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Thursday, April 19, 2001
Fred's Points: Bucks, Stack and Wang
ESPN.com
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What's the first thing you notice when you see ESPN's Fred Carter on NBA 2Night or SportsCenter? Of course, he points at you. It's his way of saying hello. So we've asked NBA expert Fred to greet us and make some points for ESPN.com each week. Enjoy.
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| Cassell |
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| Allen |
1. The Bucks are probably too far behind Philly to catch them (four games, eight to play), but they certainly have served notice by going 7-0 against the top four West teams. How dangerous are these Bucks?
George Karl has done an outstanding job with his ballclub, recognizing that they're an offensive team by nature, and stressing their strength. Until recently George has been trying to emphasize defense by putting so much pressure on them to play hard at the defensive end that their offensive production suffered.
He's finally allowed them to be what they are; an offensive juggernaut. The Bucks put pressure on teams because they have so many guys who can score individually. They don't have a post player, but their offensive talent forces you to match them. They also can bring players off the bench like Tim Thomas and Lindsey Hunter who are also incredible offensive players. Ray Allen, Sam Cassell and Glenn Robinson can also hit the three.
They can match up with Philadelphia should they both get far enough. They've played the Sixers well this season, going 2-2 even though they gave a game away at home, blowing a considerable lead. Philly's problem is perimeter defense, which is exactly Milwaukee's strength. In the two games the Bucks have played against Philadelphia with Dikembe Mutombo, he has one blocked shot. In other words, the Bucks don't have an inside game, so it negates Mutombo's defensive presence.
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| Stackhouse |
2. Jerry Stackhouse lights up the Bulls for a career-high and NBA season-high 57 points on Tuesday. If Allen Iverson was a Piston, and had little talent around him, how many points would he score? Our question is, is Stackhouse's accomplishment worth much?
It's still a tremendous accomplishment that I hope people won't cast in a negative light by saying he achieved something like that against a bad team. You still have to get the ball in the bucket, even if you're playing against the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Sometimes the iron can be unkind or downright rude and won't accept the basketball. That particular night the basket accepted the basketball for Jerry and he went out and got himself 57.
Unfortunately, the Pistons would like to see him do that against the Sixers and not the Bulls. But Jerry can't choose the day he has a hot hand. Would Allen score more on a team with talent like Detroit? I don't know. There's only 48 minutes in a game and on a team with more talent, more players get shots. Scoring 57 is quite an accomplishment. Give Jerry Stackhouse his due.
3. Wang Zhizhi was introduced to the media on Wednesday. The new Maverick should suit up on Thursday. But how much can we expect this 7-footer from China to really contribute to a team which is playing great ball and has a rotation set?
Don Nelson has a tremendous basketball coaching IQ. He knows how to handle players and to put them in a position to succeed. It will take him time to learn about this player. Wang is a fairly unknown commodity right now. Nelson needs time to figure out his strengths and weaknesses. It will take at least a few games, so Nellie is going to have to get him in the lineup right away if he really thinks he'll be able to help.
Whether Wang turns out to be a shot-blocker, defender or scorer Nelson will fit him into the rotation. It will also take Wang some time to get used to the rigors of NBA play. I don't think he will be able to answer the physicality that will be thrown at him. He's a 7-foot-1 guy who is very light in the cakes. I don't think he will be able to hold his position without being walked out of there. So, he'll play this season in order for Nellie to get a read on him, but it's going to take a while for Wang to become accustomed to the pounding he'll take.
4. There's been a lot of talk that Sacramento really needs to get home-court advantage to do damage in the playoffs. They haven't won a playoff series with this group yet, mainly because that first-round Game 5 is always on the road. Do the Kings have to finish in the top four out West to advance?
I think any of the teams in the West would be advised to finish in the top four if they are going to move on, but especially Sacramento. As has been demonstrated time after time, it is very difficult to go on the road and win in the playoffs.
The biggest game of a five-game series is Game One. In a short series, if you get behind you press earlier than in a seven-game series because you already feel yourself running out of time. Playing game one at home is a huge advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
In the Kings' case, game one is important because if they go down they might already be thinking, to quote Yogi, it's "deja vu all over again."
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| Mourning |
5. One week down for Alonzo Mourning in his comeback, and the Heat have lost three of the four games. Should we read anything into this, or is it just a coincidence?
I don't think we need to read anything into the fact that the Heat have lost three of four since Zo has been back.
What was surprising, in their last game against the Celtics, Zo played 23 minutes, but was not on the floor at the end of the game. I think Pat Riley needs to balance Alonzo's minutes better. At the end of the game, Zo brings four things: scoring, shot-blocking, rebounding and a crowd. He attracts traffic and can pass out of the double-team. They needed all that against Boston but Zo was on the bench.
I assume Pat Riley saw his error and will reshuffle Alonzo's minutes so he will physically be able to go down the stretch.
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