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Sunday, February 11, 2001
Rim: McGrady ready for first All-Star game
By Eric Karabell
ESPN.com
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FROM THE BASELINE
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WHO TO WATCH
WEST TEAM
It's no secret that Tim Duncan has been playing his best ball of the season in the last few weeks. He played some great ball in last yer's All-Star game, winning co-MVP honors with this line. Watch him do it again. |
Duncan |
| MIN |
FG |
REB |
AST |
PTS |
| 33 |
12-14 | 14 |
4 | 24 |
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WHO TO WATCH
EAST TEAM
Meanwhile, the East relied on more outside shooting in its 137-126 loss last year and expect Allen Iverson to come up with a similar line to what he did in Oakland. |
Iverson |
| MIN |
FG |
FT |
AST |
PTS |
| 28 |
10-18 | 4-5 |
9 | 26 |
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Number on our mind
Percentage that the sophomore team shot against the rookies on Saturday. Kinda like playing the Clippers, which of course the sophomores were (Richardson, Miles). |
64 |
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They said it
"I think I'm too old right now. Maybe down the road I'll be able to compete in some of those events, do the things I used to when I was 17."
-- Kobe Bryant actually said this on Saturday. Too old? He's 22!
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Bryant |
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Sun., Feb. 11
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A year ago, Tracy McGrady was the No. 2 option for the Raptors, and over the summer he left Canada to return home to Florida and be the No. 2 option for the Magic, behind Grant Hill.
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| McGrady |
Some called McGrady selfish for leaving one less-than-ideal situation for another. Others called him greedy and questioned his motives. And when Hill's surgically repaired foot wasn't healed at all, forcing him to miss all but four games of this season, McGrady, just 21 years old, became the top option.
It's all come very fast for McGrady, who not only got bad press for his choices but for a reported family squabble with distant cousin Vince Carter, one which ended up making neither superstar look particularly good.
But now McGrady is an All-Star, voted in by the fans and soaking up the aura of a stunning rise to the top of the basketball world. He's averaging more than 26 points a night, rebounding and blocking shots better than any other two-guard and finally, the Magic are looking like a sure East playoff team.
Orlando's rise above the .500 mark and into playoff contention -- oh, wait, you don't need to be .500 in the East for that -- has coincided with what McGrady admits is a definite plan to share the ball more with his teammates and be more team player. In fact, point guard Darrell Armstrong has led the team in scoring a number of times in the last two weeks. McGrady says he asked Carter and Hill what to do when you are the constant center of attention and your play appears to become selfish.
"When I receive the double teams and guys come at me every night, I see what Vince went through. Now it's on me to really counter what everybody is coming after me with. I found a way to beat the system now -- just get the other guys involved. It was frustrating at first because I couldn't figure out a way to beat it. Once I've been through it a while and found out a way to get around that, it's just like playing basketball again."
Playing basketball has never been a problem for McGrady, though it took to his fourth year for him to get to this level. Before this year he was better known as a dunker, and he showed off some of his skills in last year's dunk contest, which Carter won. However, McGrady wanted no part of this year's contest, despite the fact he would have been a prohibitive favorite.
"I don't think I'm a very good dunker, really," McGrady said. "I don't have the desire to compete in the contest. I did last year because Vince was in it. But I will never do it again. I'm not good enough to win."
Home Sweet Home
A number of All-Stars are returning home to the area where they went to school, making this weekend a little more special. Among that group is Allen Iverson, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo (Georgetown), Grant Hill (grew up and went to high school in Maryland) and David Robinson (Navy).
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| Iverson |
"It is special to me because I went to school here and have a lot of memories here and this was my home away from home," says Iverson, in his second All-Star game. "I learned a lot here and grew up a lot here. It is a great feeling to be back here and going through what I am going through right now. This is a special place and I will cherish this experience for the rest of my life."
"Always great memories," added Mutombo. "Especially from Georgetown, and all of the friends I have in the Washington area, and family members, and loved-ones who've been supporting me. And D.C.'s been home for me for almost 14 years. I have a house here in Potomac (Md.), so each time I come here I feel like I'm at home. Except this weekend I'm not staying in my house. I'm staying downtown, so I can enjoy myself a little bit."
Of course, not everyonr is so nostalgic about coming to Washington. Rasheed Wallace and Chris Webber, once building blocks for the Bullets, were dealt away and now are on two of the best teams in the NBA. Meanwhile, the Wizards have 12 wins.
"There's nothing too special about it," said Wallace, who grew up in Philadelphia. "I'm only here for the weekend and for the one game. I still have some friends down here that I communicate with, and I'm trying to make the best of it. Chris and I are still friends, and we're always going to be friends. We just sit back and when people see us together, they're like, 'You should have stayed together' and we're like, 'It wasn't our choice to leave.' "
Dunks, dunks and more dunks
Let's sum up the action from Saturday:
Rookie game: There certainly is talent out there in the NBA for the younger generation, but man, could they play a little D? Darius Miles scored nearly all his points on dunks (and missed quite a few dunks as well), but he could care less about defending anyone. Even the sophomores weren't too concerned about defense.
But when you're watching the West run up 130 points on the East on Sunday, you'll know precisely where these kids get it from.
2ball: We might be totally wrong here, but it sure seemed like the ladies outperformed the men in this even this year. But who's counting. Hometown boy Richard Hamilton should be counting, as he had a chance to get into the finals but missed the final shot. As for Predrag Stojakovic, we knew the kid could shoot, but those crisp chest passes to Ruthie Bolton-Holifield!
Shootout: Stojakovic would've had another Saturday victory if not for an improbable run by Ray Allen. He made 10 straight shots. To put that into perspective, no other streak made it to six. Allen was great, but this is no surprise. Peja, Ray and Dirk could own this contest for the next decade if they choose.
Dunk: We know how you feel about the dunk contest. These guys aren't any good, you've never heard of any of them, why should we want to watch them dunk? And when five of the first seven attempted dunks clanged all over the court but not in the net, you got the feeling Dominique was decades away.
But Desmond Mason did a nice job, and Baron Davis showed something in attempting a blindfolded shot really blindfolded. Davis was touted as the favorite and might have won just by trying a normal dunk and getting in the mid-40s instead of going for the kill. But you have to admire it anyway.
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