fact, he missed both games that fell on back-to-back nights. Our argument, though, is that prior to the week, the Bucks were a teeth-gnashing 13-19 with Sam. Last week, they were 3-1 without Sam. Can you hear Glenn Robinson snicker from where you're sitting?

Todd MacCulloch, Philadelphia Sixers

Weak work: 0-4 record, 3.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.2 spg, 0.5 bpg, 83% shooting

Dikembe Mutombo hasn't played since Nov. 28 and I'm not totally convinced he didn't do more to help the New Jersey Nets go 2-1 this week than MacCulloch did to help the Sixers go donut holes.

Darius Miles, Cleveland Cavs

Weak work: 1-2 record, 5.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4 apg, 1 spg, 0.6 bpg, 38% shooting

As it stands, he is seventh in total points, sixth in total rebounds, fifth in total assists and eighth in total steals for the worst team in the entire NBA. Should I keep going or calculate where the Cavs would be with a true point guard?

Brent Barry, Seattle Sonics

Weak work: 0-2 record, 4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 2.5 spg, 0.5 bpg, 16% shooting

Hate to kick a guy when he's injured (which makes that two for this week and twice for this guy) but the statistical darling has yet to score his 12th point in the last five games he's played in while shooting 12 percent (3 of 24) in that span. He actually went scoreless in two consecutive games comprising 44 minutes and seven shots. Knee tendinitis or not, this is the same guy who shot 50 percent from the field last year and 49 percent the year before that.

The Ugly

In the 436 minutes that Cleveland Cavalier DeSagana Diop has played this season, he has taken 69 shots (making 23 of them) and committed 71 fouls (denying approx. 65 of them).

The Kitchen Sink

PIPPEN STILL AIN'T EASY

Scottie Pippen isn't just your average future first ballot Hall of Famer who should probably have retired three years ago.

He's the reason the Portland Trail Blazers are 21-14 and in fifth-place in the Western Conference after winning 11 of their last 14.

Playing in his sweet-16th season, Pippen has averaged 12.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.2 steals on 50 percent shooting when the Blazers have won. When they've lost, his numbers have fallen to 7.8 points, 3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals on 37 percent shooting.

He is fourth on the team in scoring, second in assists and fifth in rebounding (third on the offensive glass). He is also first in steals, second in field goal percentage, third in three-pointers made and fifth in free throws made. All this, while playing the fewest amount of minutes per game since his rookie season.

There were entire seasons, heck, make that a full decade, wait a second, make it 12 years from 1989 to 2000, when Pippen averaged 6.9 rebounds per game and 5.6 assists. In 1992, Pippen averaged 7.7 rebounds, 7 assists and 1.9 steals per game. In 1994, he averaged 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.9 steals per game.

This season, Tracy McGrady is averaging 6.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game while Kobe Bryant is at 7.7 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

Here's the difference.

Tell those two youngsters that they can't shoot the ball, and while they might still be considerably effective, they would, in no way, be content.

Pippen can't score like them now, never could score like them in his prime, but was never meant to score like them at any time of his career. He didn't need to. It was as if the vulgar, gaudy part of the game offended him. He was playing basketball for basketball's sake knowing full well that the full body of his work wouldn't, couldn't be appreciated until long after he was gone.

Somebody had to be second best on the team even if it meant being second best in the league.

But all we remember is Michael Jordan scoring all those points, Toni Kukoc hitting that game-winner with Pippen on the bench and, now, Bonzi Wells scoring 16.2 a game as if there aren't 41 other players in the league scoring more and five or six more on his team who could.

Again, fourth best on a team even if the three guys averaging more minutes won't last beyond their final basket.

The game may very well be passing Pippen by. But that doesn't necessarily mean that that's good for the game.

TRIPLE X

Steve Nash, the third-leading scorer for the Dallas Mavericks, is averaging more points per game at 18.4 than the leading scorer for the Blazers, Grizzlies, Heat, Raptors and Nuggets.

SEVENTY-SIX FEET UNDER

Prior to Dec. 6, the Philadelphia Sixers had given up 100 points or more to an opponent only once all season and that was an 110-105 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Since then, Larry Brown and crew have given up 100 plus points a total of eight times, including their last five opponents, while going 1-7 in those games.

In those 18 games since Dec. 6, Sixer opponents have averaged 96.9 points per game compared to 91.3 before. And it's only getting worse. In their last six games, opposing teams have averaged 104.5 points per game. In their two most recent games, not counting the 107 Orlando hung on them Sunday night, the Sixers gave up 217 total points to two teams (New York and Detroit) that average only 91.7 each.

March 2 can't get here quick enough for the 80.8 point per game Nuggets.

WRONG PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers are a combined 13-11 against Eastern Conference competition with eight of those wins coming against current playoff qualifiers New Jersey, Detroit, New Orleans (twice), Philadelphia, Washington and Orlando (twice).

Not so coincidently, that winning percentage would qualify both of those teams for the EC playoffs if only they didn't play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, where they're last and second to last with overall records of 15-21 and 14-22.

TIME AND A HALF

The Detroit Pistons went 106 regular-season games, spanning three different seasons, without ever having to go over the allotted 48 minutes of regulation until Dec. 18, 2002. Since then, they've played four overtime games in their last 11, winning each one by an average of 4.5 points.

GO EAST YOUNG MEN

Wesley Person of the Memphis Grizzlies may be leading the league in three-point shooting at 52.3 percent followed by Bruce Bowen of the San Antonio Spurs at 47.2 percent, but they've got a long way to travel in terms of total three-pointers made.

As of last Saturday, the 10 players with the most three-pointers this season all came from the Eastern Conference, as follows: Antoine Walker, Ray Allen, Pat Garrity, Tony Delk, Jason Terry, David Wesley, Allan Houston, Michael Redd, Mike Miller and Baron Davis.

As of Sunday, Person and Bowen had a combined 88 three-pointers made to Walker's 89.

DIME STORE

Mark Jackson recently went over the 10,000 mark for career assists this past week, meaning that, when combined with teammate John Stockton, the Utah Jazz have more than 25,450 assists credited to their starting and backup point guards.

To put that in perspective, Gary Payton (this year's leader in assists per game), Andre Miller (last year's assist per game leader), Jason Kidd (three-time assist leader prior to Miller) and Rod Strickland (last assist per game leader before Jackson and Stockton won 10 in a row beginning in 1988) have a combined career total of 22,904.

THE NEXT OR JUST NEXT . . .

Dikembe Mutombo, 7-foot-2 center from Congo.

Rookie Numbers: 16.6 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 0.6 spg, 2.9 bpg, 49% shooting

Yao Ming, 7-foot-5 center from China.

Rookie Numbers: 13.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.5 apg, 0.2 spg, 1.9 bpg, 55% shooting

BALLOT STUFFER SPECIAL

Los Angeles Lakers (17-20) vs. Houston Rockets (20-15)

Friday, Jan. 17, 2003

Compaq Center in Houston

9:30 pm EST on ESPN

In a perfect world, head-to-head competition would mean something. Instead, just have Yao call ahead to Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan, the last two regular-season MVPs, to reserve a seat for him at their table for the year-end award's banquet.

THE END

"I was a little embarrassed. The guys were waiting for me to cry. I wasn't going to cry. We had a game to play, and it's hard to play basketball when you've got tears in your eyes." — Michael Jordan, after a 10-minute standing ovation from Chicago fans, rebutting that while franchises may win championships, it's players who win franchises.