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Updated: February 14, 10:44 AM ET
Special to ESPN.com |
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With the forthcoming All-Star break, naturally, comes a breakdown segment. One from each conference.
This, then, is how the NBA's better half looks so far, with 30-odd games to play on the other side after the break and a slew of Western Conference hopefuls praying that karma is their sixth man. The Yankees' dynasty was toppled by the Diamondbacks. The Rams got drop-kicked by the Patriots. Could the mighty Lakers be the next shoo-in to fall, if calamities always happen in threes? No, probably not. But it's clearly not the best time to be an overwhelming favorite, which gives us something else to ponder while sifting through these bests and worsts in the West: BEST TEAM: Sacramento Kings For clarification: Best team, in this exercise, means the team that has achieved the most so far, through the All-Star break. That much Sacramento deserves -- after playing 24 of the first 47 games without Webber and winning 17 of those 24. With Webber, the Kings are also a tidy 19-4. Of course, if you had to bet the house on one game or one series, it'd still be the Lakers. Just humor us, and play along with the theme here. WORST TEAM: Golden State Warriors In this cyberspace, at this juncture, worst team translates to biggest disappointment of the first (almost) 50 games. No one had Golden State earmarked for the playoffs, but that 5-3 start offered little hint of what followed. Namely, an 8-29 spiral ... and a lack of passion under two coaches (Dave Cowens and Brian Winters) ... and the tiresome self-peddling of Lucian "Trade Me" Tucker, also known as Marc Jackson.
WEST SURPRISES: Lots of 'em, actually, but we'll stop at three
WEST LETDOWNS: Lots of these, too, but we'll likewise stop at three
MVP: Peja Stojakovic Peja won't make the top five on anyone's actual MVP ballot at season's end, but he's got to get something for all the Kings' winning without Webber so far. Consider this the reward for that aforementioned 17-7 record sans CWebb, in the face of some tough competition. Peja only had to beat out Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Gary Payton ... and Shaq and Kobe. Co-LVPs: Stephon Marbury and Anfernee Hardaway Let's just say that neither one of the Suns' backcourt sparring partners has reminded folks of Jason Kidd. Scott Skiles' conservative approach is probably also a factor, as could be suggestions that the point guard (Steph) and the shooting guard (Penny) would be better off switching jobs. Skiles, though, didn't force Marbury and Hardaway to rumble at a shootaround. They're the best players, along with Shawn Marion, on an underachieving team. Hence the unflattering press. BEST COACH: Flip Saunders He made the Wolves synonymous with zone defense. He coaxed Wally Szczerbiak into a zone. Even accounting for the rumblings of team discontent with Wally in the past week, Saunders has Minny looking like it might get out of the first round for the first time in franchise history. At the very least, there's a real chance to get homecourt advantage in Round 1 of the playoffs. Something else they've never had. WORST COACH: Dan Issel Truth is, Issel probably would have lost his job at season's end anyway, albeit more for his GMing than coaching. As much as the incident with that Pepsi Center heckler, Issel wasn't going to overcome the drafting of LaFrentz over Vince Carter, the signing of Tariq Abdul-Wahad for $40-odd million, the swapping of Keon Clark for Kevin Willis, the trading of a first-round pick for Omar Cook and then the waiving of Cook before he ever played an NBA game, the ... shall we continue? BEST ROOKIE: Pau Gasol All three names in this envelope were air-mailed in from Europe. Gasol is a Spaniard. Andrei Kirilenko came from Russia with hops and polish. Tony Parker is restoring France's good name after the Frederic Weis experience. Indiana's Jamaal Tinsley, from the other conference, is the only current rookie whose impact can match the foreign trio. As for King Pau of Espana, don't even start with the "only has numbers because he's on a bad team" stuff. He came in compared to Nowitzki, but it's actually the perimeter game that needs work. Unlike Nowitzki and Stojakovic and most of the other imports to arrive on these shores, Gasol arrived ready to play around the basket. WORST ROOKIE: Omar Cook Hate to be so harsh on the kiddies, but Cook needs some tough love. He came out earlier than anyone thought he should after just one year at St. John's, slipped into the second round, got waived by two teams before playing a single minute (Nuggets and Mavericks) in the NBA and wound up in the NBDL. The good news: Cook just turned 20. BEST FREE-AGENT SIGNING: Tim Hardaway Tough category to fill because marquee free agents rarely switch teams any more without a sign-and-trade. But we'll try. Joe Smith and Bruce Bowen were the other leading contenders here, except that Bowen got hurt ... and Smith never really left the Wolves, so he's more like a re-signed free agent. Hardaway's value isn't so evident in the numbers; it's the toughness he lends to a team that needs it. Watch their games and watch Tim Bug jaw with all the heavyweights: Shaq, Duncan, you name it. Plus he often plays fourth quarters next to Nash, easing the crunch-time burden on Hair Canada. WORST FREE-AGENT SIGNING: Mitch Richmond Persistent ankle trouble at least somewhat absolves $34-million man Calvin Booth, who has averaged nearly as many fouls (3.2) as rebounds (3.6) in the 15 games he has played for Seattle. Richmond has appeared in 41 of LA's 45 games yet has splashed a whopping 15 three-pointers. Actually, all of the Lakers' summer add-ons have been on the quiet side: Samaki Walker, Lindsey Hunter and Richmond. But LA's still 33-12 in spite of its snoozing, four wins ahead of last season's pace, and Phil Jackson believes they'll all be contributing more come playoff time after spending a whole season in the triangle. It'd probably help if Phil's right, if the contributions of Derek Fisher, Robert Horry and Rick Fox the past two springs are any guide. Can never have enough outside shooting the way teams collapse on Shaq. ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM: Duncan and Garnett at forward, O'Neal at center, Bryant and Nash at guard. ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM: Webber and Stojakovic at forward, Nowitzki at center, Francis and Payton at guard. ALL-CONFERENCE THIRD TEAM: Karl Malone and Elton Brand at forward, Vlade Divac at center, John Stockton and Szczerbiak at guard. EIGHT TEAMS IN PLAYOFFS: Lakers, Mavericks, Kings, Spurs, Wolves, Jazz, Blazers, Clippers Marc Stein, who covers the NBA for The Dallas Morning News, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
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