Vernon Maxwell tried to hit teammate Gary Payton in the head with a dumbbell, though it wasn’t a teammate.
“No organization is perfect,” Horace Grant observed.
A quarter of the roster of the Charlotte Hornets spent time in jail this season, though the team’s owner did beat a sexual-assault rap.
The Toronto Raptors set an unofficial league record with a team meeting after two games.
“The ship is sinking,” Toronto’s Tracy McGrady suggested earlier this month when the Raptors had lost eight of nine.
So there was another team meeting.
Michael Jordan came back and Isaiah Rider left, Charles Barkley left and came back. Leon Smith and Dennis Rodman were around too long and Wilt and Bobby Phills weren’t around long enough.
Danny Ainge, Brian Hill, Gar Heard, P.J. Carlesimo and Chris Ford left and Jim Todd, Lenny Wilkens, Darrell Walker, Lionel Hollins, Don Casey, Larry Bird and perhaps Don Nelson and Rick Pitino will soon follow.
Shaq became the best in his new arena and the Clippers remained the worst.
Attendance and interest seemed to wane, though passions didn’t.
Barkley body-slammed Shaq, and Rasheed Wallace ate a live chicken during a timeout. OK, maybe the latter is a stretch, but no one would have been surprised if he did.
Vince Carter became the new star while old ones like Shawn Kemp and Vin Baker lost their way.
The flying circus called the Sacramento Kings wasn’t as exciting as advertised, but the amusement park in Orlando–not Disney World–was. Houston did have a problem and is heading home with a dozen other hopefuls from seven months ago. Most get to stop in Secaucus, N.J., for the draft lottery, which is a fitting site for the losers.
The 16 who survived the taunts, the torment and the travel start all over Saturday in the NBA playoffs, which last roughly until the next millennium. Or so it seems.
The Lakers won 68 games and became the favorites. Portland, Indiana, New York, San Antonio and Utah are among those who are not so sure. We’ll all know in about seven weeks. And this is how it all begins:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. Indiana Pacers (56-26) vs. 8. Milwaukee Bucks (42-40)
It’s the last run for Larry Bird and this Indiana team. Look for the Pacers to be broken up unless they get to the Finals. The Pacers swept the Bucks in last season’s opening round, but the teams split two regular-season games this year and after each Milwaukee win, Bird claimed the Bucks were celebrating and rubbing it in. The Bucks are primarily a jump-shooting team and don’t figure to match up well inside against the deeper Pacers. But Indiana is not as strong without Antonio Davis.
PICK: Indiana in 4
2. Miami Heat (52-30) vs. 7. Detroit Pistons (42-40)
Can Grant Hill get out of the first round? Heck, will Pat Riley ever do so again? This may be the series in which the loser retools. Hill has never been to the second round of the playoffs, and if the Pistons go out quickly again, Hill could leave as a free agent. The Heat has been a first-round victim three of the last four years. “Because of what’s happened, we have a lot of incentive,” Alonzo Mourning said. But with Tim Hardaway hurt and Detroit pasting Miami by 17 a week ago, Jerry Stackhouse likes his team’s chances. The teams split their two games this season. Can Mourning’s inside strength neutralize Stackhouse and Hill’s perimeter game?
PICK: Detroit in 4
3. New York Knicks (50-32) vs. 6. Toronto Raptors (45-37)
The Knicks came from the eighth spot to upset No. 1-seed Miami last year, and now first-time playoff entrant Toronto is eyeing the upset. The Raptors were 3-1 against the Knicks this season with blowout wins in Toronto and a one-point loss in New York. Vince Carter averaged 33 against the Knicks and with Tracy McGrady evokes Michael Jordan/Scottie Pippen comparisons for the Knicks, whose Marcus Camby is injured. “This is the greatest first-round challenge we’ve had since I’ve been here,” said Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, who joined the Knicks as an assistant in 1989. The Knicks are averaging just 80 points against Toronto, and Van Gundy says Charles Oakley has his former teammates intimidated. “They’ve dominated us,” he said.
PICK: Toronto in 5
4. Charlotte Hornets (49-33) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (49-33)
The Hornets get home-court advantage from beating the 76ers 3-1 in the regular season. Picked by some to win the East, Charlotte was shocked by Phills’ death in a car accident and turmoil from the arrests. But the Hornets have won 14 of 16 and seven of their last eight on the road. Said coach Paul Silas: “We’ve won close games lately, which is good. We’ve blown teams out, which is also good. I think we’re playing well in every aspect of the game right now.” The 76ers have trouble matching up with Eddie Jones, but everyone has trouble with Allen Iverson. The question is whether he’ll be slowed by a broken toe, a sore shoulder and a swollen elbow. And whether the Hornets, a fragile group, will wilt under playoff pressure.
PICK: Philadelphia in 5
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. Los Angeles Lakers (56-26) vs. 8. Sacramento Kings (42-40)
The Lakers put the rest of the league in their rear-view mirror after the All-Star break with the second best post-All-Star-break record ever and are everyone’s favorite. Now they just have to get by the first round. The Kings have slumped lately, but beat the Lakers by 12 in December and lost the other three games by a margin of 3.7 points per game. The Lakers were openly rooting to play Seattle, but as coach Phil Jackson said, “We’re going to be tested at some time. It might as well be in the first round.” The Kings have the talent to match the Lakers, but not the discipline. The Lakers will need Glen Rice in this series.
PICK: Los Angeles in 4
2. Utah Jazz (52-30) vs. 7. Seattle Sonics (42-40)
The Sonics beat the Kings earlier this week to avoid the Lakers, but as Horace Grant said: “I guess you can say it’s the lesser of two evils. When Shaq leans on you, you feel it for a week. When (Karl) Malone leans on you, you feel it for about four or five days.” The old men of the Jazz survived and prospered again, while the Sonics were as raucous a team as one could have without mass arrests, starting 27-13 and ending 9-12. But Utah no longer is invincible at home and is 13-14 against Western Conference playoff teams. The teams split this season. “We could lose in the first round very easily,” Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. “We are a lot older. And we’ve never won anything. But these guys have always come back and tried to get to that level again.”
PICK: Seattle in 5
3. Portland Trail Blazers (56-26) vs. 6. Minnesota Timberwolves (45-37)
It’s Kevin Garnett’s young legs versus some rather old ones. “Minnesota matches up with us very well,” Portland’s Scottie Pippen conceded. Pippen, Steve Smith and Detlef Schrempf have slowed as the season has gone on, and Rasheed Wallace has come close to blowing. If Arvydas Sabonis can play at least 20 minutes, the Trail Blazers would seem to have a big advantage with their depth. But Minnesota’s Flip Saunders is an excellent one-game strategist. He stole a game from the champion Spurs last year, and if Minnesota can do likewise early, Portland could implode.
PICK: Portland in 4
4. San Antonio Spurs (49-33) vs. 5. Phoenix Suns (49-33)
It’s a battle of the survivors. The Suns lost their best player, Jason Kidd, as well as Tom Gugliotta, but Scott Skiles has done a terrific job of improving the team’s defense and effort. The defending champion Spurs won three straight to gain home-court advantage, but face going into the playoffs without their best player, Tim Duncan, who has knee problems and could need surgery. The key could be whether Antonio Daniels emerges to help the slower Spurs guards. The Spurs can’t be looking ahead to a second-round meeting with the Lakers, whom they swept in last year’s playoffs and beat three of four this season. They were the only team with a winning record against the Lakers.
PICK: Phoenix in 4
