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Editor's note: As part of "The Stein Line" every Monday, senior NBA writer Marc Stein gives his take on things in "Slams and Dunks."
|  | | Tracy McGrady has been too smooth this season to be still called 'Sleepy.' |
Until he gets the Orlando Magic to the second round of the playoffs, Tracy McGrady can't supplant Kobe Bryant as the league's best swingman. Not here, anyway. But the gap, as they say, is narrowing. Fast.
McGrady has been scintillating so far, and not only because Grant Hill is finally healthy enough (for now) to give T-Mac some help. He's maturing, too. Kevin Garnett is the only player in the league who has shown the ability to check the Year 6 McGrady and it's probably time for a new nickname. Sleepy -- actually, it's "The Big Sleep" on first reference -- doesn't work so well any more. "Breezy" is better to describe McGrady, because, as Willie and Flight might say, he's making this stuff LOOK TOO EASY!
Perhaps Toronto's Mamadou N'diaye benefited from seeing Yao Ming as much as Yao needed to see Mamadou on Nov. 2. Eight of Yao's 13 points this season (in five games) came in that meeting with N'diaye ... a roasting to which Mamadou responded with eight blocks (no lie) in his very next game against Chicago.
The question has been asked more than once and I don't have a great answer: Why do we even need divisions in the NBA? Divisional lineups have been a hot topic ever since commissioner David Stern mentioned his preference for a six-division realignment starting with Charlotte's re-entry in the league in the 2004-05 season, but nothing about the league's playoff structure figures to change too drastically. The eight playoff qualifiers in each conference would almost certainly continue to be determined by overall record; with the three division winners claiming the top three seeds and the last five spots going to the teams with the best records.
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Why not just go with 15-team conferences, East and West? Hunch here is that Stern is very married to the idea of teams (and their fans) feeling good about themselves. |
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So, back to the question: Why not just go with 15-team conferences, East and West? Hunch here is that Stern is very married to the idea of teams (and their fans) feeling good about themselves. And having six divisions would potentially allow for six extra banner-raising opportunities. Teams love to sell tickets with slogans like: "Come watch your Atlantic Division champion Miami Heat" … no matter how they did in the playoffs.
Best thing about Lee Nailon joining the Knicks? Besides the fact that two smack-spewing Texas Christian alumni -- Nailon and Kurt Thomas -- are now teammates? Nailon is only 27. Meaning there actually is a Knick to point to now who's best basketball might be down the road -- although it must be said that Thomas (30) actually gets better with age despite being forced to masquerade as a center because the Knicks don't have one.
Check the box scores Tuesday morning to see how the "new" Shawn Bradley (not an original concept, we know) survives a night with the Trail Blazers. Portland historically loves to push the Mavericks (and specifically Bradley) around. Through two weeks, though, the Mavs couldn't be more thrilled. Bradley's production (9.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.67 blocks per game) is right there with New Jersey's Dikembe Mutombo (9.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.0 bpg) -- and Deke's widely considered a difference maker for a title contender.
Cautiously optimistic as the Mavs are, they would naturally celebrate wildly if Bradley maintains that production level. History says he won't, and Dale Davis is bound to test Bradley's manhood (as seen last season) on Monday night, but Dallas might be happier about their much-maligned center's progress than the 6-0 start. Bradley already has one more double-double (14 points and 13 boards in Toronto) than he had all last season. In fact, Bradley managed 10 rebounds only once in 53 games in 2001-02.
Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.
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