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Inside the NBA
Posted: Tuesday February 08, 2000 02:11 PM Stephon Marbury and Sam Cassell didn't make the team -- and many coaches wonder why By Jackie MacMullan
The coaches voted on seven All-Star reserves in each conference last week, yet they were shaking their heads when the results were released. Western Conference coaches said they couldn't believe that Suns forward Cliff Robinson didn't make the cut, while the most discussed omissions in the Eastern Conference were point guards Stephon Marbury of the Nets and Sam Cassell of the Bucks. "I wish they'd just make our [individual] choices public," says Pistons coach Alvin Gentry. "Then coaches would stop lying about who they voted for."
SI polled 11 of the 15 coaches in the East, and 10 said they voted for Marbury. The 11th, the Heat's Pat Riley, wouldn't disclose his choices but said, "Right now, Stephon Marbury is the best point guard in our conference." There is no point guard on the East roster; the closest is 76ers starter Allen Iverson, and he has played off the ball all season. The reason Marbury didn't make the cut is that coaches are required to rank their choices one through seven, and most had Marbury sixth or seventh. Who cares? Marbury, for one. Sources close to the guard confirm reports that he was already upset with his agent, David Falk, for not landing him any major endorsements and was considering firing Falk late last week. Those same sources say Falk laid the groundwork to hire Marbury a media consultant but couldn't finish the arrangement because Marbury wouldn't talk to him about it. All-Star berths have always mattered to players, which is why some of them might be disconcerted to hear Magic coach Doc Rivers confess, "I'm so busy concentrating on my own team, I just rattled names off the top of my head." Pacers coach Larry Bird was far more scientific: He separated players by position, then painstakingly made his choices based on their stats and their teams' won-lost records. In the end, playing on a successful team was a candidate's most important asset. "That's why I looked at the Pacers and said, 'They've got to have at least two guys,' even though those were difficult to identify," says Bucks coach George Karl. "[All-Stars Dale] Davis and [Reggie] Miller made sense, but I know I looked at Jalen Rose a good long time." Gentry, conversely, chose no Indiana players but voted for also-rans like Marbury, Knicks forward Marcus Camby and Hornets forward Derrick Coleman. "When I think All-Star, I look at guys who are integral parts of their teams," says Gentry. "They have to be major factors to get my vote." While some speculate that Latrell Sprewell was left off because of his attack on then Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo two years ago, Sprewell did garner at least three of the 11 coaches' votes. "I judged guys totally on what they've done this year, not their past," says the Cavaliers' Randy Wittman. "Sprewell got a second chance in New York, and he's done well with it." He failed to make it, though, when too many coaches deemed him less worthy than teammate Allan Houston. Raptors coach Butch Carter was shocked that Cassell, who also got the nod from Rivers and Charlotte coach Paul Silas, didn't make the cut. "Take him off the Bucks," says Carter, who ranked Cassell second, "and they're dead." The most appreciative All-Star was Pistons guard Jerry Stackhouse, who was ecstatic with his new status. In his first four seasons Stackhouse was branded as streaky and selfish, but now, says Silas, "I see a toughness in him I hadn't seen in the past. He knows he can score on anybody. Before, you could rough him up a little bit, and he wouldn't go back at you." That's typical of the way perceptions of Stackhouse have changed. "Let's be honest," Gentry says. "Two years ago, they wouldn't have voted Jerry on even if he was averaging 40 a night." Issue date: February 14, 2000
For more Inside the NBA see this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday, February 9. Click here to subscribe to SI.
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