Tuesday Insider

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Kings counting on Christie for defense

By Terry Brown

NBA Insider

Tuesday, May 6

Updated: May 6

11:56 AM ET

Do as Doug Christie says, not as he scores.

"He's going through a little bit of a thing right now," Kings assistant Pete Carril told the Sacramento Bee of the shooting guard. "He's always working hard, and he's been shooting well in practice. He's making shots in drills, and actually I'm surprised he has such a lack of confidence in himself. You've got to believe in yourself, and for him not to believe in himself, as hard as he has worked on his game and as much effort as he gives in other phases of the game, it's surprising."

Doug Christie

Shooting Guard

Sacramento Kings

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

80 9.4 4.3 4.7 .479 .810

In fact, as the Kings prepare to take on the Dallas Mavericks in the first game of their second-round series tonight, Christie knows that the next 3-pointer he hits will be his first of the postseason and only his 17th point of the entire playoffs. In five games so far, Christie has scored a total of 14 points for a 2.8 per game average.

Believe it or not, that's one point every 17 minutes of game time. That's one basket every 34 minutes. And considering that a regulation game is only 48 minutes long and he's averaging only 22 minutes a game, well, you do the math for a team that is scoring 103.6 points per playoff game, with or without its starting shooting guard.

"Ultimately, we're our own worst enemy," Christie told the Bee. "If we play the way we're capable of playing, I don't think there's anybody who can stay with us."

But scoring has never been a problem for the Kings. They averaged 101.7 points during the regular season, with six players scoring more than 9.4 per game. Last year, there were seven players averaging double-digits. The year before that, there were five Kings averaging more than 9.4 per game.

"They can rest their players longer and more often thanks to their bench," Dallas coach Don Nelson told the San Antonio Express News. "We will play more guys in this series."

But here's something maybe you don't know.

In that first-round series with the Jazz, Christie held Utah shooting guard Calbert Cheaney to only 4.4 points per game on 37 percent shooting with no 3-point baskets. Take away the Jazz's only win of the series in the third game, and Cheaney averaged only 1.7 points on 17 percent shooting.

Remember, this is a guy who averaged 8.6 points on 50 percent shooting -- 40 percent from 3-point range -- who operated in a very deliberate offensive system that has gotten the right player the right pass at the right time for the last 19 seasons.

Take away Cheaney and the Jazz not only lost one of their starters, but almost 10 percent of their offense.

Take away Christie, and the Kings still have Peja Stojakovic drilling triples, Chris Webber dancing in the paint, Mike Bibby the Olympian, Bobby Jackson the Sixth Man of the Year, and Vlade Divac waxing wiser and wiser in the paint, while Keon Clark, Jim Jackson and Hedo Turkoglu wait their turn.

Now imagine if the Mavericks have to take away Michael Finley.

"I think Dallas is suffering from a confidence factor," said Carril. "I've seen it happen on many levels. Guys stop believing they can do things. (Dallas coach Don Nelson) has got a job to get that back."

Dallas has lost three of its last four games. All-Star Steve Nash has lost his starting job, at least based on statistics. And Finley has averaged only 13.7 points on 40 percent shooting after scoring 19.3 on the season and 20 or more in the five previous seasons, with a career shooting percentage of 45.

Let me say this one more time.

With Christie focusing on defense and actually scoring fewer points than in the regular season, the Kings actually are averaging 1.9 more points per game in the postseason.

With Finley scoring less than in the regular season, the Mavericks averaged less in the first round than the Blazers -- the team Dallas just barely beat.

The high-scoring, shoot-at-will, never-see-a-3-point shot-that they-don't-like Mavs who led the entire league in wins for most of the season, after scoring more points than any other team during the regular season, averaged only 100.3 points per game in the first round.

The Blazers averaged 101.3

"This was a physically and mentally draining series," Finley said of that series with Portland. "Nothing Sacramento can do will be tougher than what we faced here."

But, then, he'd be missing Christie's point, entirely.

Mavs must find way to slow Kings

Glenn Rogers / San Antonio Express-News

Dallas makes its stand

Scott Howard-Cooper / Sacramento Bee

Ultimately, Portland did Kings a big favor

Ailene Voisin / Sacramento Bee

Kings still watching, waiting and preparing

Martin McNeal / Sacramento Bee

Pistons bracing for Iverson show

By Terry Brown

NBA Insider

Tuesday, May 6

Updated: May 6

11:56 AM ET

If Tim Duncan is the NBA MVP for the second year in a row and averaging 18.7 points per game in the playoffs, then what is Allen Iverson if he's averaging 34.8?

"He's so much of their team," Detroit Piston guard Richard Hamilton said in the Detroit News. "He's their first, second and third options. We have to be aware of where he's at all the time."

Hamilton will be guarding Iverson for much of Tuesday night when the Sixers and Pistons meet in the first game of their second round series after having to guard Tracy McGrady in Detroit's first round match up with Orlando.

Iverson

"In some ways, Iverson is more difficult to prepare for than McGrady," Pistons Coach Rick Carlisle said. "His speed is second to none, and he gets a lot of his points off of his defense and his ability to make steals and convert. Everything they do goes through him and it causes massive chain reactions on defense which lead to a lot of offensive rebounds for them."

But if Tracy McGrady was the regular season scoring champion at 32.1 points per game before scoring 31.7 points per playoff game, than what does that make Iverson who is also averaging 2.3 steals per postseason contest after leading the entire league in that category during the regular season?

''McGrady has all the stats, but the Orlando Magic don't do that horribly when he's out of the game,'' Wayne L. Winston said in the Chicago Sun Times after putting together a player rating system covering almost every aspect of the NBA. ''The Magic give up too many points when he's in the game.''

Which leaves us wondering what Iverson was doing when Kevin Garnett, second in the MVP voting, was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs since that would have been KG's 29th postseason game in 8 years as AI prepares to play his 52nd in 7 seasons?

And also begs the question of Shaq and Kobe and what would happen if those two were by themselves and Michael Jordan didn't give his retirement parade a third lap, would Allen Iverson be the third biggest road draw in the entire NBA?

According to a report in the Philadelphia Daily News, only the Wizards (19,311 average attendance) and the Lakers (19,107) had more people see them on the road than the Sixers (18,408).

"He just has tremendous heart," Pistons guard Jon Barry said in Detroit Free Press. "He is as tough as they come. I mean, to take the pounding he takes, to be that small and get back up -- he just has tremendous will. Hopefully we can keep him in check."

But if no one has been able to ... ever ... and Allen Iverson the Answer continues to pose more questions about his stature in the game with former MVP awards and future NBA exploits as we wait for his mugshot to reappear on our living room TV sets during the Olympics, we have to wonder if he's the best thing to happen to the NBA ... or the worst because we don't know what to do with him?

Pistons' next task: Shut down Iverson

Chris McCosky / Detroit News

Calculating success for Bulls

Carol Slezak / Chicago Sun-Times

Peep Show

By Terry Brown

NBA Insider

Tuesday, May 6

Updated: May 6

11:56 AM ET

Washington Wizards: Michael Jordan sounds like he's 99.9 percent sure he's staying with the Washington Wizards despite rumors to the contrary. "I'm for the purpose of helping turn this team around," Jordan said in the Washington Post. "I don't know how we all got off the same page. When I came down from the front office to play, I said at that time I wanted to play for two years then resume my duties running the basketball operation. I always wanted to resume my responsibilities, always." Reports were circulating that the future Hall of Famer could be headed to any number of teams in the NBA in an attempt to gain more control of operations. "My loyalty is to Ted Leonsis, to Abe Pollin and to D.C.," Jordan said. "Now, if things don't work out in D.C., and I really want them to, then I may have to explore other options. But we're not at that point yet as far as I'm concerned. I haven't had any conversations with Atlanta or Miami or Charlotte or anybody else I've been hearing about."

Pippen

Portland Trail Blazers: Listen closely and you can hear Scottie Pippen say the "R" word. "I'd like to sit back and think about what I'm going to do," he told the Oregonian. "I understand the situation that I'm in right now. I'd like the opportunity to come back here, but I have to get myself physically ready and not really think about what my future holds right now . . . Retirement is always a possibility." Pippen becomes a free agent next month after making more than $19M this year with the Blazers who still seem reluctant to let the aging star go. "Absolutely," head coach Maurice Cheeks said when asked if he wanted Pippen back. "Scottie has been a major player for us. He showed his value for our team the last few games of the playoffs, just coming in and playing 15 or 20 minutes."

New Orleans Hornets: New Orleans may not have wasted any time in firing Paul Silas as head coach but they're in no rush to replace him. "I talked to a couple of coaches and agents today, and we're trying to set up meetings for interviews," Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Bob Bass said Monday in the New Orleans Picayune. "We're getting our search started." Bass refused to mention any names to the paper.

New Jersey Nets: Richard Jefferson wants a re-count. "He was the MVP last year," he said in the NY Daily News on Jason Kidd. "Everybody in the NBA knows. Tim Duncan had a solid year last year and had a solid year this year. Last year, J-Kidd should have gotten the MVP, so it is not even a point talking about it this year . . . If he got (robbed) last year, and got (robbed) again this year, (if we) should have gotten more respect last year and we had a better year last year, of course he is going to get (robbed) even more this year. Again, (voters) don't want to give credit to anybody. ... Maybe they don't like us." Kidd placed second last season but fell seven spots in this year's MVP balloting won again by Tim Duncan. "It's a disgrace," Net teammate Lucious Harris said. "He's got to be top five."

Indiana Pacers: Reggie Millers' worst season as a pro is getting even worse. On May 19, the Pacer shooting guard will have arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle to clean out loose cartilage, scar tissue and bone spurs. "That's been his only weak spot," Dr. Sanford Kunkel said in the Indianapolis Star. "He's been incredibly durable. . . There's no question he'll be better unless he has complications." The veteran is a free agent this off season and will require six weeks of rehab before he can begin shooting again.

Jordan Wants to Remain With Wizards

Michael Wilbon and Thomas Heath / Washington Post

Pippen hints he will play if he's healthy

Jim Beseda / The Oregonian

Hornets lining up interviews

John Reid / New Orleans Times-Picayune

In voting, Kidd not so valuable

Darren Everson / New York Daily News

Miller will have surgery on 1 ankle

Mark Montieth / Indianapolis Star