Newspaper Page Text
Monday, November 11
THE MAROON TIGER
PAGE 19
1996-97NBA
Preview
Continued from page 17
2. Indiana Pacers: After last
year's embarrassing first-
round loss to the centerless
Atlanta Hawks, management
decided to gut the squad and
rebuild with youth. Gone are
Mark Jackson and Ricky Pierce
to Denver for the cocky Jalen
Rose, complainer Reggie
Williams and the 10th pick in
the draft (Erick Dampier).
Most important, however, is
the fact that "The Mouth That
Scored" — off-guard Reggie
Miller — re-signed after a
touchy contract dispute. The
key to the team, however, is
pointman Travis Best, a 5'H”
quickster who strutted his
stuff in flashes during the
playoffs. With Jackson gone,
can he run the show? If not, the
versatile Rose will take over.
The Davis boys, Antonio and
Dale, shore up the forward
spots, but are centers Rik Smits
and Dampier good enough to
get them past Chicago?
3. Atlanta Hawks — Need
more than Dikembe Mutombo
to fill up the Omni.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers —
When they stop playing '50's-
style basketball, let us know'
5. Charlotte Hornets — Mason
and Divac become even bigger
losers with this squad.
6. Milwaukee Bucks — Need
to higher gunner Glenn
Robinson a pinch-defender.
7. Detroit Pistons — Can
Grant Hill play 3 positions —
at once?
8. Toronto Raptors — Damon,
we feel sorry for 'ya, bruh.
Western Conference
Midwest Division
1. San Antonio Spurs: After a
great regular season in which
they went 59-23, the Spurs
rolled into the playoffs and
were thourougly used by the
Utah Jazz in the second round,
ending their season in
humiliating fashion.
□ Forward Sean Elliott
completely disappeared, and
many complained that center
David Robinson didn't play
big enough. To add a little
more scoring and aggressive
offense for the postseason,
they picked up Vernon
Maxwell and aging vet
Dominique Wilkins, but will
only go as far as "The
Admiral" leads them, and
everybody knows it —
including him.
2. Houston Rockets: In a
surprising four-for-one deal
with Phoenix, the Rockets
unloaded vets Sam Cassell,
Robert Horry and two others
for aging bully Charles
Barkley, and then picked up
soft big man Kevin Willis and
ex-Bullet third-stringer Brent
Price, who was counted on to
run the point, but could now
miss up to four months as he
recovers from a broken arm.
Now, with one of the oldest
and most experienced starting
fives in the league, will
Charles finally get his ring? It
all depends on if they can play
good team defense, fill the
gaping hole at point guard,
and run with some of the
younger teams like Seattle and
L.A.
3. Utah Jazz — Still stuck on
that same old tune and won't
be playing in June.
4. Dallas Mavericks — After a
whole year of in-fighting, the
3 J's need to chill.
5. Denver Nuggets — Mix of
youth and age yields more
than a generation gap.
6. Minnesota Timberwolves —
At least Stephon and Kevin
have each other.
7. Vancouver Grizzlies — Very
big, Very young, Very sorry.
Pacific Division
1. Seattle Supersonics: The
amazing and long-awaited
maturing of Gary Payton and
Shawn Kemp finally
happened, and, because of it,
the Sonics went to the Finals
for' the first time in 17 years.
Seattle didn't really lose
anything during the offseason,
but they did add jointless
center Jim Mcllvaine for
defense and utility-man
Craig Ehlo for scoring off
the bench. All that's left
to do now is reassure
Kemp that the team
will re-structure his
sorry contract in the
off season, and
there's no reason
why this team can't
get back to the Finals
with a legit chance to
win it all.
2. L.A. Lakers: The
Lakers retooled their
whole bench just to make
room for the Shaq Daddy's
arrival. Should-be collegian,
Kobe Bryant, will be tested
early and often. Along with
the marquee additions, the
Lakers brought in some old
faces to help round out their
team as well, signing ex-Laker
Byron Scott and center Sean
Rooks. The good news is Shaq
alone makes "The Lake Show"
even better; the bad news is
that he's rapping again. Look
for Shaq and Jordan (Montell
that is) to eventually
collaborate on a project; if this
team falters and self-destructs
because of ego, Shaq may have
all the studio time he wants
come May.
3. Phoenix Suns -
Setting quickly
the
respectability
dept.
4.
Sacramento
Kings —
Mahmoud
is not the
answer to
their prayers.
5. Portland Trail Blazers —
Rider, Anderson, Wallace.
Explosive talent(literally).
6. Golden State Warriors —
Past 3 years have made fans
want to jump into the Bay.
7. L.A. Clippers — 'Nuff said.
Yessah, Yessah; We're hoopin' and hollerin' over the start of basketball season,
so let's get started . . . Damn, the Hawks' front line is big . . . Speaking of the
Hawks, how long has it been since coach Lenny Wilkens has gotten visibly upset?
. . . Don't sleep on the Pacers' Travis Best. . . The aging Dominique Wilkins is
back, and from what we've seen so far, "The Human Highlight Film" should be
stressed: hie famous gunner act is a negative that's about to be exposed big-time
. . . Attention, Sean Elliott: Please check your local chapter of the Lost & Found
for the game you misplaced last year against the Jazz . . . We're waiting for the
Warriors' B.J. Armstrong to hit puberty
any day now . . . We're still waiting for
Shaq to hit back-to-back free throws ...
Guess it's safe to say that the
relationship between the Mavs' Jason
Kidd and Jim Jackson (J.J.) sure ain't
DYNO-MITE! ... At 6'7, 177 lbs., the Nets' Kerry Kittles looks like a bundle of
kindling; God forbid if "He's on fire!" ... ESPN's NBA analyst David Aldridge
seriously needs to go off to see the Wizard about some courage . . . After seeing
the way the Atlanta baseball team played in the World Series, perhaps their fans
should be called the Braves ... The whole Yankees fan-interference fiasco is yet
another reason why NBA Action is fantastic... Since Heat coach Pat Riley griped
and groaned so much during that whole Juwan Howard thang, we think it would
be appropriate for him to title his next book "The Whiner Within" ... "Are you
there, God? It's me, Harold Miner" . .. How appropriate that the Bucks' Glenn
Robinson's other nickname is "G-Rob," cause that's exactly what he's done to
his squad in fakin' the green and then conspicuously steppin' off the scene . . .
Let's hope it doesn't take Stephon Marbury and the T'Wolves "Twenty years,
twenty long years " before they make the playoffs ... If Magic sharpshooter
Dennis Scott puts on any more weight, he'll be "3D" coming to a court near you
in Surround Sound . . . After dealing with the newly-acquired headcase trio of
Kenny Anderson, Isaiah Rider, and Rasheed Wallace for a season, let's hope that
Portland coach P.J. Carlesimo doesn't make like his team's name and Blaze a
quick Trail on out of there at season's end . . . Damon Stoudamire . . . Damon
Stoudamire .. . Damon Stoudamire . .. Damon Stoudamire ....
'Da Point Godd’s
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