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Wednesday, May 8
Updated:
May 8, 2:33 AM ET
Time for Brown, Iverson to show a little love
By Jason Jackson
Special to ESPN.com
Do me a favor and check the JaxLine archive. Didn't I say it was important for Allen Iverson and Larry Brown to be men, and co-exist for the benefit of basketball in Philadelphia? If I didn't say it, I should have, but it might be too late for tough love. Tuesday's Iverson press conference, a forum for the reigning MVP to respond to his coach's call to arms on Saturday, was just another episode in a very sad soap opera. At this point, I can't see it ending well. Later today (Wednesday), coach Brown has scheduled time to rebut. How is this going to end? Will the loser be written out of the script, or will the winner receive a forensic league trophy?
Iverson and Brown had their best year of either of their NBA careers last year. I believe they accomplished said feat together. Yes, Iverson needs to be on time and an active participant in all team preparations, but Brown needs to know -- like it or not -- Iverson feels like a second-class player, due to the public accusations. This is what happens when two men want to win so much but in their own respective ways.
I trust we can stop the dueling press conferences after coach Brown has his say on Wednesday. Both men say they love each other, so why not show a little brotherly love, and save us all from the drama of discussing a team that isn't even playing right now.
No one plays with more determination and grit than Iverson. No one has won in more places on more levels than Brown. It would be a crying shame if their similar desires from glory never converge on the same road toward another chance NBA title.
JaxTake
Nets defeat Hornets 102-88 (Nets up 2-nil)
Both teams needed their benches to provide a little support. The Nets only needed Lucious Harris. He outscored the Hornets' bench by himself by two points. "I just felt good from the first shot," Harris said. (More on his night in the BJA) We talked about a balanced Nets' attack on Tuesday. How about six Nets in double figures?
The Hornets didn't open well or close solid. They only produced a combined 35 points in the first and fourth quarters.
Since the Nets have the 2-0 series lead, Tuesday could have marked the last game in the swamp for the conference semifinals. It was nice of the Nets' neighbors to fill the joint. This after falling about 1,000 seats short of a sellout on Sunday.
Spurs defeat Lakers 88-85 (series knotted at 1)
The Lakers ugly play continued and it finally nipped them in the loss column. I am not trying to take credit from Tim Duncan's effort, but the Lakers had won 20 of their previous 21 playoff games before this loss. You know the Lakers had enough to win the game. They were down by as many as 21, but closed the gap to as little as one.
Give the Spurs some serious love for holding off the wave of the Lakers in the second half. San Antonio played without David Robinson again, but out rebounded the Lakers. A wise man once told me rebounding is a measure of desire. If I remember correctly, he mentioned that because I couldn't shoot, but I'm talking about a guy like Malik Rose who pulls down 11 (four off the offensive glass) in order to assist Tim Duncan in his effort to keep the Spurs from digging a hole that is too deep. My gut tells me this loss will serve as a wake-up call for the defending champs, and they will rip off 11 straight wins on way to another title. They'll have to fight a team with new knowledge which states, "We can beat the Lakers." By the way, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he's hopeful the David Robinson will play in Game 3.
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| Marshall |
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| Duncan |
Gamer and Goat
Gamer: Tim Duncan had 10 turnovers, but that can't rain on the parade of 27 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 blocked shots. Duncan recovered nicely in Tuesday's win by replacing Game 1's 9-for-30 shooting performance with a 10 for 19 affair in the win over the Lakers. This Gamer designation comes before Thursday's announcement of the NBA's MVP Award, which we understand will be in Tim Duncan's hands. While I would have gone with Jason Kidd as my MVP, I understand and appreciate Duncan's power and contribution to the Spurs organization.
Goat: We love Donny Marshall, but we have to give him the Goat for his billionaire stat line. He played one minute without taking a shot, free throw, grabbing a rebound, tossing an assist, being called for a foul, and scoring a point.
The line looks like this:
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Marshall's Line
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min
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fgm-fga
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ftm-fta
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o-t
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ast
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pf
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pts
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Marshall
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1
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0-0
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0-0
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0-0
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0
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0
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0
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It's just a goof, but a fun one.
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| Harris |
Bobby Jones Award
Luscious Lucious Harris fired off a playoff career-high 24 points off the pine. A bench by the way that was cleared in the Nets victory as coach Scott used all 12 active players. Harris made the most of his time getting off 11 shots in his 24 minutes. He only missed one. Harris was good enough to pick up the backcourt scoring slack as he scored 4 more points than Kerry Kittles and Jason Kidd combined.
In Case You Missed It
Just as they are now, Charlotte was down 0-2 vs. Milwaukee in the conference semifinals last season before winning 3 straight and then losing the final 2 games of the series.
Next!
Celtics vs. Pistons (Pistons up 1-nil)
The Pistons flat-out smothered the Celtics in Game 1. It isn't a fluke that Pistons head coach Rich Carlisle was named the NBA's Coach of the Year on Tuesday. He and his staff put together a great game plan. Get a hand up (10 blocks as a team), and challenge every shot. The result 37.5 percent shooting, and a Game 1 loss.
Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker will have to rise to their All-Star status and make shoots over outstretched hands in order to even this series up.
The Sack
My sack runs over! I will return to your questions in Wednesday's edition.
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THE SACK
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Jason,
I believe the Spurs can beat L.A. When they are playing their best basketball, very few teams in the NBA can keep up. Many times Duncan throughout the year sat almost a whole quarter due to the great performance of their bench and other roll players. Even without Robinson, (Though they need him) Malik creates another type of difficulty down in the low post. I think if the Spurs pull it together like they did in the fifth game against the Sonic, not even the Lakers can beat them.
Doc Brazile
from parts unknown
Doc,
The Lakers and Spurs are far from playing their best basketball. For the Lakers, the loss will probably rock them back into focus. They've only lost two postseason games in two seasons. Don't get loss in the victory, because the Lakers could have won this game as easy as the Spurs did. If you are true to yourself, you know Kobe's late indecision saved you from overtime or a loss, not your team's execution (turnovers were an issue late in the game). Enjoy the lead and hope the Spurs continue to find ways to win. A David Robinson would be nice.
Jason,
It is sad that the league pulled another one of its "Who is most marketable?" cover-ups and announced Tim Duncan as the MVP. Duncan is an incredible player, but did not deserve that much credit for this season. Jason Kidd transformed a team into an exciting/winning team and made every player around him better. He single-handedly took NJ out of the first round against a Pacers team that is light years better than Seattle (who should have finished off the sickly ship that is San Antonio). I don't think that there will be any glimpse of fairness in this league, both with referees and awards, until David Stern is gone.
Dax McDonald
from parts unknown
D-Mac,
Let's keep the Commish out of this one. I don't have any postseason votes so I don't have any reason to love or hate the process. If you are saying marketing outweighs the truth among the NBA brass, you could have a point, but Duncan did lead the world in double-doubles, and led the way in more than a handful of major statistics.
I, on the other hand, would have gone with Jason Kidd for MVP. The man is still changing an entire way of thinking in New Jersey's basketball community. Yes, the triple-doubles are big, but by pushing the rock and allowing anyone with wheels an opportunity to ride the boat with him is bigger. Why? Others get to participate in the success. So the mentality moves as a collective from we can score, to we can win, to we can win the whole thing.
Jason,
Why do the Lakers have homecourt advantage against the higher-seeded Spurs? I know the Lakers had a better regular season record and all, but why does the NBA seed the teams if they throw the seeds out the window in the second round? Thanks.
Stu Macaleer
McLean, Va.
Stu,
The Spurs were the No. 2 seed due to their successful run to the top spot in the Midwest Division, but they have the same record as the Lakers. The records reign supreme. San Antonio and Los Angeles had the same regular season record, so we have to go to the first tiebreaker. The Lakers won the tiebreaker by winning 3 of the 4 head to head meetings this season. Therefore, home court in this series belongs to the Lakers. |
Jason Jackson is the host of ESPN's "NBA Matchup," ESPN2's "NBA 2Night" and ESPN Radio's "GameDay with Jason Jackson." You can e-mail him at Jason.Jackson@espn.com. Please type JaxLine into the subject line of your e-mail.
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Charlotte vs. New Jersey
Jason Kidd rims out the floater and Richard Jefferson swoops in for the follow-up jam.
Standard | Cable Modem
Full of Answers
Allen Iverson's intensity in practice may be in question, but he gives 110% behind the microphone.
Standard | Cable Modem
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