NBA BASKETBALL
This Week in the NBA
<February 4, 2002>

By InsideHoops.com

Monday, Feb. 4: Sacramento at New Jersey is a potential NBA finals matchup. The Kings have won five games in a row, and when at their best, they're the best. Mike Bibby has been making shots and creating opportunities. His defense has been very solid lately. Doug Christie missed lots of shots last week but has been clutch and is playing his usual terrific defense. Peja Stojakovic can make shots from the parking lot. He's an all-star for good. Chris Webber is at the top of his game. Vlade Divac, the old man of the crew, still does a bit of everything. Off the bench, Bobby Jackson, Hedo Turkoglu and Scot Pollard perform night in and night out. The Nets are rolling as well, having won four of their last five. In the history of the NBA, only four players have more triple-doubles than Jason Kidd - and he's got plenty of time left in his career. Kerry Kittles was shooting the lights out for a few weeks, and logic suggested that he'd cool down. Well, he hasn't. The net keeps ripping. Kenyon Martin is hot as well, though his rebounding remains weak. This is due to a group-rebounding mentality, but he should still raise his average by a few boards per game. Keith Van Horn is hot one minute and cold the next two. Todd MacCulloch remains steady. Off the bench, Richard Jefferson keeps improving, often putting up starter-quality stats. Thanks to the team's success, Byron Scott is the coach of this year's East All-Star team. This game should be awesome.

Also: Minnesota at San Antonio.

Tuesday, Feb. 5: Toronto at Washington showcases Vince Carter, Richard Hamilton and Michael Jordan. The Raptors will be without Hakeem Olajuwon, who is out for 4-6 weeks with a strained leg muscle. Jerome Williams is active, but he's limited by an ankle sprain. This puts lots of pressure on Antonio Davis, Keon Clark and perhaps Eric Montross to step up. Alvin Williams has been solid. Vince Carter is doing his usual on offense, and defensively he's been stepping up noticibly. With Olajuwon out, Davis has a chance to shine like he did last year. Toronto's bench is weak due to the above injuries, with Chris Childs and spare change available. If you remember Morris Peterson, his broken finger is still healing and he's still out. The Wizards, meanwhile, are once again a hot team. Michael Jordan is playing at an insanely high level. With Richard Hamilton back, Jordan will have an even easier time scoring and creating. Courtney Alexander, a non-factor early in the season before getting hurt, is playing well, and has a better understanding of how he fits in. Point guard Chris Whitney has stepped up lately with clutch shots. Hubert Davis was terrific while Hamilton was out, and should keep contributing off the bench. Tyrone Nesby has been excellent backing up Jordan. The power forwards and centers on this team are expected to rebound, defend and, once in a while, score. Popeye Jones, Etan Thomas, Brendan Haywood and Jahidi White aren't all-stars, but they're passable. Of them, Thomas has shown the most improvement over the last few weeks. This game is a solid matchup. Expect a show from Jordan and Vinsanity.

Also: Dallas at Indiana, Boston at Charlotte, Philadelphia at Detroit.

Wednesday, Feb. 6: Dallas at New Jersey should be wild. See the Nets update above. The Mavericks are happy to have Michael Finley back - though it should be noted that they went 12-1 without him. That stat has people talking about possibly trading Finley for a star power forward or center. A move isn't expected, but speculation is always fun. Without Finley, Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki stepped up in a big way. Both players are now West All-Stars. Juwan Howard was also huge, putting up 20-and-10 numbers for about half the games Finley missed. Adrian Griffin has been playing small forward and contributing in many ways. Dirk Nowitzki had been playing center a lot, but basically gets moved to any position at any time. Shawn Bradley, back from injury, has played his best basketball of the season lately. That's not saying much, but early on he was a joke, whereas now he's actually contributing and worth putting on the court for a few minutes. Off the bench, Tim Hardaway, Eduardo Najera and even Wang Zhizhi are contributing. Danny Manning has seen some burn recently. This team is heavily loaded, but they're still missing power and size up front to battle the Shaqs and Tim Duncans of the league. This game should be terrific to watch.

Also: Sacramento at Boston, Portland at Minnesota, Houston at Cleveland.

Thursday, Feb. 7: San Antonio at Toronto features two teams with issues. See the Raptors update above. The Spurs are still a top team but they do have some problems. Last season they had the NBA's best home record - 33-8. We're just reaching the All-Star break, and yet they already have 8 home losses. (On a side note, the Spurs change arenas next season - this is their last year in the Alamodome.) Point guard Tony Parker, back from a sprained ankle, isn't as quick as he had been before the injury. He is penetrating, but doesn't have that little something extra anymore. It'll come back as he heals. Parker, still a kid, will take a while to develop his shooting. Antonio Daniels has been solid at the shooting guard spot. Steve Smith, playing small forward due to Bruce Bowen's injury, lives outside the arc. Tim Duncan is Tim Duncan. David Robinson is quickly losing it, getting slower and less effective as the season goes on. His knee is banged up - the same knee he had problems with in the past. Off the bench, Terry Porter and Malik Rose do what they can. The injury bug has bitten both these teams, and watching them adjust will be interesting.

Also: Sacramento at Washington, Philadelphia at Charlotte.

Friday, Feb. 8: No games scheduled.

Saturday, Feb. 9: All-Star Saturday.

Sunday, Feb. 10: All-Star game at Philadelphia, 5 p.m. Eastern time.