Basketball Newsletter - February 8, 2000
Dennis Does Dallas
It looks like incoming Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is going to inflict
another half-season of the attention-starved Dennis Rodman upon us. And those sportswriters licking their chops at writing another chapter of the Rodman follies should wise up: everybody's sick of hearing how Dennis the Menace missed this practice or that flight.
The acquisition is understandable in basketball terms. The Mavericks give up the second most points in the league and are last in rebound percentage, which is Rodman's forte.
But the fact that Cuban, not GM Don Nelson, has taken the initiative on this deal -- they've done everything short of double dating lately -- tells us that this is purely a show biz decision. Only six other teams have a worse home attendance record than the Mavs; the Rodman buzz can't make that worse.
As for Rodman, who vowed he'd only return to a winning team, showing up on basketball courts as opposed to court dockets will likely be better for his career as a ... well, celebrity.
But if you ask us, this is the worst comeback since Pat Boone started crooning Metallica tunes.
Hogtown Happenings?
All season long there have been rumours of a Big Trade(TM). Will it be Doug Christie to a bad team for a young up-and-comer? Or will they ship Tracy McGrady for a veteran with some solid defence as the team heads into the playoffs for the first time?
Well, it sounds like T-Mac will likely be the one to go. Recently he has spoken of being unhappy in his role -- he's one of the most explosive players off the bench. For the first half of the season, he took this in stride, but he's maturing daily and wants more time on the floor.
So what do the Raptors do? Paul Jay thinks loyalty should be a factor:
"Having survived the lean years and played with effort despite injuries and consistent losses, Christie has proven he deserves a measure of loyalty from the team. Imagine his reaction, then, upon learning he has just been traded to Golden State, a black hole of an organization that swallows up good players (Joe Smith, Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin, to name a few) and robs them of their best years.
Most players would consider this undue punishment, given the wonderful situation Christie is part of right now. Not only would it be bad for Christie, it would be bad for the team. Players on the Raptors (read: Vince Carter) might lose trust in management. And players around the league might take notice as well (the headline reads: Christie traded to Siberia as Team Finally Reaches Playoffs.)"
For the full Paul Jay column, check out:
[link retired]
Meanwhile, on the coast...
Oy. We keep trying to egg on the Grizzlies, but we end up with egg on our faces. Their recent schedule against fellow bottom-feeders should have moved them up out of the basement of the Western Conference. But no! Vancouver is 3-7 in their last 10 games, which doesn't help a team looking for stable fan base and ownership.
But on a positive note, guard Michael Dickerson was named to replace Vince Carter (can he be replaced?) in the NBA All Star Rookie Challenge this weekend in Oakland. In his second season, the 6 foot 5 Dickerson is second on the Grizzlies in scoring at 16.4 points per game and will team with fellow Vancouver guard Mike Bibby.
Who's hot
** Minnesota's Bobby Jackson. Now really, we could say just about anyone on
the Timberwolves, as Kevin Garnett won January's NBA Player of the Month
Honours and Flip Saunders was named NBA Coach of the Month. But that would be too easy. It should be noted that in Minnesota's 12-3 January, Jackson took advantage of some weak teams to up his numbers:
- against the Wizards he had a career-high 21 points
- against the Kings he registered 17 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds.
True, these weren't big opponents, but when a guy's season average is hovering around 5.7 points per game and he contributes in the critical mid-season stretch, he deserves to recognized. Besides, he lives in Minneapolis and it's February!
** Sixers' shooting guard Allen Iverson. Now maybe that's too easy. But it's time for CTVSportsnet.com to give this superstar his due. Let's face it, the guy is the real thing. On Sunday on his home boards, he stepped up to the free throw line and cooly dropped 2 buckets... no big deal... except that gave him 50 points on the day. No easy feat. And we know this guy has been accused of shooting too much, playing for his own personal records. But Philly is poised to make the playoffs for the second straight season. They had missed the post season eight years prior to last year.
Who's not
** Clippers' rookie Lamar Odom. Yes, we know he's a rookie on a bad team. He's been great most of the season in spite of that and will end up in the HOT category more often than the NOT one. But when the Clips lose at home to another stinky team (the Bulls) and the future superstar Odom takes only two shots in 26 minutes, finishing with a measly four points, well, buster, he's in the CTVSN.com doghouse!
And another thing ...
So the upcoming March Madness may not be the walk in the park that the number 4 ranked Syracuse thought. Oh sure, they survived the big games against UConn and St. John's the past two weeks, keeping their nationwide bragging rights as the only unbeaten squad in the union. But on Monday night, a gone but not forgotten Big East team handed the Orangemen their first loss. Yup, those wacky kids from Seton Hall stunned the smug Syracuse squad 69-67, ending their 19-game winning streak and putting the Pirates back on the basketball map. It ain't March yet, but we can feel the Madness starting!