Listen to Fox for analysis of Lakers
Rick Fox had hoped to play his first game of the 2003-04 season Friday night. It wasn't meant to be. "I have rehabbed my foot for life purposes," he said before the Lakers-Hawks game. "Now I need to get it back to where I can play in a game and compete. And once I get to that point, I have to impress the coaches that I am one of the 12 guys they'd want on the roster."
That shouldn't be hard these days for the Lakers' forward. Although the Lakers ended a four-game skid by routing the Hawks, things are anything but rosy in Los Angeles. Shaquille O'Neal is hurt. Kobe Bryant, when he's not worried about his rape trial, is counting down the days to when he can leave. Karl Malone is on the injured list for the first time in his career. Phil Jackson is in the last year of his contract (although he does date the boss's -- Buss's -- daughter). And even Gary Payton is wondering whether he made the right move by signing with the Lakers as a free agent.
Fox has yet to play because of a ruptured tendon in his left foot suffered in last year's playoffs. But he's around every day and always has a keen eye on the Lakers, through good times and bad. Until their win over Atlanta, the Lakers had lost six of seven and eight of 11. Two of the late losses came without Shaq. Malone (knee) has been out since before Christmas. Jackson accused the team of giving up in lopsided losses in Minnesota and Denver last week.
"No one is afraid of us anymore," Fox said. "I don't think anybody is. We had a golden opportunity when we were 18-3 to grab hold of the league's attention as to our seriousness in our march to the supposedly preordained championship. Now, we hear people say, `They're not young.' And, `They're not healthy.' And, `They've got a lot of new additions.' Teams with new players need time to find their way."
The Lakers under Jackson have almost always managed the myriad distractions they inevitably face and lived to tell about it. The one exception was last season, when they got off to a horrific start (Shaq was out after toe surgery) and exhausted themselves to get back into the race. They didn't even get to the conference finals.
But the fact that the Lakers sometimes seem to thrive on adversity makes everyone put a mental asterisk next to this current bad patch. The general line of thinking: If they're healthy when the playoffs come around -- especially Shaq -- they'll be everyone's favorite to win it all.
"It's such a trend with us," Fox said of the Lakers' annual malaise because of boredom, injuries, or infighting. "How ridiculous is that? But people don't think it's unusual. It's not necessarily what we want to be remembered for. But it's our legacy.
"It's always, `How well would they do without Shaquille? Kobe likes the challenge of having his own team and wanting to play without Shaquille to see how he'd do. But the truth is they both need each other. Without Shaquille, we've always struggled. Our system is structured with guys being in tune. But we have guys still learning the triangle. We have injuries. We have a lot of issues that look to be ugly."
The chemistry issue is exacerbated by the health issue. Fox noted that the team isn't any younger. That, in fact, the two notable offseason acquisitions are old guys. But even healthy Lakers have to learn to play together.
"Our health is going to be the most important thing, but we also have to have guys who know the system," he said. "We have guys playing 35 minutes a game who don't know the system. And for some guys who do, ego, agendas, fatigue, all those factors enter into it." (Gee, wonder whom he's talking about.)
The schedule for the next week or so looks benign, with a lot of home games. O'Neal should be back this week. Malone may not be far behind. And then, all will be well in Laker Land -- right, Rick?
"I think we have a bigger mountain to climb than we're willing to admit," he said. "We've been dubbed a talented team and, looking at our resumes, we are. But from an attitude adjustment, we need to improve. And you can't improve if you don't think you need to."
Domino effect
The agreement that Vin Baker and the Celtics reached in February 2003 does not by itself give the Celtics the power to terminate his contract. According to someone who has seen the document, there is no such language in the agreement. But here's what it does do: It sets up a very specific aftercare program with testing and consequences. And if Baker does not stay in compliance, there is a mechanism in place (after his suspension reaches 10 games) whereby the Celtics could terminate the contract by going to the Uniform Player Contract. As such, Baker's deal could be terminated not because of his alcohol problems, or his failure to comply, but because he would be deemed unfit to play and thus in breach of the contract. The Celtics would have by then a baseline of evidence to use -- including the documentation of the independent doctor overseeing the aftercare -- when the Players Association takes the matter to arbitration. The union is closely monitoring the situation, mindful of the likelihood that the Celtics will be luxury tax payers after this season (assuming there is a luxury tax) and would benefit significantly if Baker's salary came off the books . . . As for the most recent termination case, the Raptors' nuking of Nate Huffman, there could well be a ruling from an arbitrator by the end of the month. The Raptors not only ended Huffman's contract in January 2003, they also are asking to be reimbursed for the money Huffman received while playing in Toronto . . . The recent segment on HBO's "Real Sports" detailing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's difficulties in landing an NBA coaching gig had some intriguing people interviewed. Orlando executive Pat Williams, who never was with Abdul-Jabbar, was one. According to an industry source, Pat Riley, Byron Scott, Kurt Rambis, and James Worthy all declined to be interviewed for the story. Magic Johnson never appeared on the show, either . . . The Suns, who could use some good news, welcomed back Zarko Cabarkapa and Amare Stoudemire Friday night. It did little good; they still lost to the Kings at home. Cabarkapa had been out since Nov. 26, when a Danny Fortson shove ended up breaking his right wrist. Stoudemire had been sidelined since badly spraining his ankle in the Dec. 6 game in Boston. While both players were on the mend, the Suns changed coaches, and Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway were traded. The Marbury deal was a major financial break for the Suns. If you look at the amounts guaranteed to the players involved after this season, the difference amounts to more than $100 million. "We have effectively given a rebirth to the organization, so to speak," said Phoenix general manager Bryan Colangelo. "We've taken a very valuable player and a very valuable asset in Stephon Marbury, and converted that into flexibility -- flexibility for the future in terms of draft picks, financial viability for the organization, and a lot of things." One of those "things" is free agency, which is where some of that extra loot may be spent. While it likely won't be enough to lure Kobe from LA -- although, with Kobe, you never know -- it could be enough to twist Steve Nash's arm should Mark Cuban not step up to the plate in Dallas (which would be a shocker).
Well-schooled
Speaking of the Mavs, you have to like the story of No. 1 pick Josh Howard, who, against all odds, had cracked the starting five before a recent injury. Howard was the last pick of the first round after earning Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year honors at Wake Forest. He played well in summer league and training camp, then became the starter when Michael Finley went down with an injury. It's going to be hard to keep him out, even when (if) everyone comes back. Dallas assistant coach and player personnel boss Donnie Nelson likens Howard to a Latrell Sprewell in the making. "He's legit," Nelson said. "We were shocked he slid all the way to 29. He's real long and athletic. He defends and rebounds and that's what getting him onto the court. He's making the most of his opportunity." Nelson said Howard's court smarts might, in time, make him an ideal "point forward" because "he's real cerebral, a good decision-maker." Nash said one of the reasons Howard has been so successful is that he spent four years in college . . . How weird a week was it for the Rockets? In back-to-back games (Jan. 3 and 5, against Utah and Golden State), they held opponents to fewer than 70 points, the fifth time that has happened since the shot clock went into effect in 1954. Jeff Van Gundy, now coaching the Rockets, did it twice when he was with the Knicks. After those two defensive gems, Houston then went to Detroit and went into vapor lock, scoring 66 points, which matched the franchise low. The next night, the Rockets went to New York and, in Van Gundy's first game back in Madison Square Garden, obliterated the Knicks, 111-79. The 111 points were, yup, a season high and marked just the fourth time this season the Rockets cracked the century mark. More than 300 credentials -- twice the usual number -- were issued for the Return of Van Gundy and the MSG debuts of Marbury and Hardaway. And the restless fans quickly turned on beleaguered coach Don Chaney, with chants of "fire Chaney" as the game got out of hand. "We all know the real good part about coaching in New York. That's the bad part," Van Gundy said. "That game had nothing to do with coaching. That was a team that needs patience. They played a team that played real well, shot well." . . . Last year, Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal not only made the All-Star team, he brought along with him a teammate (Brad Miller) and a coach (Isiah Thomas). Both of those fellows are elsewhere this season, but O'Neal is planning to do the same thing this year with Ron Artest and Rick Carlisle. "Last year, it meant a lot to take Coach and Brad with me," O'Neal said. "Taking Ron and taking Rick would be another big thing for us. I think Ron definitely deserves it. He has been tremendous this year. And Rick has done a great job coming into a tough situation. I think it'd be a huge accomplishment to do what we did last year." Artest will have to be voted in by the coaches as a reserve. Carlisle stands an excellent chance of going, with his team leading the conference by 6 1/2 games heading into yesterday. The coach of the team with the best record as of Feb. 1 gets the nod (provided he didn't go the previous year) . . . Dennis Rodman was scheduled to begin practicing yesterday with the Long Beach Jam of the American Basketball Association. If all goes according to plan, the former Piston/Spur/Bull/Laker/Maverick with five NBA championship rings and seven rebounding titles will play Friday night, at the age of 42.
Material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.
