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Thursday, January 4, 2001
Fred's Points: Turkey Day, Sixers and bad teams
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.
1. The Raptors and Pacers each enter their Thanksgiving tilt coming off recent turkeys; the Raps lost by 36 at home to Charlotte, the Pacers lost at home to the Warriors. After one month, are you surprised these teams aren't doing better?
I'm very surprised. In the case of the Pacers, with Jalen Rose being on the sideline -- in addition to Isiah Thomas' replacement of Larry Bird -- they really haven't been able to establish an identity on the floor.
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| McGrady |
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| Miller |
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| Rose |
We saw how effective Rose can be last year in the Finals against the Lakers. He has grown as a player each year in the league and is now a vital cog in Indiana's machine. Jalen is a three-positional player, they miss his versatility. He can play the one, two or three, he can score and really opens the floor up at the offensive end. He also is probably their best defensive player. Last year he took the pressure off Reggie Miller at both ends of the floor. This resulted in more open looks on offense for Miller and he took much less of a beating on defense.
In Toronto's case you have to keep in mind how much they lost in the offseason, especially Tracy McGrady and Doug Christie. They miss Christie's shooting from the outside and he's a very good defensive player as well. McGrady, aside from his obvious offensive skill, was a pretty good weak side shot-blocker. Both McGrady and Christie were versatile players who were able to play more than one position. They could both play either the two or the three and the Raptors weren't able to replace that ability so they're hamstrung at times.
The Raptors are trying to make adjustments in terms of what they lost, but I expect Indiana to find their stride a lot sooner than Toronto. Knowing you have one of the better players in the league coming back from an injury is much easier to take than to outright replace two important components of your team.
2. The unbeaten 76ers play at San Antonio on Saturday night. Is this when the Sixers finally fall, and if so, how do you see the game going down?
It's dangerous, of course, to look ahead and say that the Sixers will still be undefeated when Saturday rolls around. Granted, they play Atlanta on Friday, but they also have a game against Charlotte, which is certainly capable of beating them. The way they're playing, though, there's a good chance they will enter the game against the Spurs without a loss.
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| Ratliff |
San Antonio, whether they're undefeated or not, will be a true test for Philadelphia. Facing one of the powers of the Western Conference will be a challenge. Everyone recognizes that the there is a great degree of parity in the East. The big, dominant centers no longer rule in the Eastern Conference. Alonzo Mourning, Patrick Ewing and Rik Smits are all out of the league or playing on different teams this year. Eastern teams have been reduced to playing small ball. In the West, it's tall ball. This will be an opportunity for Philadelphia to measure up against a team that's big.
Theo Ratliff has had his freedom blocking the shots of all comers from the relatively small Eastern Conference teams. He'll now have two big guys to deal with instead of the usual none. He's going to have to smell their bad breath instead of smaller guys having to smell his. That makes it a completely different ballgame.
I look for Philadelphia to be good defensively, but San Antonio is big and tall. I suspect they'll be too much for the Sixers to handle, especially on the road. The Spurs win and hand Philly their first loss.
3. Stephon Marbury, Gary Payton or Jason Kidd? Who would you most want as your point guard?
Out of the three I want Jason Kidd. He does more of the things I want my point guard to do. Gary Payton and Stephon Marbury are tremendous players. But they are point guards who look to score first.
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| Kidd |
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| Payton |
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| Marbury |
Jason Kidd can not only rebound the basketball but he can distribute the ball to other players. When a guard can rebound on the defensive end it means an awful lot to your team. First, it takes a lot of the pressure off your big men. Also, if your point guard rebounds the basketball, he can immediately lead the break. Kidd is very good at banging the boards on the defensive end and starting the break. Kidd gets assists, rebounds, steals and gets other players involved in the game.
Payton and Marbury are exceptionally skilled, but they're not true point guards in the sense that they don't look to dish the ball on the offensive end. They're scorers first and they involve their teammates second. Kidd is constantly looking to get the team that surrounds him into the game. When your point guard is involving the rest of the players on the floor, you have happy players. When you get those other guys scoring, all of a sudden they like the game better and there more into it mentally.
Kidd makes the other players on his team better. More than anything, that's what I want out of my point guard.
4. The Pistons are 4-7. Is Joe Smith going to make that much of a difference and why?
Joe Smith will give Detroit some size, which is something they lack. He's a pretty good jumpshot shooter. He doesn't have a lot of girth. As I like to say, he's "light in the cakes." He's a forward, a finesse player. What the Pistons still need is a bad guy around the paint area.
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| Stackhouse |
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| Smith |
Perhaps the thing Smith will do that people don't realize right now is he'll occasionally take the ball out of Jerry Stackhouse's hands. What that will accomplish is to eliminate about four of the bad shots he takes each game. So Smith can enter the game and take a few shots to lift some of the pressure off Stack. Because of that the quality of the shots Stackhouse is taking will probably go up. Sometimes if you take four or five shots in a row, you get tired. If Smith can take a little bit of the burden away Stackhouse can stay fresher longer. When he pulls up or goes to the hoop, he's in better condition to get a good shot off. He will be able to knock down open looks easier. Smith will be a plus in that regard.
Smith is a good weak side shot-blocker and he runs the floor well, but he isn't an offensive leader. He'll get 14 or 15 points and eight rebounds a game. He won't carry the Pistons offensively, but he will be a very good role player. Until the Pistons are able to bring in a big, physical inside player, they won't be a team that will do very much damage.
5. If you're a fan of the Bulls or Hawks, do you have any reason to even watch the games? Which team would you rather watch?
Obviously, neither team is having any success whatsoever right now. The Hawks seem to be spiraling out of control and it may be quite a while before they are able to right themselves.
Chicago at least thinks they are transitioning forward. It's questionable whether their first-round pick this year (Jamal Crawford) was the right one for that team, but the sense and attitude of this team seems to be that they are moving in the right direction.
I see both of these teams standing still, but at least in Chicago, there's some positive thinking. For that reason, as a fan I would rather watch the Bulls. There's a long way to go for both teams, though. Neither team's future is tomorrow. I know it's early in the year, but with both teams sitting at one victory and prospects not looking good for either, I'm worried that my 9-73 record is in jeopardy. I have a feeling I'll probably have to go suit up for Chicago or Atlanta so they'll win more than nine games.
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ALSO SEE
Fred's Weekly Points, Nov. 17
Fred's Weekly Points, Nov. 9
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