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Sports
Opposing forces
A look at some of the biggest mismatches in pro basketball BY REED TUCKER
THE NATIONAL BASKETBALL Association
is a lot more diverse than it gets credit for.
Where else can you find athletes as tall as
redwoods playing against guys who might
not be allowed on a roller coaster? Some teams have
a high free-throw-shooting percentage; others have
Shaq. With midseason approaching, we decided to call
a timeout and draw up the most fascinating (and bi
zarre) opposites in basketball.
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The Saiary Captain and the Minimum Wage Guy
Kevin Garnett, left (Boston Celtics), will earn
$23,750,000 this season. If, like last season, KG
averages 39.4 minutes playing time per game, he'll
earn $7,351.12 every minute.
Dominic McGuire, right (Washington Wizards),
will earn the league minimum $427,163 this year.
If he played the same number of minutes as Garnett
fat chance! he would earn a mere $132.22
per minute.
Best- and Worst-Rated Player
Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs) has a 98 overall
rating in Activision’s popular video game NBA 2KB.
Looks like those four championship rings give you the
edge even in the virtual world.
Jerome James (New York Knicks) has a paltry 60
overall rating. The animated edition of the oft-injured
big man isn’t much better than the real thing.
16
USA WEEKEND • Dec. 21-23,2007
The International Lineup vs. America's Team
The Golden State Warriors have six foreign players:
Kelenna Azubuike (England), Mickael Pietrus (France),
Marco Belinelli (Italy), Andris Biedrins (Latvia), Kosta
Perovic (Serbia) and DJ Mbenga (Congo).
The Boston Celtics have none. So much for the p
global economy.
Courtside Seats and In the Nosebleeds
Los Angeles' Staples Center: To sit court
side a la Jack Nicholson for a Lakers
game will cost you $2,300. At those
prices, even Hollywood stars are
crying foul.
Memphis' FedEx-
Forum: A seat on the 1
terrace level to watch
the Grizzlies will run you all of
$5. Granted, “terrace level” is code ,
for “so far away, you may as well be
on your own couch.” ll
Playing for the Home Team and Playing Far from Home
Udonis Haslem (Miami Heat) played for Miami
Senior High School, which is about 5 miles from the
arena w y here his current team has its home games.
Andrew Bogut (Milwaukee Bucks) plays more than
9,000 miles from his birthplace of Melbourne, Australia.
Mr. Fantasy and Mr. Forgettable
Shawn Marion (Phoenix Suns), the stat-sheet-stuffing
forward, was picked in 100% of the Yahoo! fantasy leagues.
Marcus Vinicius (New Orleans Hornets), the seldom
used Brazilian who scored a total of 22 points last
season, was picked in just .01% of the leagues.
(Rankings were at start of registration.) *
Long Name and Short Name
Vladimir Radmanovic (L.A Lakers)
is 18 letters. In Scrabble, his name would
be worth at least a whopping 32 points.
Nene (Denver Nuggets), young- .
est in his family, goes by a nick
name that means “baby” in Por- 1)
tuguese. Four Scrabble points, m II
ffi 3
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(i David and Goliath
n Center Yao Ming, right
I (Houston Rockets), is 7-foot-6.
f His wife, once a basketball player
herself, is just over a foot shorter.
Point guard Nate Robinson, left
(New York Knicks), is 5-foot-9. He still
1 managed to win the NBA’s Slam Dunk
contest last year.
TMn' Age Before Beauty
Forty-one-year-old Dikembe Mutombo
(Houston Rockets) was bom June 25,1966, in Kin
shasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was
reportedly so upset about the constant jokes about his
age that he considered talking with commissioner David 1
Stem about how T to stop the cracks by TV commentators.!
Nineteen-year-old Kevin Durant (Seattle Super- I
Sorties) was born Sept. 29,1988, in Washington, D.C.
He’s so young, he wouldn’t be allowed to drink the
champagne pouring in the locker room if his team
won the NBA title.
Covered in Ink and Barely There
Allen Iverson (Denver Nuggets) has more than two
dozen tattoos, including a screaming skull with the
slogan “Fear no one” on his arm. AI. says this one is
because “you’ll never catch me looking scared.”
Kevin Durant (Seattle Super Sonics) has the name
of his mother, Wanda, tattooed on his chest. It meas
ures all of about 3 inches wide.
Best-Kept Hair and Most Unruly Do
Carmelo Anthony, right (Denver
Nuggets), likes to style his hair in tight
| cornrows without a single strand
out of place.
i Ben Wallace, left (Chicago
_ Bulls), lets it all hang out. Christmas
c gift suggestion: an Afro pick. C 3
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MCGUIRE: fERNANOO MEDINA NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES; GARNETT: BRIAN BABINEAU NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES. ROBINSON AND MING USA BIUMENfEID. GETTY. ANTHONY JED JACOBSOHN. GETTY IMAGES. WALLACE GARY DINEEH. NBAE/GETTY IMAGES