| | |  | | Charles Oakley's Raptors face Detroit and Philly this week. |
The Tokyo trip is over, and the Timberwolves and Kings get back to action later this week with some big games. The Wolves play Thursday at home against the Knicks and then have to face the Suns. Tough week. The Kings are off until Friday when they get another shot at Utah, a team they took to overtime in Game 5 of the playoffs last season. And which team is the best in the East? Monday night's Bucks-Knicks proved that both those teams are pretty good, and Sunday's Heat-Knicks game will likely tell us something as well. That game will supply our One On One feature of the week. This week's question will be, "Between Alonzo Mourning and Marcus Camby, who is a bigger defensive presence?" Enjoy.
PLAYERS TO WATCH THIS WEEK
Larry Hughes
76ers
He made his first start on Monday, and the team finally won. This guy could be the key to the team winning.
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Cuttino Mobley
Rockets
He's leading the team in scoring and will be taking more of Shandon Anderson's disappointing minutes.
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Danny Manning
Bucks
He needs to keep playing key minutes against big guys. Can he handle it?
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Mitch Richmond
Wizards
He's off to a bad start, and he has people talking. Is he trade bait again?
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Brent Barry
Sonics
So far, he hasn't really fit into team's offense. Defensively, though, he's been fine.
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Wednesday: L.A. Lakers at Houston, 8 p.m. ET
These teams meet in a home-and-home Wednesday and Friday. Are these games a big deal for the Lakers? Not really. Shaq and the gang are playing very well, and Kobe Bryant is only a week or two away from joining the team. However, in Houston, things are getting a little out of hand.
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WHO CARES?
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Saturday: Orlando at Dallas, 8 p.m. ET -- As of Tuesday, these teams had combined for five wins. Frankly, we were wondering how these teams were going to win any games before the season. (Thank the Warriors for the Dallas wins). Anyway, the Magic aren't nearly as bad as they should be. Doc Rivers plays everyone a decent amount of minutes, and nobody, including Darrell Armstrong, plays too much. It seems to be working.
Why is this a "Who Cares" game? Well, these teams aren't playoff-bound, that's for sure. Second choice for the week is Friday's Golden State-Vancouver tilt. We can hold back our enthusiasm for that one. |
The Rockets opened the season with a close loss at home to upstart Milwaukee. Then, the Rockets lost in Utah. Game three was a loss at home to the defending champion Spurs. OK, so 0-3 isn't as bad as it looks. On Monday night, the Magic -- a team that gives significant minutes to Chris Gatling, Ben Wallace and someone named Amaechi -- went to Houston and won 102-97. A loss to the Magic certainly is not a step in the right direction.
"I tell these guys that with some work and cleaning up this area and that area, that we're going to increase our chances of winning," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said.
Cleaning up? The Rockets are a mess. Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon haven't been bad, but Steve Francis and Shandon Anderson have been. These Lakers games mean a lot. Going anywhere after an 0-6 start in a tough conference won't be easy.
Friday: New York at Boston, 7 p.m. ET
Sunday: Miami at New York, 7 p.m. ET
The Knicks are good. We know that. And their win over the Bucks on Monday night, or at least the way they came from behind late to win it, said a lot. So, now the Knicks get to face rival Boston, another upstart team, and rival Miami in a span of two days.
The thing about the Knicks that you have to like is that they are getting contributions from a number of different players. No more of the dump-the-ball-inside game to Patrick Ewing (dare we say this team is more effective without Pat? Naah...). Sure, Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell are putting up the points, and Marcus Camby is dominating the defensive end; but the Knicks are getting production out of both point guards as well as Kurt Thomas and John Wallace.
The Celtics are also getting help where they didn't expect it. Adrian Griffin, the MVP in the CBA last season, has been key to the Celtics' surprising 3-1 start, averaging roughly 10 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals. The thing to watch with the Celtics is field goal percentage. Currently, Antoine Walker and Kenny Anderson are shooting .492 and .489 respectively. For their careers, they have shot .422 and .416.
On Sunday, Pat Riley gets his first shot at the team sent him packing from the playoffs again last season. The Heat have been a great regular-season team, and have won the last three Atlantic Division titles. But in the playoffs, things haven't gone quite as well. More to come on this matchup later in the week.
Saturday: Atlanta at Portland, 10 p.m. ET
These teams meet early in the season, just so we can get an early look at the big trade that sent Steve Smith to Portland and Isaiah Rider/Jimmy Jackson into the Eastern Conference. So far, the deal's not looking so good for Lenny Wilkens. But it is early.
Smith is a model citizen and consistent scorer who has fit right in with the Trail Blazers. Rider, um, he can score. Same with Jackson. In fact, they are the Hawks' leading scorers, combining for roughly 38 points a game. The Hawks opened their Western swing on Monday with a loss in Denver. It's hard to imagine that with a hostile crowd and the imposing Blazers as the opposition, that the Hawks are going to get a win here.
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