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Cloudy skies No silver lining on the horizon for MJ's Wizards
Posted: Thursday April 13, 2000 08:16 PM
Surprise, surprise! The Wizards appear to be in more trouble than Michael Jordan had anticipated, after all. Everyone thought the arrival of His Airness would spark a fire under the Wizards. Well, it hasn't. In fact, things appear to be getting worse with each passing day. Guard Mitch Richmond, who's clearly lost a step, is growing increasingly frustrated, because he's playing hard every single night but isn't seeing dividends. Said coach Darrell Walker: "Mitch is frustrated right now, and I don't blame him. Nothing seems to be going right for us. MJ knows he needs to do something. I know it. Everybody knows it. But what can we do?" With the combined $42 million Richmond, Ike Austin, Rod Strickland and Juwan Howard are scheduled to make in salary next season, it appears the Wizards can do absolutely nothing. After all, nobody's about to help them. Pistons' Irvine may be having second thoughtsFirst there was speculation that Pistons VP of player personnel Joe Dumars would coach the team. Then word was he wanted former Detroit bad boy Bill Laimbeer to be the next coach. Even University of Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins has been mentioned as a possible candidate. Now we're hearing it's George Irvine. Since taking over the helm on March 6, Irvine has compiled a 13-7 record, including six wins in the first seven road games he coached. As a result, the players have been singing his praises. Sources in Detroit have indicated they may actually have a better chance of keeping Grant Hill if Irvine is kept aboard. "The question is whether or not Irvine wants the job," one Pistons official said. "At first, he wasn't too anxious to take it, in light of what happened to Alvin Gentry. But now I think he's beginning to change his mind a bit." Right where they want 'emThe Toronto Raptors are sitting right where they want to be as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The belief was, after losing five of their past eight, the Raptors were reeling at the wrong time. But think again. "The last thing we want is to face the Philadelphia 76ers," Toronto coach Butch Carter said. "They've got an explosive guard, they play great defense, and they're practically as young as us. That would be a real tough matchup for us." As it stands now, the Raptors would face the third-seeded Knicks, not the fourth-seeded Sixers. Toronto has beaten New York twice in three meetings this year. Oh, and Vince Carter has averaged nearly 33 points per game in those contests. Stephen A. Smith covers the NBA for the Philadelphia Inquirer and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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