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Lakers losing the faith

by Chad Ford

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Also Below: Artest, Rose, Stackhouse biggest all-star snubs in East | Malone, Finley, Brand get shaft in West | Can the T-Wolves trade Terrell Brandon? | Hawks still shopping Terry? | Peep Show

Forty games to turn a season around. A six-game winning streak here. A four-game winning streak there. Some dominating post play by Shaquille O'Neal. Some fourth-quarter heroics by Kobe Bryant. A few last-second 3s by Robert Horry.

Phil Jackson says he has tried everything to turn the Lakers around.

It's possible. The Lakers know that. Phil Jackson knows that. The Rockets, Jazz, Warriors and Suns -- the four teams that stand in the Lakers' way -- all know it.

"Things have a way of changing," assistant coach Tex Winter told the L.A. Times.

They sure do. But in what direction? The confidence that has been a hallmark of the Laker's run the past few seasons appears to have eroded. The players themselves sound tentative when they talk about the task ahead of them.

"There really aren't any more nights off," Derek Fisher told the Times. "We're not going to win 40 games in a row. But at the same time, we have to come out and understand that each game, basically, we feel like we have to win."

"Well, being [4½] games out with 40 games remaining, it's not an unattainable goal of ours to regain some of our form and make it to the playoffs," forward Rick Fox said. "I don't think in any way are we underestimating what we're about to do. ... The road has not been the greatest thing for this team all year."

The Lakers would likely have to play .600 ball the rest of the way to make the playoffs. Given their road record (5-15), that isn't encouraging.

How can a team that essentially has the same talent it did last year, when the Lakers won it all, stink so horribly this season? Injuries? Lack of motivation? Improved competition? Everyone has theories. Inside the Lakers, most of them revolve around the Lakers' lackluster defense this year.

"I just don't think they're ready to play," Winter said. "They're professional athletes. They're getting paid awfully good money. I should think they would recognize the urgency of the situation and motivate themselves."

The Lakers rank 22nd in the league in points allowed with a shocking 96.9 ppg. Even the Clippers are playing better D this season.

The crisis has Jackson, the Zen optimist, expressing grave reservations about the ability of this team to turn it on in the second half. Jackson is running out of answers at this point. He isn't used to motivating mediocre teams. L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke wonders if Phil has it in him.

"He's not the sort of disciplinarian struggling teams need," Plaschke wrote. "He doesn't instill the sort of fundamentals scuffling players need. He doesn't teach freshman English, he teaches graduate literature, which works only on eager and accomplished scholars. When he arrived here four years ago, the Lakers were filled with such scholars. Today, flush with diplomas, they have reverted to spitballs and food fights. They've changed. Their teacher doesn't know how to change. The chaos has been palpable."

It sounds like Jackson agrees.

"I've looked for everything," he acknowledged to the Times on Tuesday. "And I can't come up with a combination. ... I have not moved us much further down the line. ... I've always been known for being positive, maybe I've been too positive. Maybe I should just say that, positively, this is not a good team."

Jackson's frustrations have raised speculation that it may be time to break up the Lakers. The Lakers have several players, including Horry, Tracy Murray and Samaki Walker, who are in the last year of their contracts. With so many teams looking to get under the cap, the Lakers have a chance to shake things up before the Feb. 20 trade deadline.

Insider has been reporting for weeks that the Lakers' front office has been pushing to make some adjustments. Jackson was always against adding new blood to the Bulls during his reign there. So far, he's resisted breaking up the Lakers as well. Even now, it sounds like he is struggling with the ramifications of a big mid-season move.

"In the history of basketball, you've got to know when a team is finished," he said. "The Celtics made that mistake. That's what happened in Detroit. ... You're talking about betraying heart and loyalty, and you can't do that."

Are the Lakers finished? We're 40 games from unraveling the mystery.

Reign of Error

Tim Brown / Los Angeles Times

Jackson out of his element coaching such a bad team

Bill Plaschke / Los Angeles Times

Laker Excuses Running Thin

Mark Heisler / Los Angeles Times

Artest, Rose, Stackhouse biggest all-star snubs in East

There's a lot of fallout this morning from the league's announcement of the all-star reserves. In the East, Ron Artest, Jalen Rose, Jerry Stackhouse, Ray Allen and Richard Hamilton were the most glaring omissions.

Ron Artest

Guard-Forward

Indiana Pacers

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

41 15.8 5.5 2.8 .450 .737

Ron Artest's "bump" of Pat Riley didn't cost him a spot in the All-Star Game Coaches had to have their ballots in Monday morning, hours before Artest went on his rampage in Miami. So how does the best defender in the league, the MVP of the best team in the East, get left off the all-star roster?

Artest's teammates want to know. "He's been our most valuable player," Reggie Miller told the N.Y. Daily News. "It's a shame that a player of his stature and with his stats can't make the All-Star team. Looking at that roster, the East's coaches ought to be shot for not putting him on."

Maybe coaches were trying to send Artest a message. You've got to believe that opposing coaches would love for Artest to tone it down a bit. He's a nightmare on defense, and it isn't like Monday's outburst was Artest's first. He was fined $10,000 for pushing Raja Bell earlier in the season, and who can forget the camera-throwing tantrum that earned Artest a three-game suspension. Miller isn't so sure that Artest will get the message.

"This is only going to make him hungrier and meaner," Miller said. "And the rest of the league doesn't want that to happen. ... Everybody used to say how dirty Bill Laimbeer was. Well, everybody would have loved him to be on their team. It's the same with Ron. Everything he does, we back him 100 percent."

The issue no one is talking about in the Artest debate is the support his behavior gets from his teammates, coaches and front office. They all believe Artest is fine, mentally, and a great teammate on and off the court. Coach Isiah Thomas has been trying to rebuild his Bad Boys for the last three years. Artest's role as the resident bad ass is in perfect keeping with Thomas' philosophy. Does it get out of hand sometimes? Sure. But Thomas would rather have Artest teetering on the edge than regressing into a calmer, more cerebral player.

Jerry Stackhouse

Guard-Forward

Washington Wizards

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

41 22.9 4.0 4.8 .422 .877

Michael Jordan was somewhat of a surprise selection. His inclusion probably cost Stackhouse a place on the roster.

"I'm used to being on the short end of the stick," Stackhouse told the Washington Post. "I've probably been the only guy to lead his team in scoring and assists for two years and not get an all-star berth, but that's the way things happen. It's disappointing."

As for Jordan, Stackhouse said: "Michael's done something for everybody that's in this game of basketball now. If that was the decision to make, then I'm glad not to go. I'm as big a fan of Michael Jordan as anybody. For him to go out the right way would mean a lot to me and a lot of people in the league."

In that spirit, Wizards coach Doug Collins is suggesting that Vince Carter, elected by the fans despite playing in just 11 games this season, should give up his starting spot to Jordan.

"I was voted a starter [in 1978] and John Havlicek -- it was his last All-Star Game, and I asked him to start in my place," Collins said. "I think you've got to respect what this game is all about."

Jalen Rose

Guard-Forward

Chicago Bulls

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

44 23.1 4.3 4.6 .409 .836

Jerry Krause is livid that his best player, Rose, was snubbed. Shaking in anger, Krause went on a diatribe for the Chicago Tribune, "This is one of the worst decisions I've seen in a long time. ... I wonder if the coaches voting are seeing the same thing we're seeing. Jalen Rose is an All-Star. He belongs on the All-Star team. He has been wronged as a player and wronged as a person. I'm not getting into other individuals, but Jalen is an All-Star."

Rose isn't happy either. "I'm surprised and disappointed. I can't act like none of the 12 [selected] don't deserve it. But I can't say I don't deserve it either. I've proved over the last few seasons I'm one of the best players in the league. I was a key player on a [Pacers] team that had the best record in the conference. And this time last year the Bulls had [nine] wins."

Rose, Stackhouse and Antawn Jamison were the only players ranked in the top 10 in scoring to be left off the team.

Ray Allen

Shooting Guard

Milwaukee Bucks

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

38 21.7 4.5 3.4 .440 .916

Bucks coach George Karl blamed the Bucks' lackluster first half for Allen's snub. "I've felt all along the NBA coaches vote for guys on winning teams," Karl told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "He's been playing with sensitive feet, and he hasn't had the greatest year. It goes back to winning. I don't think players and fans respect how much you get paid to win. Ray said in the paper the other day he got paid to score. He doesn't get paid to score. He gets paid to win, period."

Allen has taken the news in stride. "I won't let it rule my existence," said Allen. "When next year comes around, I'll come right back at it again. When you have something taken away from you, you see what you're missing. I've done it for three years, and I never took it for granted."

If winning is such a big deal, how did the Pistons' Hamilton miss the cut? Hamilton believes his age may have something to do with it.

"I feel as though I'm still young and I still have a lot more years in this league," Hamilton told the Detroit Free Press. "It's a tough thing to swallow. This just gives me motivation to just keep going out there and prove myself."

Artest likely to draw fine for outburst

Sekou Smith / Indianapolis Star

Artest snub is heated issue

Mitch Lawrence / New York Daily News

Jordan Named All-Star, But Not Stackhouse

Steve Wyche / Washington Post

Rose left off East squad; Bulls GM livid

Sam Smith / Chicago Tribune

Allen takes all-star snubbing in stride

Charles Gardner / Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Rip's All-Star path blocked by Jordan

Perry Farrell / Detroit Free Press

Malone, Finley, Brand get shaft in West

The West selections weren't nearly as controversial. The West is overloaded with great forwards, meaning someone deserving had to be left out. But while coaches honored one living legend in the East, Michael Jordan, they snubbed his counterpart, Karl Malone, in the West.

Karl Malone

Power Forward

Utah Jazz

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

43 19.7 8.3 4.0 .442 .763

How did Malone respond to the end of his 14-year streak of All-Star Game selections. " 'Silent Warrior' -- that's my motto," Malone told the Salt Lake Tribune. "Just go out and do your job. Don't get caught up in things you can't control. ... Of course you're disappointed. Of course you are. Eighteen years [in the league], still being able to be on the All-Star team would have been satisfying. There are a lot of ways to handle [disappointment], and I choose to handle it like this: I'm trying to help us win games."

Malone's snub is surprise for a number of reasons. The Jazz, who most people wrote off at the beginning of the season, are actually better than last year's playoff version. While Malone's numbers have slipped a bit, his 19.5 ppg and 8.2 rpg aren't too shabby.

Instead of becoming too bitter, Malone took his frustrations out on the Bucks. Teammate Calbert Cheaney thought Malone's 29-point, 10-rebound performance was meant to be a message to the league. "The way he's played for the first half of the season, he's shown what a great player he is," Cheaney told the Tribune. "He doesn't have to prove it anymore, but sometimes he might feel like he needs to remind people. ... And they couldn't stop him down the stretch."

Michael Finley

Guard-Forward

Dallas Mavericks

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

43 19.7 5.9 3.0 .424 .852

The Mavs got two players in -- Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki -- but had difficulty completing a rare all-star trifecta. Michael Finley will be left behind on all-star Sunday. According to coach Don Nelson, that's an outrage.

"There's something that we've overlooked the past few days that has been very important to the development of our team, and that's Michael Finley having made a conscious effort the last couple of years to make our team the best it can be," Nelson told the Dallas Morning News. "The recipients of that are Nash and Nowitzki. We owe a debt of gratitude to Mike. I thought he deserved it."

"They say they don't like having three players off one team, but if ever there was a year when a team should have three, this is it," guard Avery Johnson said. "We have the best record, and if stats and victories matter, we're the best of the best. I'd take Mike over [Phoenix's] Shawn Marion. But I guess this says just how tough the West is."

The Kings are considered by many to be the best team in the NBA, and they only got one player, Chris Webber, in. Why no love for Mike Bibby, Vlade Divac, Bobby Jackson or Peja Stojakovic?

" 'Webb' was a lock," coach Rick Adelman told the Sacramento Bee. "All the other guys were hurt by the injuries. Everybody has had their turn. Bobby played in 30 games, and I was hoping he'd get a little more of a shot [to make the team]."

Now it appears that Webber may become a victim of the same curse. Webber's sprained ankle, sustained in Tuesday night's game against the Jazz, may mean that he has to miss the game. That could open the door to a veteran like Malone or a young star like Clippers forward Elton Brand or the Warriors' Antawn Jamison.

No Longer an All-Star, Malone Content as 'Silent Warrior'

Phil Miller / Salt Lake Tribune

Malone Plays Like a Snubbed All-Star

Phil Miller / Salt Lake Tribune

Finley not an All-Star, but not forgotten

Eddie Sefko / Dallas Morning News

Webber's an All-Star, but injury may make it moot

Martin McNeal / Sacramento Bee

Can the T-Wolves trade Terrell Brandon?

With Rod Strickland out for a month and Troy Hudson treading water, you've got to believe no one is more interested in point guard Terrell Brandon's rehabilition from offseason knee surgery than the T-Wolves.

Latrell Sprewell

Guard-Forward

New York Knicks

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

35 17.1 3.4 4.5 .409 .778

Most people within the organization believe Brandon will announce his retirement sometime this season. Several teams, desperate to dump a bad salary or two, are awaiting Brandon's decision as anxiously as the T-Wolves.

According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, teams are interested in trading for Brandon if there's an assurance that he's going to retire. If Brandon retires and is deemed physically unable to perform by an independent NBA doctor, his team could apply for and receive full salary-cap relief in February 2004 (two years from the date he was injured). That's not the immediate relief that most teams would like, but overall, it's not too shabby.

"If you're a [luxury] taxpayer, it could be significant savings, especially if you're a taxpayer paying $11 million over," Rob Babcock, the Wolves' vice president of player personnel, told the Pioneer Press "If you've got him, and that takes you below the tax bracket, you're saving $11 million-plus in taxes, plus you're saving the 80 percent in salary [which insurance is currently paying]. So next year, it could have an $18 million significance to your overall costs, and that's a lot of money."

Eddie Jones

Shooting Guard

Miami Heat

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

36 17.9 4.6 3.9 .418 .808

Trading Brandon could be a godsend to the T-Wolves. The team has been stripped of most of its first-round draft picks and has struggled to lure top-tier free agents to Minnesota. Brandon, who makes $10.1 million this year, could bring back an impact player like Latrell Sprewell, Eddie Jones, Brian Grant, Damon Stoudamire or Tim Thomas in return.

Why don't the T-Wolves just keep Brandon and save the money themselves? It's a possibility, but extension talks with Kevin Garnett broke down last summer in part because KG still isn't convinced the T-Wolves are prepared financially to do what it takes to make this team a legit contender in the West. Shipping off Brandon in return for a solid veteran like Spree or Jones may be just the commitment Garnett is looking for.

Brandon still tradable asset

Robbi Pickeral / St. Paul Pioneer Press

Strickland out maybe a month

Robbi Pickeral / St. Paul Pioneer Press

Hawks still shopping Terry?

Hawks GM Pete Babcock acknowledged Tuesday that he's still looking to make a deal before the trading deadline. On his shopping list? A true point guard and some defensive help. So where does that leave Jason Terry?

Jason Terry

Guard

Atlanta Hawks

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

45 17.6 3.3 7.3 .410 .877

"[Terry] has improved and is doing a good job," Babcock told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "We're a team that has committed a lot of turnovers, but those turnovers have come from our forwards, not our point guard. Jason has kept his turnovers at [3.2] a game."

While no one in Atlanta wants to trade Terry, he may be their only asset that can fetch an impact player in return. And for all of the praise, privately the team still does not believe he's the long-term answer at point guard. Unless they find a way to land a big, physical point guard that allows Terry to play at the two, he may have to go.

The challenge will be in getting equal value in return. Right now, the word around the league is that Babcock is try to package Terry with some dead weight -- someone like Alan Henderson, Nazr Mohammed or Theo Ratliff. If the Hawks aren't going to win, ownership wants them under the luxury tax threshold. The Hawks likely would have to move about $4 million in salaries off the books to escape paying the tax this season.

Babcock comes to Terry's defense

Jeffrey Denberg / Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Peep Show

Magic: Grant Hill showed up to practice on Tuesday with crutches and a protective boot wrapped around his sore ankle. "I thought I could put these in the attic and not have to use them again," Hill told Florida Today. "It looks like I'm going to be wearing this [cast] for a while. I haven't been told how long yet. But we just want to get this thing calmed down."

Sonics: Have Gary Payton and Soncis owner Howard Schultz finally kissed and made up? The Tacoma Tribune reported that Schultz and Payton had a meeting last month at a Christmas party that "smoothed things over" between the two. The two had a falling out last summer after Payton accused Schultz of reneging on a promise to give the all-star guard a contract extension.

Blazers: Benched point guard Damon Stoudamire told the Oregonian he is considering talking to team president Bob Whitsitt about his future with the Blazers. Stoudamire said he might explore a contract restructuring to see if that draws the interest of other teams. However, Stoudamire said that does not necessarily mean he would take a pay cut.

Bulls: Just when the Bulls' point guard situation looked like it couldn't get any nastier, it did. Jay Williams is getting ready to come off the injured list, but no one's sure who he should replace. Jamal Crawford's outplayed Williams all season and Rick Brunson has outplayed them both. Someone has to go on the injured list if the Bulls activate Williams. Who should it be? "I'm not opposed to having three point guards on the roster," Krause told the Sun Times. "Bill [Cartwright] and I will sit down and figure out who belongs on the roster. . .Either one of those two guys [Crawford or Williams] can play the wing. Jamal has played some shooting guard, but that's up to Bill to decide who plays where." Krause hinted that Lonny Baxter may end up on the injured list instead. "I'd rather have the problem of too much talent," Krause said. "That's a much nicer problem than struggling to find talent. There's enough talent now to have a very good team."

Rockets: Glen Rice is anxious to come off the injured list. Asked when he would be ready to play, Rice told the Houston Chronicle: "What time does the game start tomorrow? I'll be ready to go tomorrow. Seriously. Those are my plans. If they're waiting on me to say I'm OK, they got the word."

Clippers: Lamar Odom knows that if the Clips don't start turning things around now, there's no way that owner Donald Sterling will keep everyone together this summer. "We need to put together a long winning streak," Odom told the O.C. Register. "But there is something even deeper than that. We need to win now so that we can show that we are a good team so we can stay together. We have to win games now so that we can put pressure on our front office to keep us together. If you're asking me what's missing now, I could go on forever. Execution, guys knowing their roles, eliminating careless turnovers ..." Of course, knowing Sterling, does anyone think he'll fork out the cash even if everyone is on the same playbook.

Lakers fall interesting

John Denton / Florida Today

Schultz, Payton warm icy relations

Frank Hughes / Tacoma News Tribune

Trail Blazers have all the answers against Mavericks

Jason Quick / Oregonian

Krause: Bulls can keep three at point

Roman Modrowski / Chicago Sun-Times

Rice `ready to go'

Jonathan Feigen / Houston Chronicle

Breaking point

Art Thompson III / Orange County Register

[Guest]

....uhu....and now.....true..

[Guest]

what the [censored] are you doing on this board? You've yet to actually post anything and continue to juse huge picture signatures.

If yu want to talk basketball, and the Hawks, fine. But please, stop just posting your signature and/or a few incoherent words

[Guest]

don't say...

what's the big deal 'bout pictures?

[Guest]

you actually don't know what word was censored...but you chose the wrong one. Thanks again for playing

[Guest]

no prob...