| Tuesday, March 14
By Mitch Lawrence
Special to ESPN.com |
|
NEW YORK -- What's more thrilling than a Vince Carter dunk and a Vince
Carter buzzer-beater?
The world gets to see Tuesday night in San Antonio when Sean Elliott
becomes the first player in any professional sport to make it back from
a major-organ transplant.
|  | | The Spurs don't know what Elliott will be able to do, but they're glad to have him back. |
"I want to play well and help the team," said Elliott, who underwent a
kidney transplant only last August. "I'm not trying to come back for it
to be a big sideshow and say, 'Hey, I made it back.' "
Too bad, Sean. You think Spurs fans are coming out to the Alamodome
in full force because the Hawks are in town? They'll be on hand to give
you a much-deserved standing ovation.
"I have to go out there and see how I feel and see how I perform," he
said. "It's not going to be easy, by any means. But it can't be harder
than what I went through in August."
Because of the uncertainty surrounding exactly what he can do, Elliott's
role is still to be determined. But in his most recent practice
sessions, he's given the Spurs hope that he can come in and help them
defend their championship.
"When you've won a championship, you want to be able to defend it with
the same starting five," Spurs guard Terry Porter said. "Now, we can make a big
push for the playoffs with Sean back. From a chemistry standpoint, it
should really help. He still looks pretty quick. The shot is still there
... the little shot he had."
Porter laughed after that last comment, because he knows how Elliott
delivered big shots throughout the Spurs' drive to their first NBA
title. Even as he was making his now-famous Memorial Day Miracle shot to
beat Portland in the Western Conference finals, Elliott was keenly aware
that he'd probably have to have a transplant. How's that for mental
toughness and focus?
"Away from the court, I feel completely different now," Elliott said before
the Spurs lost to the Knicks Sunday in New York. "I have a lot more
energy. Everybody says I look better. I feel better. It's like night and
day. There were a few games when I didn't feel really well."
The last of those was the Spurs' Finals-clinching win against the Knicks
on June 25. On that night, Elliott says he was totally drained from the
opening tip. No wonder he missed all four of his shots and managed only
two points in 36 minutes.
That night, he left the court a champion. Tomorrow night, he steps back
on as an even bigger champ.
Rim Shots I
Long-term Clippers insiders are busy spreading the word that
they'll be making a run at Mike Fratello to be their next head coach.
According to one Clip, Fratello is the No. 1 choice, no questions
asked. That means Rick Barry can officially stop lobbying for the post.
If Fratello to the Clips falls through, he'll still be on George
Steinbrenner's list for the Nets.
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John Starks doesn't expect to win
his case to become a free agent. At least that's what he's told a
business partner. So why even bother? Even if arbitrator Roger Kaplan
rules for Starks after tomorrow's morning conference call, there's no
way he's going to be able to be eligible for the playoffs. He might as
well take the rest of the year off and try to hook up with a new team
this summer.
Leon Smith, the ex-Mav who is trying to put his life
back together, is still working in Houston with Purvis Short. Smith has
been advised that he needs to play in the USBL this summer, if only to
get teams interested in him again. The Nets wanted to sign him and put
him on a suspended list immediately, so that he wouldn't count against
the cap as a member of the active roster. But that unprecedented move
was rejected by the league.
Don't know where all this talk has
started about St. John's coach Mike Jarvis being a "hot NBA commodity."
Sounds like Jarvis' people are trying to drum up business in case the
on-going NCAA probe blows up in coming weeks or months. Detroit isn't
going to hire a college coach if Grant Hill doesn't want to. You bet
he'll have plenty of input, too, since he's put Detroit on notice that
he's re-signing only for the short term. The Pistons are in a win-now
mode and can't waste precious time finding out if Jarvis can coach on
the next level. Boston certainly won't go the college route if Rick
Pitino leaves. Since Jarvis isn't a friend of Michael Jordan's and has
no ACC roots, he doesn't have a shot with the Wiz. Look for Jordan to
stay in the pro ranks. The only possibility right now for Jarvis is the
Nets. But he's not represented by David Falk and doesn't have enough
box-office juice for Steinbrenner.
Rim Shots II
In the answer to the $100,000 question, yes, Jeff Van Gundy
plans on wearing a mike Tuesday night when the Knicks host the Rockets.
Coaches have been right not to want to wear them. But what's wrong with
the NBA trying to make its product better? Unless you're of the belief
that wiring coaches doesn't enhance the quality.
Cincy's Kenyon
Martin still figures to be the No. 1 pick, despite the leg injury that
KO'd his college career. "A man among boys," said one scout.
On
hand to witness Elliott's return will be his older brother and
kidney-donor Noel. At 33, he's a year older than Sean. Noel doesn't
consider himself a hero. "I would have done it for my other brother,"
Noel said. "But if I had done it for Robert, there wouldn't have been
all this fanfare. My mother would still look at me as a hero, I guess."
Plenty of people in the Elliott hometown of Tucson, Ariz., consider
Noel a hero, too. More than once he's been asked for his autograph while
walking down the aisle of his grocery store.
Raptors are pushing Tracy
McGrady for the Sixth Man Award with its T-Mac 2000 campaign. They're also
doing it to show McGrady that they want to re-sign him.
With Tom
Gugliotta out for rest of the season due to a major knee injury, the Suns have set
in the West. Not that they would have challenged for the top, anyway. Is
it going too far out on a limb to say that Gugliotta's Olympic team
roster spot should go to Vince Carter? Or are the league honchos going
to give us another compromise candidate, a la Ray Allen? If so, Carter
should apply for Canadian citizenship.
No wonder the Bucks have been on a
major slide. Sam Cassell was still complaining last weekend about not
being the Bucks' No. 1 option. Ever since his heroics as a rookie vs.
the Knicks in the 1994 Finals, Sam I Am has considered himself the first
Vince Carter.
The Spurs have offered Avery Johnson a one-year, $9 mil
deal. He is looking for three years at $24 mil. If Antonio Daniels were
half as good as Tim Duncan thinks, Johnson wouldn't even be getting an
offer.
Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com.
|  |
Lawrence: Hill signing impacted Gentry
