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[font=verdana,geneva,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Joe D's countdown
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, April 17, 2005
A pretty good starting five and a sixth man could be assembled from the talent not returning to the postseason. The Countdown takes a look at this fantasy team we'll call American Idle.
1. Kevin Garnett, Minnesota: A year ago, he was the runaway MVP, his versatility and will strong enough to propel the Timberwolves into the Western Conference Finals, where they fell to the Lakers. This season, it all seemed to implode early with aging and underachieving teammates. KG ripped his team after a recent loss to Atlanta (it's been that bad), and though he has produced MVP-like numbers again this season, he's well off the radar.
2. Kobe Bryant, Lakers: Bryant is in unfamiliar territory - no playoffs for the first time - because, as Kings forward Kenny Thomas said the other day, he "got what he wanted." This wasn't exactly what Bryant had in mind. Blamed for running everyone out of the dynasty last summer, Bryant will finish second in scoring this season. Without Shaquille O'Neal, he was just a lottery-bound bunch's ball hog. Without a reliable inside force, he was shut down in the second halves of games. His legacy isn't the three titles he and Shaq won. It started after Shaq fled town.
3. Ron Artest, Pacers: This defensive ace's absence crippled Indiana, and it will hurt even more in the playoffs. Artest's role in the brawl earlier this season in a road game against Detroit earned him a season-long suspension. His void will be felt when some hot scorer is lighting up his team, and he can't do a thing about it.
4. Steve Francis, Magic: Last season, he was with the Houston Rockets, flanked by Cuttino Mobley and Yao Ming. He had his new team, Orlando, in the playoff mix for a while this season before injuries to Grant Hill and Hedo Turkoglu started to unravel the team, which fired coach Johnny Davis.
5. Michael Redd, Bucks: Redd was an emerging talent for one of the surprise teams last season. His scoring was up this season, to a career-best 23.2 points, but Milwaukee was in free fall, with questions surrounding Terry Porter's return as coach and Redd himself. He has a player option next season at $3 million.
6. Karl Malone, retired: How much better would the Lakers have been had Malone returned to Los Angeles, or Minnesota, which also hotly pursued the NBA's second all-time scorer? Doesn't matter. Malone is on his Arkansas ranch, completely distanced and presumably content from everyone else's nonplayoff misery.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12741914p-13593580c.html[/font]
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, April 17, 2005
A pretty good starting five and a sixth man could be assembled from the talent not returning to the postseason. The Countdown takes a look at this fantasy team we'll call American Idle.
1. Kevin Garnett, Minnesota: A year ago, he was the runaway MVP, his versatility and will strong enough to propel the Timberwolves into the Western Conference Finals, where they fell to the Lakers. This season, it all seemed to implode early with aging and underachieving teammates. KG ripped his team after a recent loss to Atlanta (it's been that bad), and though he has produced MVP-like numbers again this season, he's well off the radar.
2. Kobe Bryant, Lakers: Bryant is in unfamiliar territory - no playoffs for the first time - because, as Kings forward Kenny Thomas said the other day, he "got what he wanted." This wasn't exactly what Bryant had in mind. Blamed for running everyone out of the dynasty last summer, Bryant will finish second in scoring this season. Without Shaquille O'Neal, he was just a lottery-bound bunch's ball hog. Without a reliable inside force, he was shut down in the second halves of games. His legacy isn't the three titles he and Shaq won. It started after Shaq fled town.
3. Ron Artest, Pacers: This defensive ace's absence crippled Indiana, and it will hurt even more in the playoffs. Artest's role in the brawl earlier this season in a road game against Detroit earned him a season-long suspension. His void will be felt when some hot scorer is lighting up his team, and he can't do a thing about it.
4. Steve Francis, Magic: Last season, he was with the Houston Rockets, flanked by Cuttino Mobley and Yao Ming. He had his new team, Orlando, in the playoff mix for a while this season before injuries to Grant Hill and Hedo Turkoglu started to unravel the team, which fired coach Johnny Davis.
5. Michael Redd, Bucks: Redd was an emerging talent for one of the surprise teams last season. His scoring was up this season, to a career-best 23.2 points, but Milwaukee was in free fall, with questions surrounding Terry Porter's return as coach and Redd himself. He has a player option next season at $3 million.
6. Karl Malone, retired: How much better would the Lakers have been had Malone returned to Los Angeles, or Minnesota, which also hotly pursued the NBA's second all-time scorer? Doesn't matter. Malone is on his Arkansas ranch, completely distanced and presumably content from everyone else's nonplayoff misery.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12741914p-13593580c.html[/font]
