| Tuesday, November 16
By Jeffrey Denberg
Special to ESPN.com |
|
Sometimes you hire the wrong bad boy.
New York is doing fine with Latrell Sprewell.
|  | | Rider still has game, but is he worth it to his team? |
Seattle is getting a nice ride for a little money from Vernon Maxwell.
Atlanta is in trouble with Isaiah Rider.
This bad-boy business: Is it a crap shoot?
The answer: Not really.
Sprewell has his problems off the court, but he always turned killer on the court. Had he not put his hands around P.J. Carlesimo's throat, he might still be a Warrior.
Maxwell? Same story.
But there are those nights when Rider doesn't want to play, and days when he doesn't want to practice, and he is the first to tell you, "I have a problem with time," like it's a job description.
"Hello, I'm Pat Riley and I coach the Miami Heat."
"Hi, I'm J.R. Rider and I have a problem with time."
While you were sleeping in the East last week, Rider was behaving badly in the West. In a bizarre series of events he (a) declined to start a game against the Grizzlies; (b) showed such disinterest playing off the bench that Lenny Wilkens sat him down for the night; (c), demanded that the Hawks "make me the man or get me out of here"; (d) apologized; (e) got a start against Portland "in a game I had circled on my calendar," then missed nine straight shots as his team was routed.
Ah, well, who's perfect? After a mixed performance against the Lakers, Rider came home, allegedly found his cars damaged Monday morning and skipped an afternoon practice because "it was secondary in that situation."
When Rider was suspended for Tuesday's game, it cost him more than $65,000. Suspension and fines included, he's given back about $100,000 of his $5.4 million salary through eight games of the season. That puts him on a $1 million pace.
Take a ride in the time machine back to Oct. 4, when Rider missed media day and the first team meeting before camp. Stan Kasten, the man who wears the Turner tri-corner hat for baseball, basketball and hockey, blew off Rider's absence. "Yeah, yeah, and when the season's over he'll play his 2,600, 2,800 minutes, and we'll sign him to a new contract ..."
Wanna bet?
Around the league
If I'm the NBA I put the Hawks, Wizards, Nets and Bulls in a division with Golden State and the Clippers. I tell them, play amongst yourselves.
Is it possible Toni Kukoc is bailing out on the Bulls? "My role is not to be a leader," Toni said before sitting down with those back spasms that have sidelined him for two games and made him day-to-day (but aren't we all?).
Remember when Kukoc was Jerry Krause's answer to Michael Jordan? Now, his performance is down, his outlook is jaundiced. He's in his contract year and there's no guarantee the Bulls will want to keep him. Chicago can go $20 million under the cap if renounces Kukoc and Randy Brown. If the Jerrys are really serious about winning again, it's a no-brainer.
"The only player we've ever had who was untradeable was Michael Jordan," Krause said. "Our intent is not to trade Toni, but you're always looking to improve the team."
Tim Floyd says, "Losing bothers Toni probably more than any player we have."
Hmm. So when Toni predicted the Bulls would lose 50 to 55 games, he knew he would be bothered a lot, right?
Things people say:
Sam Cassell with some advice for his teammates. "When we shoot the ball, we don't turn the ball over. When we start throwing those damn passes ... Like I say, let's just shoot the ball."
Tim Hardaway on the Heat scoring 100 points or more five times in their first seven games. "I love this; it's like the old Pat Riley days with the Lakers."
Knicks' Jeff Van Gundy on his team's bad shooting against the Heat. "Good defense always has something to do with bad shooting. But bad shooting always has something to do with bad shooting as well."
76ers captain Eric Snow says of Allen Iverson, "I haven't said a word to him. With everything that's been written and said, I didn't think [talking to him] would be wise right now."
Most favorable estimate is that Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas will sit out half the season waiting for his foot to heal. That led Scott Gillogly, team physician for the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers and a member of Professional Team Physicians, to "wonder why surgery wasn't performed last (February), considering the problems he'd had with his other foot."
Heading into Tuesday's schedule the Cavs are 4-2 with a front line of Danny Ferry, Shawn "Tubby" Kemp and
Andrew DeClercq. So how come Randy Wittman isn't getting credit for doing a terrific job?
About the Celtics chopping up the old floor and putting down a new one, insiders say only about 80 percent of the original floor remains. If you're looking for a piece of wood once trod upon by Bob Cousy or Bill Russell, it won't happen.
Former Celtic general manager Jan Volk gave this analogy while talking about the age of the floor. "It's like the farmer who tells you it's the same ax he's had for years," Volk said. "The handle has been replaced five times and the head has been replaced a number of times -- but it's still the same ax.
"All you have to do is think about all the pieces of the parquet that have been given away over the years as awards for special occasions," Volk said.
Ranting and raving isn't getting Gar Heard anywhere with the Wizards. Now, he's taking a different tack. "If our starters get us down early in the first few minutes, I'm going to make some changes," Heard said. "I can't afford to get down 15, 20 points and expect our second unit to come in and dig us out of a hole. Just because I'm starting them doesn't mean they'll get the most minutes."
Rod Strickland, Mitch Richmond, Juwan Howard, Michael Smith and Isaac Austin are the dynamic quintet.
Kerry Kittles played his first seven minutes of the season Monday night against Seattle. Kittles was 1-for-7 from the field. Teammate Keith Van Horn said Kittles was pressured into playing. Then, after talking to GM John Nash and Kittles, Van Horn said Kittles wasn't pressured into playing.
This just in. J.R. Rider will be pressured into practicing Wednesday.
Jeffrey Denberg, who covers the NBA for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. |  |
Kreidler: Some problem kids have game
