Texas triangle teams have their troubles, too

[Kori Ellis]

NBA Beat: Texas triangle teams have their troubles, too
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer

http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports...12192355c.html


The Kings aren't the only team trying to find themselves as the regular season looms.

When Sacramento ventures into Texas for three potentially treacherous games - is there a more daunting three-game opener than this one? - the Kings hope to transform from the lethargic preseason bunch that went 2-6 to the efficient Kings of old.

But now it goes both ways. The Kings' opponents this week also have issues.
Dallas, curious about what it will have, hosts the Kings in an opener Tuesday. The Mavericks retooled the roster after the Kings eliminated them from the playoffs last year, but they have yet to field their entire assemblage in practice or a game this fall because of injuries and illnesses.

Six Dallas players did not suit up for the preseason finale against the Kings on Thursday, though it didn't prevent the Mavericks from belting the Kings 112-93 at American Airlines Center to finish the preseason 3-5.

The new blended well with the experienced as rookie point guard Devin Harris had 24 points, free-agent center signee Erick Dampier had 15 points and 15 rebounds, and All-Star Dirk Nowitzki tossed in 30 points.

But the ailments remain a concern for Dallas, particularly for swingmen Marquis Daniels, Michael Finley and Jerry Stackhouse.

Daniels didn't play in a preseason game because of a sprained ankle. Finley missed the last four games with a tender hamstring, and Stackhouse missed six games with a thigh contusion (lateral movement leaves him in acute pain). He has said he will not play in the opener.

Nowitzki missed two games to attend his grandmother's funeral in Germany and another with the flu but otherwise looked fit, rested and dominant Thursday. Guard Jason Terry, brought in via trade from Atlanta, didn't play Thursday after having four wisdom teeth extracted. He said Thursday he is looking forward to playing Tuesday against Mike Bibby, with whom he teamed to lead Arizona to the 1997 NCAA le.


And in San Antonio
...Meanwhile, the always feel-good Spurs have a ripple in the pond of serenity.
Favored by many publications and by NBA general managers in a recent poll to win the NBA le, San Antonio has no real injury concerns of note, but the efforts to extend the contract of guard Tony Parker hit a snag. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on Friday said he disagreed with Spurs chairman Peter Holt in his apparent stance in not increasing a contract offer of $64 million.

Parker's agent, Marc Fleisher, wants a minimum of $70 million over six years, though Parker has indicated he'd be happy with $68 million, perhaps even finding a way to get by on $66 million if the team compromised. Popovich, and those in the Parker camp, know $64 million is considerably less than the extensions given to others from his rookie class, including Memphis' Pau Gasol and Utah's Andrei Kirilenko, who just signed deals at about $86 million each, and the Nets awarded Richard Jefferson a tidy $76 million.

And the Spurs' ownership view: At $64 million, Parker would still have the second-largest contract in franchise history behind Tim Duncan's $122 million deal.


And in Houston ...
The Rockets split with the Kings in the China Games, but Houston looked sluggish in the last two preseason games, drawing the ire of coach Jeff Van Gundy, who never looks rested or happy.Worse, Yao Ming has a partially torn tendon in his right elbow. Tracy McGrady, brought in via trade over the summer from Orlando, has struggled with his shot, and the Rockets have yet to come together with a new lineup that should start McGrady and Charlie Ward in the backcourt, Juwan Howard and Jim Jackson at the forwards and Yao at center.
"I'm kind of out of sync right now," McGrady told Houston reporters. "It showed. It comes with the territory when you change teams and teammates, when you have to get a different offense down pat. Right now, we're doing too much thinking."


More Spurs
San Antonio tinkered with its roster just slightly over the summer, adding two free agents in veterans Brent Barry and Tony Massenburg.Barry should help ignite a long-distance game that doomed the Spurs in the playoffs last season, and Massenburg said last week he feels reborn, again, after landing on his 13th new roster since his NBA career began with the Spurs in 1990-91.
A bruising forward, Massenburg was upset last season with the Kings when his playing time was trimmed after the return of Chris Webber from injury (Massenburg was eventually left off the playoff roster), and he groused that he didn't get to shoot enough.

He had 12 points in 14 minutes in the Spurs' 102-86 victory over New Orleans on Friday.

"What people saw from him tonight is what we expected from him," Popovich told San Antonio media. "We know he's a good scorer."

Said Massenburg: "The thing with Pop is, Pop knows me. He knows my game and everything that I bring. That's a huge advantage for me as a player.

"I haven't had that in other places. Usually they just expect me to rebound."


Medical charts in Indy
Of all the front-line teams in the NBA this preseason, no one took more hits than the Pacers.Indiana went 6-2 in the preseason but lost bodies at seemingly every turn, the latest being guard Reggie Miller for up to six weeks after breaking a bone in his left hand Friday. He'll squeeze onto a crowded bench of weary and wounded teammates that includes Jermaine O'Neal (foot), Jeff Foster (hip), Anthony Johnson (broken hand) and Jonathan Bender (knee). Foster and Johnson could be out up to two months, but O'Neal should be back this week.
Foster's injury means Scot Pollard is assured of some playing time now. The former Kings reserve center was bolted to the bench last season - his average 11.1 minutes in 61 games represented his fewest since his rookie season with Detroit in 1997-98. He has trimmed down some 15 pounds and has impressed this fall.


Zach patrol
Zach Randolph may be barking up the wrong tree.
The Portland Trail Blazers forward said he thinks he's a cornerstone franchise piece, and so does his agent. Both are demanding a maximum contract extension of $86 million over six years, though the Blazers are offering around $74 million.

All this for a player who has a good game but still hasn't matured. According to a television report out of Portland, Randolph, troubled teammate Qyntel Woods and several others allegedly confronted a man at a comedy club who they believed connected Woods to a dog-fighting scandal in Portland. Woods has been suspended by the team while investigators sort out the dog issue (witnesses have also told authorities that Woods neglected his dogs, leaving them to freeze and nearly starve during road trips last winter). Now Woods has been suspended for five games by the NBA for violating the league's drug policy.

Back to Randolph. One general manager told The Bee on the condition of anonymity: "I wouldn't sign Randolph for anything close to that sort of money. They still haven't cleaned out all of their problems."

Randolph told the Portland Oregonian: "Gasol got $86 million, and he isn't better than me. I feel like if I'm going to be the franchise player on this team, they should show it."


Baseline jumpers
The expansion Charlotte Bobcats hope to sign former Kings swingman Gerald Wallace to an extension before today's deadline for fourth-year rookie-scale players. Wallace did get ejected against the Hawks on Wednesday after drawing two technical fouls, the first when he wrestled with Al Harrington for the ball well after the whistle and the second for complaining about a foul.* The Clippers haven't even started their season, and already they're looking up at the pack after center Chris Kaman sprained his left ankle, which could sideline him up to two weeks. Another starter, guard Kerry Kittles, will open the season on the injured list because of his bad right knee.
* Seattle forward Danny Fortson has filed a defamation suit against Suns CEO Jerry Colangelo and the New York Post and columnist Peter Vecsey after both referred to him as a "thug" from an ugly game incident from last season.

Fortson, then with Dallas, shoved Suns forward Zarko Cabarkapa while he was in midair. Cabarkapa crashed to the floor, broke his right wrist and missed 22 games, leading Colangelo to say that Fortson was "a thug. ... He's always been a thug."

Vecsey wrote that Fortson was a "thugged out player" a "meaningless mass" a "gangsta or a wanksta" and that Fortson engaged in "attempted murder."

* Shaquille O'Neal treated his new Miami Heat teammates to a tour of his 64,000-square-foot home and some nice chow.

"I brought 'em over for lobster, steak, shrimp and some fish I caught in the river myself," O'Neal told Miami media, adding that the fish story was indeed a fish story. O'Neal's neighbors include Tom Hanks and Tiger Woods.

* O'Neal on his first meeting with No. 1 pick Josh Howard of Orlando, fresh from the prep ranks: "I am Shogun, loved by no one. So before he gets to me, he has to go through other Ninja masters. He has to go through (Amare) Stoudemire. He has to go through Yao Ming."

* Avery Johnson retired after 16 NBA seasons to become an assistant coach with Dallas, a move that seemingly has been in the works for three years. Said Dallas coach Don Nelson: "Avery retired two years ago. He just forgot to tell anyone."

* New Orlando guard Cuttino Mobley on being traded from Houston: "Like I said before, getting traded is like your wife cheating on you. But you never know, man. Anything can happen."

* Former Denver coach (and current Nuggets consultant) Doug Moe on his return to health from Sept. 27 bypass surgery: "I'm (raring) to go so I can run up stairs. (Former president Bill) Clinton had to wait seven weeks before he came out of hiding because he looked so bad (after his surgery). Me, it doesn't matter how bad I look."

[totalspurshomer]

Man, this guy is reaching for feel good about the Texas trip angles.

Parker's contract issue will mean squat with regard to beating Sacramento. Dallas and Houston retooled and will indeed be trying to mesh early on. But at least get the facts straight. It's Yao's LEFT(non-shooting)elbow that got hurt.