Kareem Says Nba Players A Lot Like Tennis Players
In your face, Bill Russell, or something like that. Shaq’s fine, but give me Hakeem Olajuwon, says Kareem AbdulJabbar, and not because of those 47- and 41-point games against the league’s top two defensive centers - David Robinson and Dikembe Mutombo - Friday and Saturday.
“Shaquille (O’Neal) is certainly a force to be reckoned with,” says Abdul-Jabbar, not necessarily responding to Russell’s recent praise of O’Neal. “And he’s going to be around a long time. But I think Hakeem is clearly a better player. He can do more things on the court.”
The Chicago Bulls see Olajuwon this Sunday afternoon at the United Center.
As for Abdul-Jabbar, he says he’s looking for a head coaching job, preferably in college.
Abdul-Jabbar is not all that thrilled with today’s NBA players.
“They’re becoming a lot like tennis players,” he said. “They are very gifted individually and not very committed to a team concept. They do a lot of trash-talking and bragging. They don’t understand. They get a lot of money and are told they’re beautiful. They think that’s all they have to do.”
Detroit doldrums
That “excessive condensation” postponement Saturday at the Palace of Auburn Hills was almost like a win for the Detroit Pistons, who have lost 15 of 17, are just two games ahead of last season’s 20-win pace and are showing major signs of cracking.
Coach Don Chaney, admitting he rarely sleeps and has tension headaches, condemned the Detroit media for “killing us while we’re injured (Grant Hill, Mark West, Oliver Miller and Linsdey Hunter). You’ve got to let up. The making of a good media is like the making of a good team. We need your support.”
Personnel director Billy McKinney took a curious step in that direction by calling respected Detroit Free Press writer Corky Meinecke “an idiot” on a radio show and was ordered to apologize by Pistons management. Then McKinney told Chaney to take assistant Walt Perrin off the bench, explaining, “We have to find innovative, creative ways to win because we’re hurt. So we need to do more advance scouting.”
Agent orange
The Clippers’ Malik Sealy on Dennis Rodman’s remarkable rebounding: “I might have to paint my hair orange. He might be the normal one and all of us might be crazy. Ever think of that?”
The Cavs have it
The team most prepared for the playoffs may be … the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have the league’s second-best road record (11-4) to Utah. The Jazz are on a 12-game road winning streak and are 13-1 against the East, but just lost center Felton Spencer (Achilles’ tendon) perhaps for the season.
Cleveland, the only Central Division team with a winning road record, has won a franchise record-equaling seven straight on the road. The Cavs opened their current sixgame Western trip with wins in Phoenix and Golden State.
Coach Skiles?
The Washington Bullets’ Scott Skiles is thinking a lot about a coaching career, even in the NBA. Says Skiles: “I know I’ll be very, very good at it. I know it’s a difficult job. It’s getting more difficult because of the money, the egos and all. But I think there’s a way of dealing with that. You’ve got to be firm and fair. You can’t be afraid to teach guys. There’s still a lot to learn and you can teach without being a Bobby Knight-type jerk.”