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Saturday, February 10, 2001

The good, the bad and the ugly of the NBA
Payton, Iverson lead ways for guards
By David Nielsen
Scripps Howard News Service

Associated Press

Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett scored 40 points and grabbed seven rebounds against fellow power forward Chris Webber and the Kings on Wednesday.

As the NBA looks ahead to Sunday's All-Star Game, Scripps Howard takes a look back at the first half of the season by selecting the NBA's best and worst starting players by position. We also choose the best and worst rookies, coaches and benchwarmers.
   The Fab Five

POINT GUARD: Gary Payton, Seattle SuperSonics. Payton wins by a glove over Phoenix's Jason Kidd. For the year, Kidd has more steals, rebounds and assists, but Payton scores more, commits fewer turnovers and shoots better. In their two head-to-head meetings, Payton beat Kidd in every statistical category except assists - not counting arrests and suspensions.

SHOOTING GUARD: Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers. It is excruciatingly difficult to select a shooting guard who's hitting only 41.9 percent of his field goals, including a frigid 30.4 percent on three-pointers. Iverson's main competitors (Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen) are far better marksmen. But as long as the 76ers keep winning - they have the NBA's best record at 36-14 - it would be foolish not to pick Iverson.

SMALL FORWARD: Tracy McGrady, Orlando Magic. Grant Hill's ankle injury has enabled McGrady to emerge as the league's newest superstar. McGrady is averaging 26.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists, light-years ahead of his career marks of 11.1 pts., 5.5 rebs., and 2.5 assists entering this season.

POWER FORWARD: Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves. How deep is this position? Karl Malone, Antawn Jamison and Elton Brand aren't even among the top five power forwards. Chris Webber, Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, and Tim Duncan are among the NBA's best at any position, yet Garnett gets the nod. He has outplayed his peers in their head-to-head meetings, including the 40 points he rained on Webber on Wednesday.

CENTER: Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers. Yes, Shaq's numbers are all down from last year. But whom else are you going to pick? He's still the league's dominant big man and in the top 10 in several categories: 6th in scoring, 26.9 pts; 2nd in rebounding, 12.8; 1st in field-goal pct., 57.1; 3rd in blocks, 2.95. He also leads all centers with 3.9 assists and 40.1 minutes per game.
   The Frightful Five

POINT GUARD: Bryce Drew, Chicago Bulls. Drew's teammate Khalid El-Amin is fortunate he was benched earlier this season or else he'd be filling this ignominious spot. Drew is certainly not the only reason the blundering Bulls are 6-42, but his deplorable shooting (39.0 percent from the floor and just 58.3 on his free throws) along with just 3.5 assists per game aren't helping.

SHOOTING GUARD: Jimmy Jackson, Cleveland Cavaliers. Since Atlanta traded him earlier this season, Jackson has now played for seven teams in seven years. If he keeps making only 35.9 percent of his shots and averaging just 12.7 points in 33.1 minutes, look for Jackson's transient streak to continue ad infinitum.

SMALL FORWARD: James Posey, Denver Nuggets. Granted, the Nuggets don't ask Posey to do much, other than get out of Antonio McDyess' way. Still, shouldn't you expect more than 7.6 pts., 4.9 reb. and 41.2 percent shooting?

POWER FORWARD: Larry Johnson, New York Knicks. Didn't he used to be able to shoot? His percentage has fallen each of the past four seasons and now rests precariously at 41.1. Missing 78 of 115 three-point shots hasn't helped. What's he doing shooting out there anyway when he's only grabbing 6.2 rebounds a game?

CENTER: Olden Polynice, Utah Jazz. Despite starting 44 games, Polynice is averaging only 20.1 minutes. It's easy to see why. He's shooting only 48.8 percent; he's made only one-fifth of his free throws (7 for 35); he has more turnovers (47) than assists and steals combined (32), and he's only the fifth-leading rebounder (4.2) on the Jazz.
   Bonus Best-Worst Awards

BEST ROOKIE: Marc Jackson, Golden State. No one could have anticipated Jackson's emergence this season. After playing the last three years in Turkey and Spain, he was a third-team benchwarmer when the season started. But after injuries to Erick Dampier and Adonal Foyle, Jackson has averaged 17.6 pts. and 9.6 rebs. in 28 games as a starter.

WORST ROOKIE: Among first-round draft picks who have played at least 20 games, Milwaukee center Joel Przybilla has been the worst. Despite being 7-1 and 255 pounds, he's shooting just 26.1 percent from the field. He's made only one of six free throws and has only one assist. Oh yes, he has three times as many fouls as points (39 to 13).

BEST COACH: Flip Saunders, Minnesota Timberwolves. This team could have been ripped apart by the offseason death of Malik Sealy and the Joe Smith signing fiasco together with the suspension of owner Glen Taylor and vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale. Instead Saunders has the T-Wolves playing the best ball in the NBA, winning their last 11 games.

WORST COACH: Rick Pitino, Boston Celtics. He's gone now, but he still can't escape this dubious honor. Look at what has happened since Pitino gave up: The Celtics have won 10 of 15 games under Jim O'Brien; they were floundering at 12-22 before Pitino quit.

BEST BENCHWARMER: Rodney Rogers, Phoenix Suns. Last year's winner of the NBA Sixth Man award continues to shine, averaging 13.0 pts. and 4.3 reb. in 26.9 minutes.

WORST BENCHWARMER: Travis Knight, New York Knicks. Among those scrubs that have played least 20 games, Knight is the worst of the worst. He's made only five of 34 shots. He has twice as many fouls (34) as points (17). He also has twice as many turnovers (8) as assists (4). But don't feel too sorry for him. He's making $3.2 million this year.

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