Luc Longley Grounded By Nasty Wave, Sand Bar
Around the NBA
Chicago Bulls starting center Luc Longley suffered a separated left shoulder in a swimming accident and will be lost to the team for a minimum of eight weeks.
Longley, a five-year NBA player and experienced swimmer and body surfer who grew up in Australia, was swimming in the Pacific Ocean at Hermosa Beach, Calif., on Sunday when a wave sent him crashing into the sand.
“I always try and get wet when I’m on the West Coast and I like to get in the salt water; I don’t get many chances in Chicago,” Longley, a native of Melbourne, said Monday night before the Bulls beat the Clippers 88-84.
“I decided to jump on a wave to come in and it was kind of a mongrel wave. I thought I’d just come in real easy. I think I went over a sand bar and it just sort of spat me into the sand.”
Longley dreaded telling Bulls officials, and he said coach Phil Jackson’s first five or six words were “pretty ugly,” adding, “None of you can ever print them… .”
Backup center Robert Parish was placed on the injured list Friday with a back strain, leaving Bill Wennington the team’s only true center.
Like Laurel and Hardy
It’s not enough to make the Celtics much of a threat yet, but Boston coach M.L. Carr is starting small forwards Eric Williams and Antoine Walker, the team’s last two No. 1 picks, on the front line.
Said Carr: “You have to have that 1-2 punch on your team. The good teams have them. Bird and Parish. Magic and Kareem. David and Goliath. Jane and Tarzan.”
Trouble in Lakerland
Not that the Lakers can’t compete for a title, but losing at home to Houston without Hakeem Olajuwon exposed several Lakers’ weaknesses, most notably an inability to effectively work around Shaquille O’Neal.
The thought was O’Neal would prosper in the more open Western Conference, but the reality is O’Neal became accustomed to being an Eastern player and being more physical.
“I don’t know what to do,” said O’Neal, who has found himself in frequent foul trouble. “It’s amazing how some guys can get away with anything on me. But if I look at them (referees) funny, they call a technical and want to throw me out. I’ve paid my dues. I’ve been in this league for four years and 300 games. They’re the only ones in the league who can stop me.”
Painting a picture, NBA style
Who said NBA players can’t be writers. Consider this colorful description from Malik Sealy when the lights dimmed during a recent Clippers game in Vancouver: “It kind of had that golden glow of French fries being cooked at Wendy’s. You know how they keep the fries warm under those lights.”
In action Monday …
With his team trailing by 27 points in the third quarter, New Jersey’s Jayson Williams showed his frustration by throwing an elbow at Utah’s Karl Malone.
It didn’t bother Malone, though. He had 27 points and 16 rebounds as the Jazz won their seventh straight with a 108-92 victory over the Nets.
“It wasn’t anything to me,” Malone said of Williams’ elbow. “I mean Junior (Malone’s son) hits harder than that. So I just turned and walked away.”
The Washington Bullets held Minnesota to 12 points in the first quarter en route to a 105-98 victory, their third straight… . Milwaukee shot 77 percent in the fourth period, hitting 10 of 13 shots from the field, to whip Orlando 100-88. The loss was the Magic’s third in six games at Orlando Arena this month.