The Knicks can't contain Vince Carter.

The only drama left in the NBA until the playoffs begin is the battle between the Magic and Bucks to see who gets to play the Pacers in round 1 and who goes home for the summer.

Bucks coach George Karl pulled out an interesting weapon recently: He tried to convince Orlando Magic players that their General Manger (John Gabriel) doesn't care about them and plans on throwing them all away.
"What no one talks about is how Doc (Rivers) and the players have done a great job," Karl said. "But there's a chance only four or five of those players will be back on the team. We talk about players not having loyalty. John Gabriel and the organization is not going to have any loyalty to a team that's giving Orlando a hell of a run. I think that's kind of (crummy), to be honest with you." 

That's quite a tactic - distract the players enough to cause them to lose their few remaining precious games, and therefore allowing the Bucks to slip into the playoffs.

Lets see if it works...

At least Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has us doing something that we almost never feel any desire to do - discuss the Mavericks. Though, their excellent stretch over the last few months certainly helped as well. Dallas went 13-4 last month! Now get rid of Don Nelson and get a good point guard and center and you've got a team that should make the playoffs next season.

While the West is the best this season, the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs should be a ton of fun. Unlike the West, the East is wide open, and for all we know the lower seeds could (ok it's not likely, but it truly is possible) win every single round.

Starting next season, there will be no delay-of-game warnings in the final two minutes of NBA games. This was done because, as we all know, the final two minutes of NBA games tend to take about 19 hours.

Grant Hill really likes Pistons Coach George Irvine. If Detroit management keeps Irvine around, expect Grant Hill to ignore offers from other teams (Hill is a free agent this summer) and remain a Piston.

Tim Hardaway and Grant Hill have slightly injured left feet right now (that's not some weird joke - it's accurate).

On a serious note: Vin Baker is having some problems. He's depresssed and is seeing someone about it. Fortunately, Baker has revealed his issues to people, and as a result, he is has people to talk to and is receiving help.

(InsideHoops note from editor to anyone out there feeling depressed - finding someone to open up to and discuss things with is really helpful. It can be hard to do. It's often easier just to keep things bottled up and tell people to leave you alone when they ask you if anything is wrong. But not opening up and keeping everything to yourself is like fighting a constant battle. Opening up, and finding people to talk to and explain your feelings to is a fantastic thing. Even if you don't know what is exactly wrong, letting your friends, family, or a professional know how you feel and what's going on in your head and heart is the right way to go.)

4/17/2000

____________

Say what you've got to say on the InsideHoops NBA MESSAGE BOARD