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 Inside the NBA
Posted: Tuesday May 18, 1999 04:00 PM The Missing Link | Around The Rim Dikembe Mutombo's offense can't be ignored By Jackie MacMullan
On May 12, precisely 28 seconds into Game 3 of the Atlanta-Detroit first-round playoff series, a remarkable event occurred -- the Pistons double-teamed Atlanta's Dikembe Mutombo. The Pistons, who were down 2-0 in the series and hadn't been doubling Mutombo, didn't stop there. During that first quarter, every time he received the ball in the post, Detroit had two and sometimes three defenders pressure the 7'2" center, who had scored a playoff career-high 28 points in Game 2. His final numbers in Game 3: eight points on 1-of-4 shooting in a 79-63 Pistons win. Using the same strategy in Games 4 and 5, Detroit held Mutombo to eight and 12 points, respectively, but the Hawks still won the decisive game 87-75.
"I was all over him for it," said Atlanta guard Steve Smith, the usual go-to guy on the club. "I keep telling him, 'Deke, I remember you from Denver, when they put you out near the three-point line and said, 'Don't shoot!'" Mutombo is used to compliments about his defense; he is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, and he led the league in blocks from the 1993-94 season through the '95-96 season. But the recent offensive flattery left him elated. "I look at myself in the mirror, and I say, Is that Dikembe Mutombo they are double- and triple-teaming out there? Or is it somebody else?" he says. "I'm just congratulating myself for getting to this point." His teammates warn not to get carried away. His offensive weapons remain limited, and it's likely the Knicks will keep doubling him and trapping him in the second round.
Lottery Bound?: Steve Francis no longer worries about answering his phone, though it still rings incessantly. Every NBA lottery team called, several times. Two teams that aren't in the lottery -- Houston and Atlanta -- also rang. Then there were the agents, both the major players and the new hustlers, promising the star point guard from Maryland that they could secure him the No. 1 pick -- and more. "I've passed up money, cars, women, you name it," says Francis. "It's crazy." Not anymore. Francis has picked lawyer Jeff Fried, of Washington, D.C., to represent him. Fried is a newcomer to the NBA but has had former heavyweight champ Riddick Bowe as a client. Fried's advice for all the NBA teams hoping to score a workout with Francis, a 6'3" guard whose killer crossover dribble has triggered the inevitable comparisons to Allen Iverson: Unless you are picking in the top three, you're out of luck. "If everyone wanted to come to a gym and watch me go at it, that would be fine with me," said Francis. "But this is a business thing now." The consensus among NBA scouts and general managers is that Francis will be among the top five picks of the 1999 draft, along with Duke forwards Elton Brand and Corey Maggette, UCLA point guard Baron Davis and Rhode Island forward Lamar Odom, all underclassmen. Coaches and scouts are stunned by Francis's explosive quickness and his creativity in the open court. "When it's not a five-on-five situation," says Maryland coach Gary Williams, "he's very, very difficult to defend." His transition game receives unanimous raves, but pro scouts want to know if he can make the players around him better. Can he hit the perimeter jumper consistently? Still, most say they are not overly concerned about these questions, primarily because of Francis's outstanding athleticism. Sources say Francis would love to land in either Chicago or L.A. (even with the Clippers), and he hopes to avoid suiting up for a Canadian club. Yet what he wants most of all is for his name to be the first called on June 30.
The Missing Link: Two words explain why Phoenix was swept by Portland in the opening round of the playoffs: Antonio McDyess. The defection of McDyess to Denver as a free agent last winter left the Suns without a tough inside presence, and it showed. In three playoff games against the bigger, more physical Blazers, Phoenix was outscored 86 to 48 at the line. The Suns exited in the first round for the fourth year in a row. The cap-strapped team will need a lot more than the $2 million exception to lure a physical frontcourt free agent such as Charles Oakley, Lorenzen Wright or Erick Dampier. That means Phoenix probably will wait for the initial free-agent frenzy to pass and then try to pluck its big body from a group that could include Mark Bryant, Terry Cummings, Greg Foster, Jermaine O'Neal, Bo Outlaw and Michael Stewart. Meanwhile, the Suns' top priority is locking up free-agent forward Cliff Robinson, who guards everyone from centers to point guards. Phoenix could also use some more athleticism. Count Golden State among the teams that will make a run at free agent Mitch Richmond . Washington has said that it wants to re-sign its shooting guard, but sources say there have been no contract talks since the season ended....Retiring Detroit veteran Joe Dumars 's final gift to the game was the advice he gave Philly guard Allen Iverson during the season. Dumars says he reminded Iverson to keep doing the right things. "He was very receptive," Dumars says. "Allen is what I call an 'environment guy.' Put him with the right people, and he'll be fine."... Sources say Vancouver will be open to offers for its first-round draft pick, in hopes of acquiring some veterans to add to its young nucleus of Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Mike Bibby and Bryant (Big Country) Reeves ....Word out of Miami is that forward Jamal Mashburn may be on the trading block. You can be sure that Heat coach Pat Riley hasn't lost the number of Boston coach Rick Pitino , who coached Mashburn at Kentucky and has tried to acquire him before.... Scouts predict that at the predraft camp in Chicago in June, Duke's Elton Brand will measure closer to 6'6" than to the 6'8" that the Blue Devils listed in their media guide....UCLA's Baron Davis's downside, according to league general managers, is that he's too much of a one-on-one player. But as one Western Conference executive noted, "The thing we love about him is he's got some of that Gary Payton nastiness that you just can't teach."
Issue date: May 24, 1999
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