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Updated: April 16, 3:43 PM ET These guys may be more valuable than the MVPs By David Aldridge Special to ESPN.com |
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This could be the closest MVP race ever. Who do you choose?
Not to mention Shaq, who by rights should win this thing every year? Every night, I change my mind. Never have there been so many players of different shapes, sizes and games being so dominant on a nightly basis. But there are others who will be just as important to their teams' respective chances of making, or advancing, in the playoffs. They have various names: "glue guys," "harmonizers," "role players." Whatever you want to call them, you have to have at least one on your squad if you're going to do anything. They normally aren't the top scorer, but they often have to check the other team's hot hand. They may not get the rebound, but they'll give up their body to box out the seven-footer. They're the guys that have to bump the cutters and set the screens and hit the jumper when their man leaves them to double-team the superstar. They aren't the MVPs. But on their side of the street, they're just as important. And their teams can't win without them. Here are 10 to keep an eye on as we go down the stretch:
 With Todd MacCullough's season over and career in jeopardy, Philly has to get productive minutes in the hole out of DC, who has proven as tantalizing as ever in recent weeks. He dominated the Nets in Jersey after the all-star break, providing intimidation at the defensive end and offensive boards in crunch time. Looks like he's in shape, too. With their lack of size, the Sixers couldn't move Coleman, in the final year of his deal, although many teams wanted him. Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make.
 Dallas's premier low-post stopper. Dallas's only low-post stopper. The Mavs brought Najera along slowly from his knee injury because they know he's the only chance they have to slow down the likes of Webber and Rasheed Wallace in the playoffs. But the 6-8 Najera will guard anybody; against Washington, he played outstanding post defense against Michael Jordan, keeping the ball out of MJ's hands in the closing seconds. And he kept Dallas in the game in the first half by just going to the offensive boards. "I like challenges," Najera says. "I know they're more talented than me. But if you outwork them, you're just even. I've just got to play smarter, beat them to the spot, be physical with these kinds of players. So if they tell me I have to guard Shaq, I'll do it. If I have to guard Ray Allen, I'll do it. I've done it before."
 Washington's hopes of making the playoffs rest not with MJ's 40-year-old knees, but with the 7-foot Haywood's willingness to mix it up inside and give the Wizards some post presence. He will challenge shots, as he did against Yao Ming on Thursday, but has a tendency to play small on the glass, not going up to get boards, but waiting for them to come to him. "Sometimes, you don't even know Brendan is out there," sighs a Wizards braintruster. But when the second-year center does show up, as he did in a double-double last Tuesday in Indiana, Washington can win big games on the road.
 On the short list for sixth man of the year, AK47 has become one of the league's top perimeter defenders, with great feet and incredible wingspan. Plus, he's over the ankle injury that slowed him last summer at the World Championships. "My first option on this team is not scoring," he says. "If I have a situation on the floor, I'll shoot it, for sure. But I'm trying to be used first of all for defense. If you play good defense, that is a good plus for the team. Almost every team has two or three leaders where it is possible for them to score. And if you stop a couple of guys, that's like minus 15, minus 20 points."
 Four years ago, when the Wolves drafted Nesterovic, both teammates and coaches questioned his toughness. But every season, Nesterovic has lasted a little longer in the regular season. The goal for Minnesota now is to have him produce in the playoffs, because he's Minnesota's only hope for low-post scoring and defense. He's on track to post a career high in scoring, but it's his pace for a career best in blocks that gives the Wolves more hope. Garnett's MVP-caliber season at power forward also gives Flip Saunders excellent high-low options with Nesterovic. "They're playing really well together," Saunders says. "It's not a coincidence that as KG's game improves, so does Rasho's."
 Boston beat Detroit in the playoffs last season in large part because Kenny Anderson dominated Chucky Atkins. That's why the Pistons gave Billups $34 million last summer. There is not a streakier shooter in the game than Billups, but Detroit needs consistency and poise from the point, not a roller coaster. So far, Billups has been pretty solid, shooting almost 39 percent from three-point range. He shoots better on the road than at home. And in case you're wondering, he's averaged 20 against Boston -- the team that drafted him five years ago -- in two meetings.
 This will happen sometime in the playoffs, probably in the second round. In the fourth quarter of Game 4, with the Spurs either up or down 2-1, the ball will go into Duncan. The defense will put three guys in Duncan's lap. Duncan will pass the ball out of the post to Tony Parker, who will probably shoot. But when he doesn't, Parker will move the ball to the corner, where Bowen will be wide open. This year, Bowen has to knock down that shot.
 His teammates call him "Twin," but the second-year center will have to step out on his own in New Jersey. Dikembe Mutombo will be back on the floor in a few weeks, but Collins has to hold up the fort until the Mount suits up again. Collins doesn't need to score, but he does need to put a body on the likes of Ben Wallace and Brad Miller when the ball comes off the rim and provide good help defense.
 It is clear now that Vin Baker won't be part of things in Boston this season, so the C's big man duties fall almost exclusively to Battie, and he's been playing most of the season on a gimpy knee. That's not good news for Boston. Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker are going to score a ton of points, and 'Toine is the team's de facto point guard, but they still need somebody to do the dirty work down low and guard Jermaine O'Neal or Kenyon Martin.
 It is the one thing that gives one pause when assessing Sacramento's title chances: Christie's admission that he was "scared to death" against the Lakers in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals last June. Because Sac not only needs Christie's Velcro D on the likes of Michael Finley and Kobe, it needs him to be able to knock down big shots when the ball gets rotated his way. Christie remains capable of amazing physical feats at both ends of the floor…and of occasional brain lock. How he handles the pressure this season may be the biggest key to whether Sacramento breaks through or not.
Around the league
He also added a new element to his workouts: yoga. "I had a couple of sessions of yoga during the week, where I could really envision myself doing certain things, controlling my energy, challenging it, centering everything," he says. "You'd be amazed how much that's helped me this year, from the free throw line, from the fourth quarter, just when I'm in the huddle. At times, my energy would be so spread out…that can be a maturity thing, too. But now I have a process where I listen. Instead of making a scene or being outrageous with it, I lead by example. I'm a little less (loud), but my message gets across."
David Aldridge, who covers the NBA for ESPN, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. |
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