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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."
|  | | Point guard Andre Miller has yet to steady the Clippers' shaky ship. |
There has been only one enduring Vin Man, by Stein Line standards, and that's Andrew Dice Clay in "Casual Sex." So we figured (along with everyone else) that going home wouldn't exactly transform Vin Baker into a Celtics savior. Surprise, surprise: It hasn't.
If there's a homecoming surprise, it's Andre Miller's so-so start with the Los Angeles Clippers. The numbers aren't bad (17.6 points and 8.0 assists per game) but Miller so far hasn't been the steadying force the Clippers had hoped for. Especially not Sunday, when the Clips again failed to finish off a winnable game, falling to 3-7 with a home loss to Seattle in which Miller missed three fourth-quarter free throws and shot 4-for-19 from the field.
With three straight losses, L.A. suddenly faces a critical game in Golden State on Monday. A loss there and it could really get messy for a team with its interior power and depth should be much better. Note to Miller and his pals: Makes it much tougher to criticize Donald T. Sterling's spendthrift ways when no one plays anywhere near the max-contract stratosphere.
Back to Baker. Getting something out of him and getting its defense back to a conference finals level are Boston's keys. It looks as though the longings for Kenny Anderson are a bit overblown, since Tony Delk and Shammond Williams have to be guarded at the 3-point line -- teams were able to leave Anderson, for all his floor leadership, to double-team someone else. Can't downplay bad D, though.
Toronto is convinced there will be no snags with insurance picking up 80 percent of the $12 million left on Hakeem Olajuwon's contract. Since that money stays on the Raptors' salary cap, expect Dream to stay parked on the team's injured list for a while -- in case the Raps need to throw his salary into a trade, just to make the numbers work.
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'Sheed might be too subdued right now; he's not even among the league's top 20 in technical fouls. |
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The fight-a-day pace is bad, if typical. The growing realization that their talent is overhyped is worse. Maybe worst of all in Portland: Rasheed Wallace, the only All-Star contender on the team's roster, is sliding. Throw out the first three games of the season and Wallace is averaging 14.4 points on 37.4 percent shooting and just 6.7 rebounds. 'Sheed might be too subdued right now; he's not even among the league's top 20 in technical fouls with -- gasp -- only one. And he hasn't been posting up as much as he should be. Want more? Scottie Pippen and Arvydas Sabonis have to hold this team together, but they're trying to do the same with their bodies. We've said it before: Mo Cheeks is a brave guy.
No, Kobe Bryant isn't going to win his maiden MVP trophy in May. But, no, the Shaq-less Lakers wouldn't be any better right now if it was Tracy McGrady carrying the whole team by himself. And, no, Yao Ming ain't bad, is he? Kobe had 46 points on Sunday, McGrady had 36 and 14 boards and you could easily say Yao, with a breakout 20 in 22 minutes, had the best night of the three.
Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.
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