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Method to the madness
There's no way to tell where this season's headed
Posted: Thursday November 18, 1999 08:22 PM
By Jennifer A. Cooper, CNN/SI
Teams are settling into the new season, but there's still no rhyme or reason to a few things. And it's apparently catching: The parity that started in the East has spread to the West. The Clippers now believe they can waltz into Minnesota's territory and come away with a win. So what's next? Guess we'll all just have to stay tuned.
 |
| Early emotion |
| We should have seen it coming by the way players and coaches were getting tossed from games in the preseason, but emotions have run very high very early this year. Shaquille O'Neal has been ejected from two games, and two Rockets have been fined for altercations. Watch out for the fireworks. |
| Return of the wounded |
| Those key players who started the season on the injured-reserve list are slowly but surely returning to their rightful places. Brian Grant has rejoined the star-heavy Blazers, Theo Ratliff has made his presence felt with the 76ers, and the needy Nets once again have the services of Kerry Kittles. |
| Wearing out his welcome |
| It didn't take long for the Hawks to learn for themselves that Isaiah Rider's reputation is well deserved. Barely two weeks into the season, Atlanta is looking to unload the perennial problem child. Hard to imagine they'll find many takers, and if they somehow happen to, they certainly won't get anyone the caliber of Steve Smith in return. |
 |
| HOT: New coaches Three new coaches are in the middle of things in the East. Randy Wittman has the Cleveland Cavaliers off to a running 4-2 start; Doc Rivers' Orlando Magic (4-4) are playing better basketball than he'd even dared to imagine; and the 4-4 Charlotte Hornets, coached by Paul Silas, are definitely making some noise. |
| COLD: New coaches Then there are the other two new coaches in the East: Don Casey (with the 1-6 New Jersey Nets) and Gar Heard (with the 1-7 Washington Wizards). |
| HOT: Chris Webber C-Web is averaging a double-double so far this season. With his contributions of 22.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, it's no wonder the Sacramento Kings are looking more like solid contenders every day. |
| COLD: Washington Wizards The 1-7 Wizards are off to their worst start in 33 years. They have no one in the league's top 20 in scoring or rebounding, which might explain a few things. But that doesn't explain why Mitch Richmond, Juwan Howard and Rod Strickland aren't anywhere to be seen in those top 20s. |
| HOT: Milwaukee Bucks The Bucks, on the other hand, are leading the league in points scored (109.9) and have three starters in the league's top 20 in scoring: Sam Cassell (23.3), Ray Allen (22.9) and Glenn Robinson (21.4). |
| COLD: Nick Anderson The Sacramento two-guard is lucky to have Jason Williams, who loves to pass, playing beside him, but he's not taking advantage of it. He's taken the "shooting" out of "shooting guard" with his .386 percentage and 11 points-per-game average. Anderson's also lucky that his team is 4-1 without his efforts. |
 |
| First-week figures |
| What's the old adage about "getting calls"? Aren't younger players supposed to come out on the short end of that stick? Not according to the new rules. Veterans Shawn Kemp (4.8), Alonzo Mourning (4.5) and Kevin Willis (4.4) top the list of fouls per game. Another interesting observation: The refs in the East must be a little more strict than their Western counterparts. The Jazz are called for more fouls on average than any other team in that conference (26.1), but they're tied for No. 9 on the list. The teams ahead of them (led by the Knicks' 28.6) are all in the East. |
 |
| Don't Miss | Don't Bother |
• Saturday, Nov. 20
• New York at Golden State
• Latrell Sprewell makes his first visit to Golden State since The Incident. The starting lineups should be interesting even if the game isn't. | • Saturday, Nov. 20
• Chicago at Denver
• I know Denver's young stars -- namely Nick Van Exel and Antonio McDyess -- can be fun to watch, but this isn't the time for it. |
 |
| Sound off! |
Greg Baronovich, Gainesville, Fla.: "Penny Hardaway's career is dead. America West Arena is its grave."
Apparently, Suns owner Jerry Colangelo is all too ready to agree with you. That was quick.
D. Walker, Junction City, Ore.: "What is the rest of the NBA going to do when Portland gets Brian Grant back? They are 6-1 without him. He is an animal under the boards. Gosh, it's scary to think about but should be exciting to watch."
I'm a little worried about the rest of the league myself.
Brian Lapsley, Gary, Ind.: "The Pacers need to get rid of Smits or force him to retire now! He looks so pathetic running up and down the court. The front office should have seen this coming."
No, man, haven't you heard? It's all about the color of his shoes. |
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