Gomes first-rate, on second thought

The explosion of Ryan Gomes last week, in which he dropped 27 points on the Washington Wizards and then followed it up with 29 against the Philadelphia 76ers, prompted the following query to the folks at Elias Sports Bureau: Has any rookie drafted so low done so much in such a short period of time?

The answer: not in a while.

According to Elias, it has been nearly 17 years since a second-round pick did what Gomes did. In November 1989, a rookie for the Minnesota Timberwolves named Sam Mitchell had back-to-back games of 31 and 25 points.

Mitchell, now the coach of the Toronto Raptors, had been taken 54th overall, but in 1985 by the Houston Rockets. He spent three years in the CBA before making his NBA debut with the Timberwolves in 1989.

If Gomes, the 50th pick overall, keeps this up, or anything remotely close to it, he conceivably could make a case for being a first-team, All-Rookie selection, given that it hasn't been a banner year for the first-year folks.

Chris Paul is a lock for Rookie of the Year and All-Rookie first team. Channing Frye, Charlie Villanueva, and, perhaps, Andrew Bogut might be deemed first-teamers.

But if Gomes keeps it up and makes the first team, he would be the first second-round pick to do so since Golden State's Marc Jackson did it in 2001. But Jackson was drafted in 1997, and played three seasons overseas before joining the Warriors. The last second-rounder to go right to the NBA from college and be selected a first-team All-Rookie was old friend Sherman Douglas, for Miami, in 1990.

The world championships are still more than five months away, but already the bulletin-board material is popping up on the Internet. FIBA's website this past week carried a piece quoting one of the probable Argentine players trashing the United States team. If it had been Manu Ginobili or Andres Nocioni, it would have been a big deal. But they're too smart to trash talk. The comments came from Leonardo Gutierrez, who played a total of three minutes in Athens at the 2004 Olympics, and a whopping 39 minutes in the 2002 worlds in Indianapolis. But his comments probably reflect the thinking of a lot of the hoop world. ''They do not play like a team," Gutierrez said of the Yanks. ''They do not know how. They always played with a star, a hero. They are not used to playing at the FIBA level due to their individualistic style." Gutierrez said many countries no longer fear playing the Americans, although he concedes the 2006 team will be determined and powerful. But no one in Argentina is losing any sleep over a potential matchup with the US, Gutierrez said. ''We do not have to respect them anymore. We do not play against them to take photos. Never again. We know how to play against them. But they do not know how to play against us." . . . While on the topic, don't you think Syracuse guard Gerry McNamara might be a good fit on any USA team? Not only can he shoot, he also knows how to play zone defense and his college coach, Jim Boeheim, is one of the assistants on the US coaching staff under Mike Krzyzewski . . . Dick Raphael, a longtime Boston photographer and regular at Celtics games, has sued the NBA in what amounts to a charge of copyright infringement. Raphael said he and the NBA agreed about 10 years ago to share his photographs and sell them. But when the photos started showing up on the Internet, being sold by other companies, and with the NBA logo, Raphael cried foul. Especially when, he said, he wouldn't get any money. A lawsuit was filed in US District Court in Boston some six months ago and now the litigation is in the discovery phase. ''It really is surprising how the NBA has treated him," said Jeffrey Allen, a lawyer representing Raphael. The lawsuit seeks unspecified financial damages as well as an order to the NBA to stop selling the pictures to other companies. According to Allen, the NBA has filed a motion to move the case to New York. The league, citing policy, declined to comment on the matter because it is in litigation . . . Last week, we offered Miami Heat coach Pat Riley's version of his power lunch with Patriots coach Bill Belichick. Well, Belichick checked in and, basically, rhapsodized about Riley, whom he said he has followed for some time. ''I've read his books and have a lot of respect for him," Belichick said. ''It's always good to sit down and talk with someone like that and get the perspective of another coach. Obviously, we are in different sports, but you can still learn an awful lot in terms of how you deal with the locker room, with players, with certain situations. It's good to get a different point of view." Belichick sat next to the Miami bench when the Heat were in Boston (he said those were Doc Rivers's seats) and, when asked who he rooted for, said, ''My heart was with the Celtics, but you also want to see Pat do well. Mainly, it was nice to sit there and simply enjoy a good game without having to hang on every pass, tackle, or field goal, which is what I usually do. I just enjoyed the competition." Belichick said he has attended practices of Mike Fratello (when the two were in Cleveland) and Bobby Knight simply to see if there's something he might pick up to help him. ''You have a lot of different people on your team," Belichick said. ''How can you make them productive? And as we get older and more experienced, culturally we're a little further away from the athletes who are coming into the league. So you have to do what you need to do to keep up."

On Jan. 26, the Raptors relieved GM Rob Babcock of his duties, a move at the time that amounted to a hoop mercy killing. Babcock was reviled in Toronto for giving away Vince Carter and for drafting Rafael Araujo in 2004 with the eighth overall pick. The interim replacement for Babcock was none other than Wayne Embry, who promptly traded Jalen Rose to the Knicks (while doing what Babcock wouldn't do, surrendering a No. 1 owned by the Nuggets). ''It made all the sense in the world," Embry said. ''We really needed to get under the cap. Otherwise, it's really hard to build a franchise, especially one that struggled for so long. And if we get this thing turned around, this city will go crazy. I was not aware of how much the fans here love the Raptors and the NBA." The man charged with affecting that turnaround will be Bryan Colangelo, who was hired to run the basketball operation. Embry says he didn't have much to do with that -- no one believes him -- because a headhunter actually made contact with Colangelo. But Embry has been friends for a long time with Jerry Colangelo, Bryan's dad, and Bryan has made a mark of his own in Phoenix. He may well win Executive of the Year for the second straight year, this time while working for someone else. The Rose trade will enable Toronto to get substantially under the cap, by at least $10 million ''with several opportunities to get even further under," Embry said. The Raptors still have their own No. 1 pick in this year's draft as well as two second-rounders. Embry, who turns 69 in two weeks, will remain on as a consultant, something Bryan Colangelo requested. ''I am just happy with the way everything turned out," Embry said. ''This has given me a whole new lease on life. It has revived my passion for the game." . . . In case you're doing some scoreboard watching, here's some useful information for the remainder of the regular season. Starting with tonight's game against the Nuggets, the Celtics have 20 games to play. Eleven are on the road. Fifteen are against teams who either will make the playoffs or are fighting to make the playoffs. The Bucks also have 20 games to play. Ten are on the road. Eleven are against teams who are in the playoffs or fighting to make the playoffs. The Bulls have 19 games remaining. Nine are on the road. Thirteen are against teams in the playoffs or fighting to make the playoffs, including two with the Celtics. The Bucks still have a trip out West, but the opponents are Portland (who they've yet to play), Seattle and the Lakers. They still have to host the Suns.

Material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.