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Point guard? No; 3-point specialist? Yes

By Terry Brown

NBA Insider

Monday, May 5

Updated: May 5

12:01 PM ET

Derek Fisher is either the worst point guard in the playoffs or the luckiest communications major in the history of Arkansas Little-Rock.

Derek Fisher

Point Guard

Los Angeles Lakers

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

82 10.5 2.9 3.6 .437 .800

Or both.

"It was amazing to me that I was even considered," said Kobe Bryant in the L.A. Times on the recent release of the MVP voting. "I never thought that would be the case because I play in a situation that's different from all the other MVP candidates. I'm pretty much filling my role here. Our team is built around Shaquille O'Neal and that makes my situation different. It's not that I'm a role player. I play a huge role here but the team's structured around the big fella and I'm totally OK with that."

He is also totally OK with averaging a Laker team high of 6.7 assists per game in the playoffs. Robert Horry is second with 4.3, ahead of O'Neal at 3.7 and Devean George at 2.7.

Fisher, listed as the team's starting point guard ever since Nick Van Exel was traded to Denver in 1998, also averages 2.7 assists per game but has two more turnovers than George so far in the playoffs, can no longer lock down the opposing team's quickest perimeter player and sent coach Phil Jackson back to the drawing board because the Lakers couldn't break the Timberwolves' full-court press with him crossing halfcourt with the ball.

Did we mention that he's shooting 61.8 percent from three-point range to lead the entire NBA in the playoffs?

"We needed guys who could step up and make shots," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said in another L.A. Times article. "In the playoffs, someone will knock down a three and it can change the whole momentum in the game, and our guys have been able to do that."

Well, to start things off, Fisher went 5-for-6 from three-point land in the first game of the playoffs against the Timberwolves. In the second-to- last game, he went 5-for-7. In between, he had one game in which he went 6-for-9.

For his career, he's shot 38 percent from three-point range during the regular season. This year, he shot 40 percent. But in 89 playoff games starting in 1997, Fisher has shot 42 percent from long distance.

Does it even matter that he ranked 42nd among NBA players in assists per game during the regular season behind eight shooting guards, five small forwards and four power forwards?

Or that only the 17-win Nuggets and 25-win Heat had starting point guards with fewer assists?

"We have to be a little quicker on the jump, as far as playing against opponents," Jackson said in the L.A. Times. "The Spurs are a team we've played many playoff games against -- well, not many -- but we've played playoff games against them in the last couple of years, and we know this team. We know them very well."

In fact, in 2001, Fisher drilled 15 three-pointers against the Spurs to tie Reggie Miller for the NBA record for triples in a four-game series. Coming into this postseason, the record for three-pointers in a six-game series was 18. Fisher just hit 21 against the Timberwolves.

Who cares if he had only 16 assists in that same series while Speedy Claxton, the backup point guard for the Spurs, had 17 in their six- game series with the Suns while small forward Stephon Jackson tallied 21 and rookie sixthman Emanuel Ginobili had 23?

Those three San Antonio players have a grand total of 23 playoff games under their belts. Starting point guard Tony Parker has 16.

"We just have to test them under fire and see what they're going to be like and see if we can't throttle them a little bit," Jackson said in the Orange County Register.

And, just for the record, Kobe finished first among NBA shooting guards in assists per game during the regular season, Shaq second among centers after being first the last few years and Fisher, the Lakers' starting point guard, hasn't led the team in that same category since it's been defending NBA champs.

Digging into Spurs

Kevin Ding / Orange County Register

Redden to rescue!

Bruce Garrioch / Ottawa Sun

A third feather in Eagle's cap?

Mike Zeisberger / Toronto Sun

Jackson Has Gained Fuel for the Fire

Mike Bresnahan / Los Angeles Times

Duncan a deserving MVP

By Greg Anthony

Special to ESPN Insider

Monday, May 5

Updated: May 5

10:51 AM ET

Well, the first round is complete, and we now have eight teams who feel they have a legitimate chance to win it all. Intriguing match-ups throughout, but which teams have a truly legitimate chance of dethroning the three-time defending champs, who because of their inconsistent play this season are definitely vulnerable?

Before we get to that, there was hardware and pink slips handed out over the weekend that we must discuss.

Tim Duncan

Forward-Center

San Antonio Spurs

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

81 23.3 12.9 3.9 .513 .710

Tim Duncan won the MVP award, and this year there were five legitimate candidates:

T-Mac, who carried a young, inexperienced Orlando Magic team on his back into the playoffs while leading the league in scoring;

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, arguably the two best players in the league;

Kevin Garnett, who led his team in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocks, minutes, and didn't miss a game, to boot;

and Duncan, who continues to lead by production and example, a class guy who is the very essence of what a competitor should be -- quiet on the outside, but a burning desire to dominate on the inside.

And the winner is ... Duncan. The Big Fundamental repeats as MVP, and because there were so many deserving candidates this year, you really could not argue. His team led the league in wins while playing in the more difficult conference, and they swept the Lakers during the regular season (although Shaq did miss two of those games). Congratulations Mr. Duncan, and good luck in the playoffs.

Jackson

Bobby Jackson was honored as the Sixth Man of the Year for his all-star like performance for the Sacramento Kings. His continued development as a player should be a blueprint for all those aspiring young players who dream of playing at this level.

Gilbert Arenas was voted the Most Improved Player for his breakout year for Golden State. Talk about timing, he's a free agent with a lot of teams interested in his services -- Denver, Miami, Seattle, New York, Minnesota and the Warriors, just to name a few. No player made the leap from good to prime time the way he did.

Congrats to all our winners. It was a great regular season, and the playoffs are proving to be just as exciting.

On the flip side, Paul Silas won't be retained by the New Orleans Hornets, who have decided to move in a different direction. What a shame. He is one of the most respected and accomplished people in our game and deserved better for the job he did with a team that endured plenty of injuries.

I can tell you first-hand that not many coaches would have gotten their stars -- or regular rotation players, for that matter -- to play with the kind of significant injuries both Baron Davis and Jamal Mashburn played with, and they played at a very high level, too. Consider that when hiring a coach: Can he motivate? Is he respected? And most importantly, do your players trust him? Those are qualities not easily found in a coach. You never heard Hornets players grumbling, because of who Paul Silas is.

OK, back to the playoffs. As the second round gets under way, we'll get into further detail, but for now here is a quick overview of each series.

Dallas vs. Sacramento

High-scoring affair. Key here are the Kings' additions of Keon Clark and Jimmy Jackson, which solidified their bench, and Don Nelson showing in the Blazers series his reluctance to venture down the bench past his seventh man. Edge: Sacramento.

San Antonio vs. Los Angeles

The Spurs are much improved from the team the Lake Show ousted in five games last season. They are bigger (this is where Kevin Willis has to be a factor, and Malik Rose, too), have more depth (the above-mentioned, as well as Manu Ginobili), and the Phoenix series was a great experience for the young players in coping with an opponent that presented problems you didn't know if you could withstand.

Throw in the two-time MVP and his first-ballot Hall of Fame sidekick David Robinson, and you have the perfect formula to advance to the conference finals, right? Not so fast. The Lakers are not as deep and not as good as last year, with two minor exceptions -- Kobe Bryant is simply a better basketball player than he was a year ago, and Shaq, my friends, is healthy for the first time since their second championship run. Edge: Lakers.

Detroit vs. Philadelphia

Williamson

Should be a great series. Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups must continue their stellar play from the first round, and Corliss Williamson and rookie Tayshaun Prince provide depth and versatility off the bench. All must play well. Now, Corliss struggled against Orlando, because of match-ups with Tracy McGrady. T-Mac isn't in this series, so expect the Big Nasty to play better.

For the 76ers, there is no need to mention The Answer. The question is, can Aaron Mckie, Eric Snow and Keith Van Horn produce on the offensive end. You know they will give their all defensively. But this series may well come down to rebounding, where the 76ers have a slight advantage. But this series is a toss up.

Boston vs. New Jersey

Boston has two great players in Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker. New Jersey has three -- Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson. The supporting casts are pretty even, so it comes down to whose great players play the best. There is no inexperience in this series, as both teams are coming of tough opening-round series. And both teams are basically healthy. One caveat: Pierce did not fare well in last season's conference final against the Nets, and Antoine Walker played poorly during the regular season against the Nets. That won't happen in this series, but the edge still goes to New Jersey.

Greg Anthony, an analyst on ESPN's NBA telecasts, writes twice a week for ESPN Insider.

Walker is all about winning

By Terry Brown

NBA Insider

Monday, May 5

Updated: May 5

12:01 PM ET

No team in the playoffs has outrebounded its opponent better than the New Jersey Nets.

No team in the playoffs has been outrebounded by its opponent worse than the Boston Celtics.

Antoine Walker

Forward

Boston Celtics

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

78 20.1 7.2 4.8 .388 .615

But Indiana Pacers assistant Mark Aguirre, former all-star with the Mavericks and NBA champion with the Pistons, has seen this before and says that Indiana's series against Antoine Walker, in which the Celtics upset the Pacers, went beyond any boxscore. It didn't, however, go much beyond Walker.

"You have those times when you want to get numbers," Aguirre told the Boston Herald. "But when it comes down to it, I guarantee you in that kid's heart that's ticking every day, he don't want to lose. He don't want to lose. Out of spite. Just because I don't want you talking crap, I don't want to lose. I know it in him. It's that Chicago thing. I can see it. I can see the way he acts. He don't want to lose."

The Nets outrebounded Milwaukee 45.7 to 35.3 in the first round. The Celtics were outrebounded 40.5 to 46.8 against Indiana.

But Walker, who most likely will be guarding Kenyon Martin in the second round, was matched up in the Indiana series against Jermaine O'Neal , who averaged 17.5 rebounds to Walker's 7.7. O'Neal had the second-highest average in the playoffs, behind only Ben Wallace, but the Celtics still won.

"You've got to try to establish an inside game and get those guys in foul trouble," Walker told the Herald when asked about the physical swing this series could take. "And then you've also got to be prepared to make the extra pass, and guys have to be ready to make shots. And that's everybody, not just me."

No player on the Celtics is averaging more than 9.2 rebounds per game in the playoffs.

Kenyon Martin

Power Forward

New Jersey Nets

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

77 16.7 8.3 2.4 .470 .653

Martin, on the other hand, is averaging 10 per game in the playoffs for the Nets, including 27 over the first two games, after averaging a career-high 8.3 during the regular season.

But Martin, a third-year stud after being the No. 1 pick in 2000, knows that in the only playoff series that he lost last postseason, he outrebounded Laker power forward Samaki Walker with impunity but still could not sway the outcome. And this postseason, against a veteran who has scored almost 11,000 points in only seven seasons, things may be a little bit different, even if he doesn't want to admit it publicly.

"They say they're not worried about me and all this -- whatever, man," Martin told the Boston Globe. "You got to play the game, bottom line. They wanna continue to talk, everybody wants to talk, but we won't get into that. That's for kids and stuff. It's a grown man's game, you got to play. They're whining and crying. I won't get into that."

Back in 1998, Walker played 82 regular-season games and averaged 10.2 rebounds per contest.

After 78 games this year, Walker's averaging a career-low 7.2 rebounds per game.

And Walker also knows that much has been made about his previous outings this season against Martin and the Nets, when he averaged a pitiful 15.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game on 28 percent shooting. "Kenyon has played Antoine awfully tough," Nets coach Byron Scott told the Hartford Courant. "It's a good matchup for us, because he forces Antoine to take tough shots, and it is hard for Antoine to back down inside on him."

Which can only make Walker smile, knowing that in that same season of 1998, when he registered his career-high in field goals, only 91 of them were triples, compared to the 631 he's made in the last three seasons.

"We looked at him on tape coming into the series, and then we saw a different guy in a lot of situations," Aguirre continued. "He changed his game to what was needed and that's the mark of a real pro."

There is no `I' in Walker

Steve Bulpett / Boston Herald

No bargain: Nets' Martin is a handful

Peter May / Boston Globe

Celtics Have Shot From Perimeter

Jerry Trecker / Hartford Courant

Peep Show

By Terry Brown

NBA Insider

Monday, May 5

Updated: May 5

12:01 PM ET

McGrady

Orlando Magic: Being lonely at the top for scoring champ Tracy McGrady has gotten even worse after being ousted in the playoffs in the first round. "I just think when you want it so badly it's either going to go great for you, or things are going to go bad," McGrady said in the Orlando Sentinel. "Today things went bad for me because I wanted it so bad. Just going and trying to do things on your own, just trying to carry this basketball team like I did the whole season, it just really wore me down. I was trying to do too much." His coach Doc Rivers agreed. "I've never been in his shoes. When one guy has to do so much, that's tough. Before the game, my biggest fear was that for six games, he's done so much, and the seventh game there's nothing. He didn't have his best game tonight, but you know he wanted to. And it just didn't work out."

Los Angeles Lakers: Tim Duncan may have won the MVP Award, but Phil Jackson has his sights set on other things. "The same thing happened last year, the first game we played down there, they gave Tim the honor and we went out and beat them," Jackson said in the LA Daily News. "We anticipated that we wanted to do the same thing this year, but they decided to give him the award (Sunday), instead of (before Game 1). So maybe the Spurs pleaded with them not to do it in a way that would irritate Shaquille, I don't know."

Memphis Grizzlies: Big Country, who? "Someone is going to write a book about Vancouver, the NBA and the failed experiment," said Doug Eberhardt, a Vancouver-based NBA analyst and youth basketball coach, in the Seattle Times. "Once the team left, people tried to put it out of their mind. Everything transferred over to the Canucks. People felt abandoned by the NBA. When things started to happen, the NBA was nowhere to be found. So there was a lot of hard feelings at the beginning." The Grizzlies, for their part, just completed their first season in Memphis by winning a franchise-record 28 games.

Dallas Mavericks: Dallas owner/fan Mark Cuban could watch basketball everyday, so long as it isn't his team playing the back to back games as is the case in the second round between the Kings and Mavs in games 3 and 4. "What moron set that up?" Cuban said in the Dallas Morning News. "Back-to-back? They can't be that stupid. Someone in the NBA office ought to be fired. This is how players get hurt. It is absolutely the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of. I don't see the Lakers and the Spurs playing back-to-back games."

Rivers accepting blame for defeat

Jerry Brewer and Brian Schmitz / Orlando Sentinel

Lakers look for repeat reaction to Duncan's MVP award

Howard Beck / Los Angeles Daily News

Departed Grizzlies forgotten in Canucks-crazy Vancouver

Percy Allen / Seattle Times

Cuban sends NBA a message: Get a clue

Jan Hubbard / Dallas Morning News