---

By M.J. Darnell

Throwing 'Bows is a big weekly ride around the league

Tim Duncan, Intimidator

People get on Tim Duncan all the time for not being flashier. It's absurd, but it happens. I don't know if they want him to pound his chest, curse at the refs, wag his finger or what, but fans, sports writers, commentators, and everyone else get on his case for being boring, as if he'd become a better player or a more worthy champion if he got in his man's grill and yapped about the abuse he just dished out.

It occurs to me that for his opponents, there must be nothing more intimidating in the world than facing Tim Duncan. Someone once said of Wayne Gretzky that he always knew what play would be the hardest for the goalie to make, and then he forced him to make it. The same is true of Duncan. Wherever he gets the ball, wherever his man is positioned, he knows the best route to getting the ball in the hole with as little interference from the defender as possible. Whatever play is hardest for the defender to make, he will have to make it. Or he will be scored upon.

And inevitably, he is scored upon. Then comes the intimidation. Duncan does not pull his jersey to the side and expose a tattoo. He does not pound his chest, or point to the sky. He does not tell the defender how embarrassed he should be. A look comes over his face that says, "That has happened before. It will happen again. You are powerless to stop it. I know it, and you know it." And all the defender can do is try erase the image from his head of the ball leaving Duncan's fingertips, kissing the glass, and going through the net.

Makin' You My Bench

When two teams that are fairly evenly matched go at it in the playoffs, it can all come down to the 'warmers. A good bench can provide an intensity boost, an offensive spark, a defensive stop, and a few crucial extra points per game. Let's look at the bench crew of the league's legitimate title contenders.

Fine Benches:

Indiana Pacers. The Pacers are in pretty good shape on the bench. Al Harrington can make an argument for best bench player in the league. He's the Pacers third-leading scorer, and throws in 6.7 boards per game, too. Austin Croshere shoots almost 40% from three-point land and can be counted on to come in and play a smart game. Anthony Johnson provides stability at the point behind Jamaal Tinsley.

San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have been mixing Hedo Turkoglu into the starting line-up, and hopefully for them, he'll gain some confidence and start producing, because Manu Ginobili provides a nice spark off the bench. Ginobili's a better player than Turkoglu and would probably end up getting more minutes through the course of a game. But if they can get Turkoglu comfortable enough to produce enough in a starting role, being able to bring Ginobili off the bench would be a nice little ace in the hole for the Spurs. His style of play is perfect to give the team a lift when they need it. Charlie Ward plays a smart game, and brings toughness and defense, and Robert Horry can still hit the big shots. Malik Rose and Kevin Willis are arguably the league's best big-man back-up tandem.

Detroit Pistons. Perhaps it's a stretch to call them NBA title contenders, but I thought I should recognize at least two teams from the East. This team had the best bench in basketball last year. This year, it's fairly solid, but Jon Barry was a bigger loss than you might think. Bob Sura just doesn't provide the outside shooting or the spark that Barry did. Elden Campbell is capable of giving quality minutes down low, and Chucky Atkins can run the offense efficiently and stick the three. Corliss Williamson is one of the best bench scorers in the game. Most defenders can't handle his size and strength, and he's an outstanding post scorer.

Sacramento Kings. By playoff time, the Kings will probably be bringing Brad Miller off the bench. Miller and Bobby Jackson can also make an argument for being the best two bench players in the league. Jackson would probably start on about half of the league's teams, and Miller would be a clear starter on all but about two NBA teams. Somehow, Darius Songaila has come up with some pretty tight game, at both ends of the floor. Anthony Peeler is a veteran who can come in and hit some shots and play a solid all-around game.

Ugly Benches:

Minnesota Timberwolves. I don't know what the Wolves will be trotting out there by the time the playoffs roll around, but I do know this: You simply cannot ignore the Mark Madsen factor. After that, Olowokandi, Szczerbiak, and Hudson have combined to play about 10 minutes this year, and should some or all of them get healthy, who knows what kind of shape they'd be in or who would be starting or coming off the bench. For now, I'm sticking them in the "Ugly Bench" category because with the three afore-mentioned players at 100%, you'd think at least two of them would get into the starting line-up, not leaving a whole lot on the bench. But who knows? Too hard to tell at this point.

Dallas Mavericks. Yeah, they've got enough talent to be able to bring an all-star caliber player off the bench in Antawn Jamison, but after that, there are question marks. Danny Fortson has been fairly worthless. Eduardo Najera has actually started to develop rust. And there isn't much else that's noteworthy.

Los Angeles Lakers. I'm going to go ahead and assume that Rick Fox has reassumed his starting role by the time the playoffs roll around. The bench is a huge question mark for the Lakers. Even assuming that the big four are all healthy and available in the postseason (not the surest bet in the world), the Lakers will not win the championship unless someone steps up from the bench to provide a little scoring. Against the 76ers on Thursday night, when they desperately needed someone to step up after Gary Payton was tossed, the Lakers looked like Shaq and a poor NBDL team. The most likely candidate to provide some points off the pine is Kareem Rush. He's shown some impressive flashes, but I don't know how good an idea it would be to bank on him in the playoffs. Other than that, Derek Fisher can hit a three here and there and Devean George can provide a little bit, but that's about it. Ho Grant and Slava Medvedenko are about as intimidating in the post as the Laker girls. What would the Lakers do when Shaq and/or Karl need to catch a breather while some combination of Vlade/Webber/Miller is on the court against them?

Moving the Franchise

We talked a little last week about Steve Francis perhaps not being the best point guard possible to play with Yao Ming. I suggested getting Mark Jackson some more time at the point and playing Francis at the 2, but now, I don't know if that's good enough. The best thing for the Rockets might be to have The Franchise playing at the 2... for the Shanghai Sharks.

According to Jeff Van Gundy (and it's hard to believe he'd make something like this up), The Franchise decided to attend the Super Bowl rather than head to Phoenix to compete with his teammates against the Phoenix Suns. Just to be clear, this was not an exhibition game. It counted in the standings, just like 81 others on the Rockets schedule. And the rest of his teammates were there. They all apparently own TVs and VCRs, perhaps even a Tivo, and decided they could catch the game later. Or maybe they decided to read about it the next day in USA Today. Or maybe they thought honoring their commitment to the team and playing against Phoenix was a little more important. Who knows with these crazy youngsters today?

This is unacceptable. Steve Francis is incredibly talented, and he deserved (past tense) every opportunity to make things work with Yao. But it never really did. And this little incident should have burned up his last chance. He's got to go. If you're a Rockets fan, can you forgive him for this? If the Rockets were my team, I'd be showing up at the Toyota Center and Steve Francis would be hearing some very unflattering things about his mother.

The Mighty 10:

1. Sacramento. Best record in the L and 4 straight gets them back the top spot.

2. Minnesota. Also on fire, including 8 of last 10, but... that loss to Atlanta is just weird.

2 (t). Dallas. Still on fire, including 8 of last 10. Three of the next five are against the Hawks, Knicks, and Cavs, so the roll should continue.

4. San Antonio. Friday night against the Kings should be fun to watch. By the way, through some incredible mental lapse, I left San Antonio completely out of the Mighty 10 last week, and no one said a word about it. Show some pride, Spurs fans. Call me names.

5. Indiana. Ron Artest is as deserving on his All-Star spot as anyone. Good for him.

6. New Jersey. Lawrence Frank currently holds the all-time NBA record for best winning percentage as a coach. He's yet to lose. That's just amazing. Of course, it's less amazing when you consider that the wins came over the Heat, Hornets, Rockets, Magic, and 76ers. Tuesday night against the D should be fun to watch.

7. Detroit. And speaking of the D... they're still clearly the 2nd-best team in the East, but I wanted to give Coach Frank some love, so I gave him the nod. But we'll see what happens Tuesday night.

8. Denver. Three wins in a row, including a convincing one over Dallas.

9. Memphis. Lost three of their last five, but back-to-back W's keep them in the Mighty 10.

10. Lakers. Just barely clinging to the 10 spot. If the playoffs started today, the Lakers would be a 5-seed against the 4th-seeded Mavs. And I wouldn't like the Lakers chances, healthy or not.

The Meek 5:

25. Atlanta. That win over Minnesota just makes so little sense. The win over Milwaukee isn't completely logical, either. But it does get them out of the way bottom of the cellar.

26. Boston. Lost five in a row. Since January 12th, have won two games. Good news for Celtics plans is that Danny Ainge said this week he had a "long-term vision." Congratulations, Celtics. You get to be terrible for a very long time.

27. Phoenix. They should send Steve Francis a thank-you letter for being such a selfish child. Otherwise, they might be looking at a Celtic-like 5 L's in a row.

28. Orlando. Dear Magic: Please string together a few wins. I am getting tired of talking about how bad you are.

29. Chicago. See above.

The Mailbag

Hey MJD, do you think LeBron and 'Melo were unjustly left off the all-star teams? And on a side note, do you think the voting for the starters needs to go? I mean Yao Ming and Vince Carter at the top? - Danks, Maine

The All-Star game voting needs to go, as do a lot of other things about the NBA's All-Star weekend, and again, I planned on getting into that more next week. As for LeBron and Carmelo, no, I really don't think they were jobbed.

Let's start with LeBron. He'd have to replace one of the guards in the East, which include Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Baron Davis, and Jason Kidd. Iverson leads the league in scoring. Kidd leads the league in assists and is the best point in the game. McGrady, as much as I don't feel like he's done a lot to be rewarded this year, is 2nd in the league in scoring, and it would be hard to argue that LeBron should take his place. That leaves Pierce. If you compare their numbers, Pierce holds a slight edge in points and rebounds, while LeBron holds a slight edge in assists. It's a pretty close call, and Michael Redd might even be able to make a better argument than LeBron. The fact that the Celtics have a better record than the Cavs is a factor, and so is the fact that Pierce is a veteran. I don't hold his age against LeBron, but if it's too close to call, I think the vet should get the nod. There will be plenty of time for LeBron to be making All-Star teams.

As for Carmelo, I definitely don't feel like he was jobbed. If anyone was jobbed in the West, it was Zach Randolph. Looking at the forwards in the West, Garnett and Duncan are givens. After that, it's Kirilenko, Nowitzki, and Stojakovic. Peja's playing at an MVP level. He's got to stay. Kirilenko plays a tremendous all-around game, and while he doesn't score like some of the others, he leads the West in both steals and blocks per game. Props to the NBA coaches who recognized that. But no props to anyone who voted Dirk (20.9 and 8.7) over Zach Randolph (21.4 and 10.9).

Just like LeBron, there is plenty of time for Carmelo to be making All-Star teams. For now, let's enjoy the fact that we all have at least a little reason to be watching the Rookie/Sophomore game.

Please tell me that the Spurs had one of the worst off-seasons. They bring in Nesterovic who was trash to begin with, and really shows that now and Hedo Turkoglu who does nothing when he plays but still plays 20 min. a game. The Spurs can't score and last time I checked they have Ron Mercer who can shoot and score, something which Turkoglu can't. I don't know when the Spurs management will ever realize that Duncan can't do it all. Please tell me that Nesterovic and Turkoglu won't be on the Spurs when the trading deadline passes. - John M., Aurora, CO

What is it with the Ron Mercer love recently? That M. in your last name, there... it wouldn't stand for Mercer, would it? If it does, Mr. and Mrs. Mercer, thank you very much for reading the column. Hey, I don't know why they don't play the guy. Maybe it's the fact that he doesn't penetrate and settles for jumpers. Maybe, as I said last week, the Spurs have an all-out team commitment to defense. Maybe they feel (and rightly so) that Turkoglu's potential is far greater, and it's worth it to give him the minutes and see if they can't build his confidence.

I don't agree that Nesterovic is "trash." If you look at his numbers, they're actually quite similar to those of David Robinson last year. Even if it was Wilt Chamberlain coming out of retirement, no one who filled the shoes of David Robinson was going to be accepted right away in San Antonio. It's kinda like when Steve Young replaced Joe Montana. 49er fans hated him for a while. I'm not saying that Nesterovic is Steve Young, but I think he's been fine. He's the least of the Spurs worries right now.

As far as the trading deadline goes, I'm pretty sure Rasho will still be there. And I think if you had a few games with Kevin Willis or Malik Rose taking all of Rasho's minutes, you'd want Rasho back, too. As for Turkoglu, they've moved him into the starting line-up, and perhaps that will pay off. He scored 14 points on 8 shots against Seattle. Production similar to that, perhaps a little more, is exactly what he should be contributing. If the Spurs make any major deals before the dead line, it could be for an Eastern Conference point guard that made a few visits to San Antonio this summer, and likely wouldn't include either of those guys.

Still think Darko isn't Sam Bowie? - Wendell South

I think not much has changed since the last time I commented on Darko. I said then that the Pistons didn't plan on him contributing this year, and that's still the plan. The Pistons have Ben Wallace, Elden Campbell, Mehmet Okur, Zelly Rebraca and Corliss Williamson at the 4 and 5 spots. There is still no need for him to play right now. Since you asked, though, Darko's lack of playing time does underscore the NBA's need for an improved minor-league system. It's not doing him a lot of good to sit on the bench every night... young players need to be getting minutes against other quality players. Perhaps that's something we'll get into more in a future edition of Throwin' Bows.

I watched the Cavs/Lakers game last night, and have seen several Cavs games. Is it just me, or does Ilgauskas have game when he wants to, and sluffs off when he doesn't wanna play? Also, Shaq commits an offensive foul almost every time he runs through the paint. I think he's a crybaby about getting fouled. - Kim, Ashburn, VA.

I don't know what it means to "sluff off," but I'm pretty sure I don't want to watch Zydrunas Ilgauskus do it. Z has been known to take a play off here and there, but really, most guys do. The bigger concern for the Cavs should be his defense, and with so many teams looking for big men as the playoffs approach, they could probably get something pretty nice in return for him. I'm sure they'll keep their ears open.

About Shaq... I agree and I don't. He's the hardest player to officiate in the history of team sports. You can't punish a guy for his size, and his size is the exact reason that so much contact is made. He may make more offensive contact than anyone, but he also takes more of a beating that anyone in the NBA, with the possible exception of Allen Iverson. It's easy to say he's committing fouls every time, but pay attention to the abuse he takes, too. It's not easy for a referee to call. If Calvin Booth, for example, takes a drop step towards the bucket and makes contact, his defender probably isn't going to the ground. If Shaq does the same thing, however, the defender is lucky to survive the collision. I really don't think Shaq does things more or less unfairly than any other big man in the league. His size just blurs the lines, and it's not right to hold that against him.

Question, comment, problem, tirade, hate mail, love note? Send it along here.

M.J. Darnell runs www.themightymjd.com