Around the NBA
In case you missed them -- and you might have because these NBA-relates notes were squeezed out of Sunday morning's newspaper -- I'll pass them along to you today:
NEW JERSEY NETS
The Nets suffered a 104-83 loss at Cleveland after missing 19 of 20 shots in the fourth quarter. Over the final 18 minutes, they were outscored, 51-16. The game ended the Nets' playoff hopes and might trigger an overhaul of the roster. Bostjan Nachbar and DeSagana Diop are free agents, Nenad Krstic is a restricted free agent and top-10 scorer Richard Jefferson could be used as blockbuster trade bait. "I could be suiting up somewhere else next year, who knows?" he said. "Change happens. It's the NBA [and] change happens. What you want and what is a possibility are two different things."
DETROIT PISTONS
The Pistons honored their 50-year anniversary team on Tuesday during a game against the Knicks. Originally, a committee picked 25 players, but politics became an issue and five more were added: John Salley, James Edwards, Chris Ford, Jimmy Walker and Lindsey Hunter. Dennis Rodman was the only honoree who shunned the ceremonies. He told team officials he missed a plane, but veteran Piston-watchers believe Rodman remains unhappy about his salary while in Detroit and was reminding everyone of his displeasure. "Just Dennis being Dennis," said honorary coach Chuck Daly.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Just when it looked like the Spurs might pass New Orleans and the Lakers and earn the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, they stopped scoring. Now, they face the possibility of finishing as low as fifth in the West,
In a three-game stretch against Utah, Portland and Phoenix, San Antonio averaged 71.7 points, including 10.3 in the fourth quarter. "We're just not sharp enough," said Manu Ginobili. "We're not making shots. We're being too slow. We've got to work on that." After exploding for 79 points against the Suns, Tim Duncan said, "We played a lot of one-on-one basketball."
SACRAMENTO KINGS
After Sacramento went into the Pepsi Center and beat the Nuggets, Denver Post columnist Woody Paige reported that Kings' coach Reggie Theus walked into the visitor's locker room and shouted, "Way to beat a horse[bleep] team." Theus heard of the accusation and vigorously denied it: "That is not true. That is a lie. If anything, I said, 'Way to beat a playoff team.' It definitely wasn't, 'Way to beat a horse[bleep] team.' I wouldn't say that about the Denver Nuggets. They're not a horse[bleep] team. George Karl is a great coach. Why would I say that? That would be ridiculous."
-- Steve Luhm
NEW JERSEY NETS
The Nets suffered a 104-83 loss at Cleveland after missing 19 of 20 shots in the fourth quarter. Over the final 18 minutes, they were outscored, 51-16. The game ended the Nets' playoff hopes and might trigger an overhaul of the roster. Bostjan Nachbar and DeSagana Diop are free agents, Nenad Krstic is a restricted free agent and top-10 scorer Richard Jefferson could be used as blockbuster trade bait. "I could be suiting up somewhere else next year, who knows?" he said. "Change happens. It's the NBA [and] change happens. What you want and what is a possibility are two different things."
DETROIT PISTONS
The Pistons honored their 50-year anniversary team on Tuesday during a game against the Knicks. Originally, a committee picked 25 players, but politics became an issue and five more were added: John Salley, James Edwards, Chris Ford, Jimmy Walker and Lindsey Hunter. Dennis Rodman was the only honoree who shunned the ceremonies. He told team officials he missed a plane, but veteran Piston-watchers believe Rodman remains unhappy about his salary while in Detroit and was reminding everyone of his displeasure. "Just Dennis being Dennis," said honorary coach Chuck Daly.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Just when it looked like the Spurs might pass New Orleans and the Lakers and earn the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, they stopped scoring. Now, they face the possibility of finishing as low as fifth in the West,
In a three-game stretch against Utah, Portland and Phoenix, San Antonio averaged 71.7 points, including 10.3 in the fourth quarter. "We're just not sharp enough," said Manu Ginobili. "We're not making shots. We're being too slow. We've got to work on that." After exploding for 79 points against the Suns, Tim Duncan said, "We played a lot of one-on-one basketball."
SACRAMENTO KINGS
After Sacramento went into the Pepsi Center and beat the Nuggets, Denver Post columnist Woody Paige reported that Kings' coach Reggie Theus walked into the visitor's locker room and shouted, "Way to beat a horse[bleep] team." Theus heard of the accusation and vigorously denied it: "That is not true. That is a lie. If anything, I said, 'Way to beat a playoff team.' It definitely wasn't, 'Way to beat a horse[bleep] team.' I wouldn't say that about the Denver Nuggets. They're not a horse[bleep] team. George Karl is a great coach. Why would I say that? That would be ridiculous."
-- Steve Luhm
12:08 PM
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