ESPN.com - Ah, the dysfunctional final West playoff spot

ESPN.com: NBA

Thursday, February 15, 2001
Updated: February 16, 6:21 PM ET
Ah, the dysfunctional final West playoff spot

By Scott Howard-Cooper
Special to ESPN.com

A good day for a Phoenix Sun is having charges dropped. The star player for the Seattle SuperSonics called his former coach a witch or a snitch or something like that in front of fans and was suspended by his current coach and offered defiance more than contrition upon returning. Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets staged a coup on Coach Dan Issel, failed miserably and admitted their mistake, though still to be determined is who put Klink and Schultz in charge of the mutiny in the first place.

This is shaping up as a chase for the ages for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, with everyone riveted on the outcome, or at least everyone who is in production meetings and putting together segments for the next episode of "Cops." The Minnesota Timberwolves could join the pack if they return to Earth, but for now, we will have to do without the considerable contributions of the organization that's still on the hook for some of the most blatant rules violations in sports history. (Looks like Clinton didn't pardon the entire world on his way out the door after all.)

In fairness, there are reasons why rooting is understandable. In Seattle, Nate McMillan, considered a top coaching candidate since back in his final years as a player, is every bit as classy as he is promising in the new job, although, proving he has a long way to go, obviously hasn't yet gotten to that part in the SuperSonics handbook where it says everyone in a position of authority will back down to Gary Payton. In Denver, Antonio McDyess has catapulted from his Olympic experience to a first-ever All-Star appearance and, while a team captain and therefore at the center of the mutiny, if only because he didn't squash it, has proven himself to be even more exemplary of how NBA players should carry themselves. In Minnesota, the Timberwolves are successfully fighting through a loss far more devastating than draft picks -- bright light Malik Sealy -- and Kevin Garnett didn't so much as flinch for the door during the darkest times.

On the other hand ...

At least one of the three being under consideration -- the Suns, Nuggets and SuperSonics -- should make the playoffs, and Al Davis, still a villain or two shy of the Super Bowl, has dibs on the others. Which means the final two months of the regular season could be filled with intrigue. Just nothing like the last three.

In no particular odor, er, order:

Phoenix: Those aren't police cars circling the Suns for a change, but vultures. In an even worse sign, it's been the Celtics, Warriors and Wizards of late picking at what remains of the once-promising team that has already trashed its image and now is threatening to do damage to its standing as a playoff regular. They have had trouble scoring and so many problems with depth in the backcourt that the front office was checking into the rules to see if Scott Skiles could temporarily suspend his coaching contract to sign a 10-day deal and play some point. (It's not allowed.)


	Hardaway


	Kidd

And then there are the other troubles. Jason Kidd. Penny Hardaway. Backcourt 2000, as they were tabbed when Hardaway arrived with great fanfare in a sign-and-trade in the summer of '99, became known as Back In Court 2001, though it's tough to say exactly where the change came from since every media member is too upstanding to have ever broken any law and none would ever be so cynical as to mock the Suns as the ground opened up. Then, Clifford Robinson.

Meanwhile, they had a stretch of six losses in nine games, part of which included scoring 82 points against Washington, 83 against Boston and 95 against Golden State when the Warriors had the worst defense in the league. Hardaway called them "passive and soft." Robinson noted that "It doesn't seem like we believe in what we're doing" and that if the pattern continues "We won't accomplish anything except an early [playoff] exit."

If they get that far.

Denver: Dec. 11, a date which will live in infamy, was when everything went bad. The Nuggets arrived home from Boston at about 4:30 a.m. and heard from Issel they would practice later that day, an unusual move for the coach of a team coming off a back-to-back on the road, even without the difficult travel. Players had their own ideas and revolted, deciding they would not go, at least not beyond the parking lot where several of them gathered that day like they couldn't believe this was really going to happen. They also considered skipping the game the next day against Miami, but showed, if that's what you want to call it, and got routed.

	“	From that point when we missed practice, it wasn't something we intentionally tried to do to gain a lot attention, but once we did that, the attention came. We just tried to take advantage of it and try not to make it look so bad on ourselves. ”
		— McDyess

It's also when everything went right. Having the whole thing blow up in their face, the Nuggets were forced to do something good or live with that moment for the rest of the season, at least, and then turned something good into great. They won games and maybe even won back some fans. They moved into the playoff picture. They got McDyess in the All-Star game, where, in one of his great moments of individual glory, he got more questions about the mutiny and dutifully answered them all without sidestepping blame.

They were 10-13 after the Miami game, but went immediately into a four-game winning streak that included victories over the Spurs and Trail Blazers. When that became 14 wins in 17 tries, it was an amazing run especially considering the surrounding circumstances. The Nuggets spiked at eight games over .500 and skidded into the break by losing six of seven, but then beat the Knicks on Tuesday in their first time back.

"We knew what it was going to take to gain respect," McDyess said. "When you're winning, you open a lot of eyes to a lot of people. A lot more people paid more attention to you. From that point when we missed practice, it wasn't something we intentionally tried to do to gain a lot attention, but once we did that, the attention came. We just tried to take advantage of it and try not to make it look so bad on ourselves."

Not that there were many other ways to look at it, but the response has done wonders. Besides, there was already great supporting evidence to the contrary for McDyess. The captain who sensed the strike was wrong but did nothing to take control of the moment is also the guy who isn't good at playing a bandit. It's like the time he was walking into an arena before a preseason game, a kid called to him to ask for his shoes, and McDyess said to meet him back at the same spot afterwards for delivery. When the time came, the fan was nowhere to be found, McDyess gave the gift to someone else, and that's when the boy showed. McDyess had the trainer get another pair from the bus and made good on the original promise.

In a season like this, any positive publicity helps.

"It made them become accountable," assistant coach John Lucas said of the walkout. "Being in Denver, Colorado, we don't get a lot of exposure because we haven't won. It brought a lot of exposure to us. We're not like the Jazz or like Sacramento now. We created an atmosphere that made us have to put up or shut up, which helps."


	Payton

Seattle: The SuperSonics were 6-9 under Paul Westphal, but way over .500 since since McMillan got the job. Of course, that also meant he got Payton, who gave his former teammate about 10 seconds of honeymoon, then went off, shouting at McMillan in the locker room after a game. Payton was suspended the next day. He apologized in a statement, but showed no actual remorse.

"I don't regret anything," came the word a few games later, along with "It didn't affect me. Why should it affect me? I don't think I did anything wrong. It was just things that were miscommunication. That's all it was. They did what they had to do."

Now comes the time to see if the SuperSonics do anything of the more-permanent nature with him before the Feb. 22 trade deadline. If not, it will only bring the likelihood of continued speculation on his future in Seattle during the final two months. That's right. More fun times ahead.

Scott Howard-Cooper covers the NBA for the Sacramento Bee and is a new regular contributor to ESPN.com.