NBA BASKETBALL
The NBA This Week
<December 31, 2001>

By InsideHoops.com

Monday, Dec. 31: New Jersey at Washington features two of the East's hottest. The Nets have won 7 of their last 10. Kenyon Martin, last week, was suspended a game for flagrantly nailing Karl Malone, then came back to score 21 while playing terrific defense on Jerry Stackhouse. Martin has emerged as one of the most fun young players in the league, showing emotion, throwing down nasty dunks, and developing diverse skills. Jason Kidd is the best leader around, as he continues his mastery of the point guard position. Kerry Kittles has been inconsistent on offense, but defensively his hustle is essential. Keith Van Horn still needs to find exactly where on the court he's best with the ball. Todd MacCulloch remains slow-footed on defense, but performs nicely in all other areas. Lucious Harris and Richard Jefferson are the bright spots off the bench. The Wizards, meanwhile, had their 9-game winning streak ended by the Hornets last week. They've still won 8 of their last 10. Bad news for Richard Hamilton, as his injured groin could keep him out until mid or late January. Hubert Davis has replaced Hamilton in the lineup, but while Rip can create his own shots and lead the team, Davis is a utility player - a poor man's Reggie Miller. Courtney Alexander, who was having an awful season before getting injured, has been activated. At point guard, both Chris Whitney and Tyronn Lue have tried to do more since Hamilton went down. Michael Jordan bounced back after scoring just 6 points to drop 51. The kid still has some bounce in his legs. Popeye Jones has a cult following. He also rebounds and bangs. Kwame Brown should be playing NCAA ball right now. Center Brendan Haywood is one of the top draft surprises. This team may finally begin to struggle without Hamilton, a bit as teams figure out how to swarm Jordan defensively while not giving up open shots to others.

Also: Miami at Indiana should feature Pat Riley's hair sticking up... Milwaukee at Chicago gives us a glimpse of the Bulls under new head coach Bill Cartwright.

Tuesday, Jan. 1 Portland at L.A. Clippers, the only game of the night, offers nice individual matchups. The Blazers prove that what looks good on paper doesn't always pan out on the court. Hurt by injuries, but also lousy play and a lack of effort, they actually could miss the playoffs. While the injuries are obviously not his fault, it may not have been the best idea to put a Maurice Cheeks, a brand new coach, in charge of this squad. Damon Stoudamire is inconsistent. Scottie Pippen is hurt. Derek Anderson had been injured, but lately he's injuring the rim with bad shooting. Bonzi Wells has a bad knee. Ruben Patterson, his backup, is best off the bench. Rasheed Wallace has stepped up. Dale Davis is not a true center. Shawn Kemp barely gets minutes lately. Lucky fans chosen at random should get to make lineup changes during timeouts. As for the Clippers, the continued emergence of Quentin Richardson as scoring punch off the bench is a nice story. Everyone thought that Darius Miles and Corey Maggette were the two Clippers kids next in line to up their value to the team and league, but it's been Q who has risen the highest early. The Clippers are solid at home, but awful on the road. Point guard Jeff McInnis has been durable but he needs a 3-point shot. Maggette, while playing better defense than anyone, also needs to develop his shot. Lamar Odom's offense has fallen off this year, but he's passing extremely well, hitting the boards, and doing everything else. He's bothered by a bad wrist, and perhaps his offense will pick up once it heals. Elton Brand has been the most dominant Clipper. Michael Olowakandi has enjoyed the benefits of having Brand around. It'll be fun seeing Wallace and Brand go at each other.

Wednesday, Jan. 2: Milwaukee at Minnesota is a good matchup. The Bucks have been without Ray Allen (tendinitis in the knee), but have barely missed him thanks to terrific play from Michael Redd and Tim Thomas. Redd has been starting in Allen's place, and he's quickly proven to be a real player. Tim Thomas, Sam Cassell and Glenn Robinson have also stepped up in Allen's absence. Anthony Mason still isn't in the shape he should be in, but he's doing the dirty work and providing what's needed. The team still has no real center, but Joel Przybilla plays one on tv. Ervin Johnson can rebound and defend, and brag about having Magic's name. Darvin Ham has been nice off the bench lately, throwing down nasty dunks and then making funny faces at courtside fans while running back down the floor. Now that things are going a bit better, coach George Karl has refrained from insulting his players to the media as they sit nearby, pissed off. Minnesota, meanwhile, has missed the leadership of the injured Terrell Brandon, who is out healing his knee for another month or two. Chauncey Billups has played well in his absense, but isn't as good at closing out games as Terrell is. The Timberwolves have blown some leads that Brandon would have helped maintain. Wally Szczerbiak keeps improving, and has gone from a nice role player to a budding star. Kevin Garnett is unguardable. Joe Smith rebounds and defends. Rasho Nesterovic is still the team's best center, improving slowly but steadily. Anthony Peeler is the best player off the bench. Tonight, we get to see Michael Redd try to step up against Wally, and various Bucks try to annoy Garnett.

Also: Detroit at San Antonio features Bruce Bowen trying to lock down Jerry Stackhouse... L.A. Clippers at Sacramento features Elton Brand and Lamar Odom against Peja Stojakovic and Chris Webber... Philadelphia at Phoenix features a swarm of defenders chasing Allen Iverson... Toronto at Portland showcases Vince Carter against the world.

Thursday, Jan. 3: Dallas at New York is tonight's top battle. Point guard Steve Nash is playing like an all-star. It's possible he'll be named a reserve on this year's team. Michael Finley has a strained hamstring. Dirk Nowitzki is too quick for power forwards to contain, and too tall for small forwards to defend against down low. He's a budding superstar and a permanent matchup problem. Juwan Howard came off the bench for a few weeks, but then returned to the starting lineup and did a bit more of the rebounding and dirty work the Mavs need him to do. Shawn Bradley, coming off an ankle injury, has been a bust this season. He now has a chance to set things right. Dallas' best punch off the bench is Eduardo Najera. Although his free throw shooting is horrible, he's improved in that area substantially since last season. Most other aspects of his game are pretty solid. The team is happy to have Greg Buckner returning from knee injury fairly soon. Greg's a top defender, and his hustle is definitely needed. New York has fallen apart since the departure of Jeff Van Gundy. Their defense has disappeared. Mark Jackson puts up decent stats, but unless a team just forgets to guard him, there isn't much he can do other than take open shots and make sound passes. He doesn't penetrate and create, and is slow on defense. The man is old. Allan Houston is a shooter, but not a superstar that makes teammates better. He's a piece of a puzzle, not someone you build a team around. Latrell Sprewell forever remains out of position at small forward as long as Allan Houston is around. Kurt Thomas is good at committing lots of fouls, and sometimes hitting a few shots. Marcus Camby has been very inconsistent. His foot still hurts. Look for Dallas to ride the Nowitzki train in this matchup.

Also: Golden State at Charlotte features Larry Hughes and Antawn Jamison against Baron Davis and Lee Nailon... Detroit at Houston features Jerry Stackhouse against Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley.

Friday, Jan. 4: Phoenix at L.A. Lakers is interesting because Shaquille O'Neal may miss the game. Shaq's feet, both of which are bigger than Lyndsey Hunter, are a mess. A toe on his right foot is arthritic, and his left foot hurts. His rapping is also somewhat painful. Surgery may be required to solve all three problems. His absense hurts the team on both ends of the floor. Kobe Bryant is the only other Laker who really creates opportunities for others. He's playing hurt, with a pulled muscle in his midsection. Point guard Derek Fisher is missing lots of shots. Rick Fox has been in a shooting slump. Slava Medvedenko, playing power forward while Samaki Walker plays center, is doing well, and may earn himself real minutes for the rest of the season should he keep his solid play up. Devean George, responding to Phil Jackson's challenge to step up this season, keeps emerging as a solid guy to bring off the bench. As for Phoenix, Stephon Marbury has been terrific lately. Penny Hardaway, who has managed to remain healthy and play effectively all season, is still looking to break out of a shooting slump. Shawn Marion puts out a decent game one day, and a great one the next. He's the sparkplug on both ends of the floor. Power forward Tom Gugliotta has never been the same since getting injured. As has been the case for 900 years, the Suns have no center. Off the bench, Rodney Rogers has been excellent, and Bo Outlaw and Dan Majerle provide defense. Tony Delk can pour in baskets, when he's not hurt. Right now, his knee is banged up.

Also: Chicago at Washington features Michael Jordan trying to destroy his former team... Orlando at New Jersey features Kerry Kittles trying to contain Tracy McGrady... Utah at Minnesota is a good matchup, since the Jazz have been steadily recovering all season, and Minnesota is weaker without Terrell Brandon... Philadelphia at Seattle features Gary Payton on one end, Allen Iverson on the other.

WEEKEND:

Saturday, Jan. 5: San Antonio and Dallas is a battle of elite Western leaders. This is always a good matchup because the Mavericks have no one to contain Tim Duncan, but San Antonio must deal with Dirk Nowitzki. Besides stepping up almost every aspect of his game this season, Tim Duncan has surprised everyone by finally improving his free throw shooting. Last season he shot under 62%. This season, he's around 80%. Steve Smith's superior outside shooting is the perfect compliment to Duncan's inside (and all-around) game. Bruce Bowen, lately, is hitting better from the outside as well. David Robinson, after early struggles, is playing well, with energy. San Antonio's bench players are inconsistent. To beat the Spurs, you have to hit well from the outside. Look for Nash and company to avoid challenging San Antonio's interior defense and rely on their jump-shots... Sacramento at Phoenix should be a great game. There are terrific individual matchups at the first three spots. The Kings have the serious edge at power forward and center. The key for Sacramento is for Chris Webber to fit within the flow of the team. He can dominate, but that's not necessarily a good thing for the team. He doesn't have to score 20 points to help them win. Most important is that Chris create opportunities. If he's not being guarded, he shoot score; but, the moment defenses shift extra attention towards him, the ball should already be out of his hands.

Sunday, Jan. 6: L.A. Lakers at Toronto features Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter. Enough said... Milwaukee at Sacramento will be a good game. The Kings are the better team, but they just faced the Suns last night. The Bucks make you chase their outside shooters all over the floor, so fatigue could be a factor for Sacramento. Look for Michael Redd to keep trying to make a name for himself, before Ray Allen returns and forces him to the bench... Seattle at Memphis features Gary Payton trying to exploit Jason Williams' defensive limitation. But with the green light to go nuts, look for Williams to at least attempt to test the Glove. Seeing Rashard Lewis battle rookies Shane Battier and Pau Gasol will also be good.

Enjoy the week.