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Editor's note: As part of "The Stein Line" every Monday, ESPN.com senior NBA writer Marc Stein gives his take on things in "Slams and Dunks." Make that two mysteries in Toronto to go with all the injuries.
Unknown No. 2: How much longer Wilkens can count on the Raptors' many health issues and the money left on his contract as insulation from a firing. The sizable and swelling anti-Lenny lobby north of the border isn't accepting the injury-plague alibi as an explanation for the Raptors' standing as one of just three teams left with less than 10 wins. Questions about Wilkens' ability to motivate continue to resonate. Especially with louder suspicions about Carter's work ethic and eagerness to return from ongoing knee trouble growing louder by the day. Added up, those concerns lead to the conclusion that the Raps could use a hard-line coach to prod Carter, who isn't getting the push from teammates or anywhere else. Too bad their ex-countrymen have already resurrected Hubie Brown.
The winning, if the Blazers can dodge the expected relapse, would also rule out a Scottie Pippen trade at the Feb. 20 deadline. Pippen is highly attractive to rival clubs at 37, earning $19.7 million in the last year of his contract. Yet Portland won't move him in prosperous times, since he's as crucial to keeping this combustible group together as coach Mo Cheeks.
The Hawks have lost four straight games, without cracking 90 points, since Terry Stotts' debut victory over San Antonio and have a not-so-friendly homestand starting Monday against New Jersey, Dallas, Houston and New Orleans. Question is, would anyone be interested in Theo Ratliff? He's big and believed to be available, but Ratliff also has $21-plus million left on his contract after this season and a history of hip trouble that's disconcerting at the very least, if not quite approaching Bo Jackson's hip problem.
Right. Even with the Wiz winning three in a row to move into eighth in the East, Van Gundy's old theory -- that players makes themselves vulnerable with their MJ worship -- would suggest that the gesture was merely a ploy to soften T-Mac up for the stretch run. The Magic have been unchallenged at No. 7 in the East for much of the season but could be vulnerable to slippage if Grant Hill's latest setback strays into the long term.
Penny Hardaway, doing no harm to his reshaping image, dishes the Amare gushing in smoother fashion. "Awesome," Hardaway said. "Really good. He plays hard. He plays like a man. He plays older than his age." Just don't forget, while Stoudemire is applying legit ROY heat on Yao Ming, he's already almost legally old enough to be a man. It doesn't diminish what he's doing, because the fact remains that Amare was playing high school ball this time last year, but it bears repeating that the 6-10, 245-pound man-child turned 20 on Nov. 16. Which helps explain why Stoudemire has a body and fearlessness unseen from any preps-to-pros rookie since Garnett unleashed a wave of NBA teenagers in 1995. LeBron James, if you're curious, will be 18 when his first NBA season starts next November. Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here. |
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