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Fruitful crop You have to be impressed with the 2002-03 rookiesPosted: Friday January 10, 2003 12:01 PM
Sports Illustrated senior writer Jack McCallum will answer your NBA questions every week during the season. Click here to send him a question. Jack, what are your thoughts on this year's rookie class? Good, bad, mediocre? Which players have the most potential?
My quick answer is: Damn good. We don't know about Nikoloz Tskitishvili in Denver because of injuries, but there does not appear to be a washout among the top 10 except for, possibly, Mike Dunleavy Jr. And I'm not writing him off; he just hasn't show that much yet. Among the other rookies, Yao Ming, Drew Gooden, Dajuan Wagner and both Butlers (Caron and Rasual) in Miami look to be better than advertised. And Amare Stoudemire is much better than advertised. I still expect Jay Williams to be a real good pro, too.
Two months ago I was laughing all the way to the Eastern Conference finals because of the additions of Keith Van Horn and Todd MacCulloch. Now I'm scared the Sixers will barely capture the eighth seed. Why did Larry Brown, defensive genius, trade Dikembe Mutombo for more scoring? With Philly's defense (or lack of it), it would have a hard time beating LeBron James' high school team right now. What do you think the Sixers need to do to get back to the Finals? Well, the Sixers got to the Finals two years ago with the roster they have now, plus Mutombo and minus Van Horn. I saw all the early chest-beating about how well Philly was going to do vis-a-vis the Nets. I held fast to the supposition that New Jersey added by subtracting, and that they're better even with Mutombo injured. But I still think he'll add something when he comes back. I don't know why Brown made that trade. My only guess is that he figured Allen Iverson would become more of a distributor with better people to pass the ball to. Remember, Brown also unloaded two other defensive players, Nazr Mohammed and Theo Ratliff, although, to be honest, they haven't exactly turned around the Hawks. What I don't get, Tom, is why you're suddenly turning on Larry. You, like many others, apparently thought it was a good deal in the beginning, right? It wasn't a good deal.
Does anyone except Don Nelson, Rick Adelman and Big Chief Triangle coach offense anymore? I'm a Philly fan and I know Larry Brown has been proclaimed a genius, but isn't his coaching the least bit responsible for four Sixers standing on the perimeter while five opposing players play defense on Iverson? Brown has admitted he doesn't even run plays for Van Horn.
Believe it or not, there is one other coach who concentrates a lot on offense -- Utah's Jerry Sloan. The Jazz offense may be simple and basic and a little boring. But it works because they execute the hell out of that pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop and cross-screen offense. Am I the only one who thinks Alvin Gentry must go? No doubt the Clippers have the athletic talent to make a playoff run, but we all know they lack chemistry on the court. Gentry still does not allow his players to get into a rhythm during the course of game and the starting five changes every other game. Now that Lamar Odom is back, you would assume chemistry should slowly come about; instead, the Clippers keep losing. Why isn't Gentry getting any heat?
Oh, he gets heat. One Internet column or another has him fired every week. Look, Justin, I'm not nominating Gentry for Coach of the Year. But, once again, that weirdo owner, Donald Sterling, has failed to lock up his guys. Is it a secret why, year after year, this team just can't put it together? The constants have been the owner and the GM (Elgin Baylor), not the coach. As Mark Jackson's career nears its end, I think it's time to contemplate his place in NBA history. He surpassed 10,000 assists, joining Magic Johnson and John Stockton as the only players to do so. He has topped Oscar Robertson in career assists, as well. Even now, as a Jazz reserve, Jackson ranks second in the league in assists-per-48-minutes (12.4). Doesn't he merit serious Hall of Fame consideration?
Interesting question. I'm going to think about it. My first response is no, but maybe it's worth a harder look. I don't think he'll ever make it, though. Do you think Bill Cartwright has a problem communicating with his players? So far this year, Jamal Crawford, Eddie Robinson, Marcus Fizer and Eddy Curry have all publicly complained about their playing time.
Jack to Jack, I'm trying to think if there's anything I care less about than the complaints of those four young Bulls. OK, I just thought about it. I care less about how LeBron James' season is going. These guys' complaints are in second place. Of course Cartwright has trouble communicating with them. He's old-school. He played his butt off every night. He handled the abuse of Bulls teammate Michael Jordan with aplomb. But he's doing a good job in Chicago; the players will have to adjust to him, not vice versa. What is your reaction to the rumors that Vince Carter might be shipped to Cleveland? Do you think this trade is likely? If it happens, the Raptors will have absolutely no star power. Sure, Vince is often out with an injury, but he is still the reason NBA fans even know there's a franchise in Toronto.
They are not going to trade Vince Carter. What, you want the Raptors to go 5-77? In this week's column you wrote "The Lakers are at a crossroads. They need to start putting together a run..." At the risk of taking you out of context, haven't the Lakers been at a crossroads for a good two years, with management unable to replenish the aging starting lineup and main bench players? When it comes to explaining why L.A. has been able to get away with not retooling its roster, can't you point to the weaknesses of other teams (Portland, Sacramento, Dallas, San Antonio, plus the East) as much as to the Lakers' strengths.
Lakers management worked in the offseason to keep these guys together for one more year, figuring the franchise could coax another championship out of Kobe-Shaq and the supporting cast. A key reason the Lakers have dominated the last three years is that the supporting cast did what it was supposed to do. This year it is not. What I meant about the Lakers "being at crossroads" was related strictly to this season. They have to have a good January to get back in the Western Conference race because their schedule is about as easy as any I've ever seen. I sort of roasted L.A. in this week's Sports Illustrated, and in my weekly Web column, so count on them to start putting it together and making me look bad. Sports Illustrated senior writer Jack McCallum will answer your NBA questions every week during the season. Click here to send him a question.
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