Sprewell Another Drexler?
Around the NBA
Golden State coach Rick Adelman witnessed Clyde Drexler in his prime when the two were in Portland.
Now, Adelman is presiding over the development of a player he finds remarkably similar.
Latrell Sprewell is one of the more athletic, exciting players in the NBA. He can beat his man off the dribble and slash to the basket. He can post his man down low.
Sprewell, like Drexler, is an explosive player who can take over a game in bursts. He’s a good defender. The Warriors are beginning to run more and more of the offense through him the way teams have with Drexler.
“They are very similar in a lot of ways,” said Adelman, whose team will play the Dallas Mavericks tonight. “I think there are very few people in the league you can look at who do the sort of things they do. Those guys are special.”
Sprewell ranks fourth in the league in scoring with an average of 25.4 points. Chicago’s Michael Jordan is the only shooting guard who averages more. Sprewell’s six assists a game are tops at the position.
A one-country team
“I don’t ever worry about us on the road,” Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said, “except when we’re crossing the border.”
The Rockets are 16-3 on the road, with two of those losses coming in Canada.
On the court …
Steve Smith scored a season-high 31 points and Atlanta extended its winning streak to 10 games, beating Charlotte 106-97 at the Omni, where they have won 17 straight… . LaPhonso Ellis scored a career-high 36 points and Mark Jackson had a career-high 22 assists as Denver beat New Jersey 132-123… . Nick Van Exel scored 24 points as the Los Angeles Lakers beat Dallas 109-99, their 19th win in their last 21 meetings.
The New York Knicks headed into their biggest test of the season, tonight’s game against the Bulls, with their 13th straight home victory, 95-79 over the Bullets… . Glenn Robinson scored 29 points and Vin Baker had 22 points and 12 rebounds as Milwaukee dealt Philadelphia its 13th straight loss, 114-104… . Karl Malone scored 32 points, including 14 in the decisive third quarter, as Utah downed Cleveland 94-74.