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A few teams did lose, though, and we noticed. Kudos to the Suns for almost beating the Spurs on the road with no bench and a clearly tired Jason Kidd. Give Mitch Richmond and the Wizards some credit for bombing the Pistons on the road, mostly without Rod Strickland. And the Kings were serious candidates to lose to the Bucks, but were barely threatened. Anyway, here's Wednesday's version of Around The Rim, the last one of the week. As always, we will be summing up what went down Tuesday night, looking ahead and praising the good, while ripping those who just aren't cutting it. Any comments? As always, click here and e-mail us. In Heroes and Goats, Kidd and his latest triple-double doesn't make it for two reasons. First, his team lost. Second, you can't shoot 6-for-26 and be honored. If big Oliver Miller wasn't the Suns' lone presence in the paint, Kidd wouldn't be averaging 10 boards a night, like he's been doing. ... And because his team won, we have to avoid Nick Anderson as a Goat. Nick managed to go scoreless again, the third time in the last week or so. Twenty-three minutes, no points. On most teams Nick would be benched. ... And Jamie Feick can't be a Hero because he lost, but watch this guy play, as we have, and you gotta love him. We're going to stop ripping a certain Dallas center because it's gotten out of hand, but if Feick was a few inches taller ... watch out! Here's some more. Enjoy.
How are the Suns winning games without, as TNT said repeatedly on Tuesday's Suns-Spurs telecast, four of their starters? Well, here's how. First of all, sure, four starters are out, but it's not nearly as bad as one would think because:
So, you can see, the Suns missing four starters isn't exactly a deathwish. It's not like the Lakers, who have only three players scoring at all, missing four guys. Anyway, it's not like the Suns' best player -- or players, if you consider Cliffy No. 2 -- are out. Says Chapman: "Either we have a really deep team that can kind of patch things up with four starters out, or you can put any four guys out there with Jason Kidd. The guy's unbelievable." Kidd led the Suns to a 3-0 record while averaging a triple-double last week -- 25.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 11.7 assists. Chapman's right. The guy's unbelievable.
The big games The high-scoring game by an individual this season is Allen Iverson's 46-point outburst. Obviously, on Philly, Iverson's the choice. We looked at each team and who has been their high scorer in a game this season and came up with this:
So what does it all mean? We had some time on our hands.
Wally's World Not so. Sure, he's not taking threes, but Wally can do a lot more. He posted his first NBA double-double recently with 18 points and 10 rebounds in a win over the Mavs. He's averaging a solid 12.7 points a night and makes the shots he takes. Unlike most rookies, he's not a turnover machine and nobody is complaining about his defense. And everyone knows he can hit the three when he starts taking it. "He has taken what they are giving him, and they are closing out hard on him and trying to prevent him from taking those shots," Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders said. "Instead, he's getting to the hole and finishing." Wally has been a little nicked up so far, and he's not going to get a lot of votes for Rookie of the Year, not with flashy rookies Lamar Odom and Steve Francis leading their teams in scoring. The Wolves have this other young forward getting all the headlines in Minnesota. But Wally has impressed a lot of people. "I think a lot of people are impressed by the way I take the ball to the basket and defend," said Szczerbiak, who finished third in the nation in scoring last year, averaging 24.2 ppg. "A lot of people didn't think I could do that, but that's the way I play. I try to have an overall game and play the game the way it is supposed to be played. My perimeter shooting, especially from three, hasn't been as good as it can be, but I think I'll adjust and they'll start falling. I just have to stay confident with it." In a year or two, when Wally starts shooting threes, he'll be tough to stop. So, defenders, get him now.
Quote of the Night
Quote of the Night, Part II
Eric Karabell is the NBA editor at ESPN.com. | ALSO SEE Around The Rim, Dec. 20 AUDIO/VIDEO Jason Kidd works the give and go with Toby Bailey. avi: 629 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Scottie Pippen tosses the alley-oop to Rasheed Wallace. avi: 692 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Austin Croshere picks up the fast-break bucket. avi: 868 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Larry Hughes 3-pointer sends the game into overtime. avi: 699 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Eric Snow's jumper helps the Sixers win in OT. avi: 838 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Darrell Armstrong streaks in front of the Jazz defense for the jam. avi: 453 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Shaquille O'Neal takes the ball to the basket against the Celtics. avi: 562 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 |