http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/c...l.3c34abb.html
Mike Monroe: In Clippers' Cassell, a foundation shows cracks
Web Posted: 03/14/2007 12:31 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Aware he would be defending Tony Parker in a few hours, Clippers point guard Jason Hart, a one-time Spurs player, wanted to work on his post defense Tuesday after his team's morning shootaround at the AT&T Center. Parker, the Spurs' All-Star guard, likes to get in the paint and create. Hart wanted to be ready.
Sam Cassell accommodated his young teammate, and when it comes to point guards creating in the paint, Parker could take some lessons from "Sam-I-Am."
Cassell scored on Hart with five different moves. Hart headed for the locker room, but Cassell demanded he return for another play.
"You can't leave until you get a stop," the veteran of 13 NBA seasons said, then gave Hart an easy way out by clanking an off-balance 10-footer.
Cassell laughed, took a seat, then sighed.
"How do you feel?" a visitor asked.
"Awful," said Cassell. "Getting old's a trip."
Cassell is 38, ancient for an NBA point guard. He's battled plantar fasciitis, a pulled abdominal muscle, a strained groin, and his back hurts. He never knows, day to day, if his body will allow him to play in the next Clippers game.
"He's always day to day," said a reporter who covers the team.
On Tuesday, it was more like hour to hour. After promising after the morning shoot that he would be in uniform that night, Cassell had to scratch himself before tipoff.
"My abdominal may pull at any time with the slightest little movement now," Cassell said Tuesday morning. "Just trying to post up Jason, I'm trying to monitor every little movement to see how I do. But at game speed, you can't monitor stuff like that."
Were Cassell like Robert Horry, his friend and former teammate on the Rockets, he probably would've had plenty of time to let his aches and pains and pulls heal this season. The Spurs have enough depth up front to allow Horry to play an average of only 17.3 minutes and still have the third-best record in the NBA.
Horry's legs are being saved for big playoff minutes, when his big shots will be more meaningful.
The Clippers have been beset by injuries all season, especially at the point. Shaun Livingston suffered what some sports doctors described as the worst knee injury they ever had seen. He's not just out for the rest of this season. He likely will also miss next season.
Even when he's been hurting, Cassell has had to play. He's old enough to know better, too much of a competitor to say no. He's missed 15 games after sitting out Tuesday but probably should have sat out a few more.
Save himself for the playoffs, like his buddy Horry? Take himself out of the lineup too often, and the Clippers aren't going to make the playoffs.
"Yeah," Cassell said, "it's a Catch-22."
Horry and Cassell won two championships in Houston. They became best friends by default.
"He's so competitive," Horry said, "and when he first got there, he looked around and said, 'I can't argue with Dream (Hakeem Olajuwon). I can't argue with Otis (Thorpe). I can't argue with Clyde (Drexler).' So we used to argue with each other. Sometimes you want to let your frustrations out. When something went wrong, you want to vent your frustrations on somebody who can let it slide."
Like Horry, Cassell remains one of the league's most feared, and fearless, clutch shooters.
Horry would like to see his friend in a situation to go out with another title.
"I think he's got about two, three years left in him," Horry said. "Maybe someday he can be Tony's backup, give him some solid minutes. Then he could play the kind of minutes I do."
The notion brought a wide smile to Cassell's face.
"Tell that to Pop," Cassell said.