Eastern conference

Sporting News, The, March 18, 2002

Atlantic Division

BOSTON CELTICS: With more capable shooters on the floor with him since the team's February trade for SF Rodney Rogers and SG Tony Delk, PF Antoine Walker is more than willing to rack up assists instead of shots. The Celtics are a better team when Walker does that. He was three assists shy of a triple-double against Orlando and two assists shy of a double-double against Detroit last week. The team uses assists as a barometer of how well it's playing. The Celtics are 28-15 when they record at least 20 assists. They're 17-2 when Walker, who averages 5.1 assists, has at least seven. --Shira Springer

MIAMI HEAT: SG Eddie Jones is shaking the reputation as a player who fades amid pressure. His buzzer-beating, game-winning jumper in Detroit was his latest example of clutch play. Though Jones has slow starts, he has been everything the team needs down the stretch. Factor in his steals and blocks, and he might be the maximum-contract player the Heat thought it was getting.... The team is getting its swagger back, partly because it's back to the physical style that accounted for the initial success in the Pat Riley era. The constant in recent games has been a lament from opponents about being pushed around. A team that tried to reinvent itself the past two years is back to a more hard-nosed time, when it left opponents black and blue. --Ira Winderman

NEW JERSEY NETS: Maybe it was about returning to Phoenix, but PG Jason Kidd started a four-game West Coast swing with a pair of clunkers. He shot 8-for-25 in a loss to the Lakers and 4-for-18 against the Suns. Though he continued to pass well and rebound, Kidd tried to do too much, especially against the Lakers with SF Kenyon Martin and C Todd MacCulloch out.... PF Keith Van Horn's numbers (15.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg) are as soft as his game. Against the Lakers, he had two points and three rebounds in the second half. Against the Suns, he had nine points and eight rebounds and failed from the line with less than a second left in a two-point loss. --Don Burke

NEW YORK KNICKS: Kurt Thomas (6-9, 230) is overmatched physically while trying to fill in for C Marcus Camby (hip), but Thomas is playing excellent basketball. He was responsible for a win over the Bucks last week with career-highs of 29 points and 20 rebounds. He averaged 19.4 points and 13.4 rebounds in five games before last weekend, and the team won three of those five games.... PF Clarence Weatherspoon's numbers are mediocre, but he provided the key moment against Utah last week when he responded to an elbow to the mouth from PF Karl Malone by challenging Him in front of the Jazz bench. That set a tone for toughness that carried the team to its first win in 10 years at Utah. --Greg Logan

ORLANDO MAGIC: SF Mike Miller likely will be out until late March after injuring his ankle last Friday. Coach Doc Rivers must decide whether SF Monty Williams or PG Troy Hudson is a better replacement. Williams (6-8, 225) is a good post-up threat against small forwards, but he has trouble guarding them on the perimeter. He probably will get the first chance to start, but if the pace drags, Rivers won't hesitate to go to Hudson in a three-guard lineup with Darrell Armstrong and Tracy McGrady to open up the perimeter shooting... The Magic keeps trying to get C Patrick Ewing significant minutes, but it's not going to happen this season. Ewing occasionally flashes some promise at the offensive end, but it often is nullified by the difficulty he has catching and holding on to the basketball. He gets stripped easily. --Bill Fay

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS: Much of the postgame blame in a loss to the Celtics last week was heaped on C Dikembe Mutombo. Coach Larry Brown faulted his guards for not getting the big man involved enough in the offense, then said Mutombo was not doing the job when he got the ball. Valid or not, after almost every loss it seems someone is singled out. One night, it's SG Allen Iverson. The next, it's SF Matt Harpring, then Mutombo. Last season, that never took place. The Sixers won--or lost--as a team. Not coincidentally, they won a lot more then. --Jon Marks

WASHINGTON WIZARDS: The team is learning to play without SF Michael Jordan, using an up-tempo style that makes it a more exciting and efficient offensive team over the first 3 1/2 quarters. But the Wizards have not been able to pull out close games. Last week, after defeating the Magic and Bulls, the Wizards lost to the Pistons, who won on a buzzer-beater after Washington missed on four attempts on the previous possession. The team then lost to the Magic when it failed to score on an open jumper with 10 seconds left and then on an open 3-point attempt at the buzzer. --Steve Wyche

Central Division

ATLANTA HAWKS: The Hawks have signed PF Leon Smith for the rest of the season. Smith also was with the team for two 10-day contracts in January. The team can use his 6-10, 235-pound frame to help in the middle with C Theo Ratliff (hip) out for the rest of the season. Nazr Mohammed and Alan Henderson struggle defensively against quality big men.... The team gained a roster spot to bring in Smith when G Dion Glover was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right foot. The injury ended Glover's season and leaves an already thin backcourt more undermanned. --Curtis Bunn