Tough love: it's time to bench Reggie

Sean Deveney

The thought is almost unfathomable for NBA observers, or anyone living within a 300-mile radius of Indianapolis. Imagine the Pacers, winners of a league-high 61 games last season, taking the court at Conseco Fieldhouse to start this season with No. 31 still in his warmups. Imagine what a Pacers starting lineup would be with venerable shooting guard Reggie Miller--who is to Pacers basketball what beef is to Burger King--planted firmly on the bench. Back in Brooklyn, Spike Lee would shed a tear.

But if the Pacers are going to nudge past the Pistons this season, their best bet is to do the unthinkable, something that hasn't been done in 16 years. They'll have to bring Reggie off the bench.

This summer was one of bridesmaidhood for the Pacers. If there was a big-time NBA player wrung through the league's rumor mill, that rumor passed through Indianapolis. At various times (and to varying degrees), Indiana pursued Shaquille O'Neal, Peja Stojakovic, Erick Dampier and Tracy McGrady. When you collect a gaggle of young players with reasonable contracts and decent potential as the Pacers have, you're going to be a continuous subject of such rumors.

Alas, none of those players will be a Pacer. Neither will lesser targets such as Mark Blount, Brian Cardinal and Derek Fisher. Nor will draft targets Ben Gordon and Luke Jackson. It's not a terrible fate to have missed out on those guys. This stir is an excellent young team, and heading into coach Rick Carlisle's second season, the Pacers are in good shape.

The one player Indiana did land is shooting guard Stephen Jackson, acquired from the Hawks for small forward Al Harrington. Jackson is an improvement over Harrington. He's 6-8, versatile and can defend. He's a better perimeter shooter than Harrington and proved to be a clutch player with the Spurs in the 2003 Finals. The Pacers could have used his shooting touch against the Pistons last postseason, when they shot a miserable 26.8 percent from the 3-point line. When Harrington came off the bench, the Pacers were forced to use Ron Artest, a natural small forward, at shooting guard. With Jackson, Artest can stay out of the backcourt.

Now comes the tricky part for the Pacers. They have to use Jackson, and the best way to do that is to do something that is unmentionable in Pacers circles--put Miller on the bench.

Miller still is a valuable player at 39, and he still should have a role. He shot 40.1 percent from the 3-point line last season and has accepted reduced billing, playing just 28.2 minutes per game. Carlisle routinely took Miller out of games with 5 minutes to go in the first quarter and let Harrington play for most of the second. In effect, Miller was a starter in name only.

But it's time to put Miller in the role that best suits him: a 3-point specialist off the bench. Miller gets credit for being a dazzling off-the-screen shooter, and that has been the calling card of his career. However, Miller is not the athlete he was 10 years ago, and his off-screen shooting has dipped. At his age, he is not a threat to drive to the basket, and his defense is average.

Jackson not only is a good spot-up shooter, he can drive to the hoop and pass. The Pacers need to put their best lineup on the floor to start games and use Miller as a weapon off the bench when the matchup is right, or when Pacers shooters are struggling. Jackson might chafe under Carlisle's restrictive offensive system--Jackson's free-lancing drove Spurs coach Gregg Popovich batty--but he has the potential to be as good an all-around player as Artest and the player who can make or break the team's attempt to dethrone the Pistons.

Carlisle has hedged on the issue of who will start at shooting guard, saying he will wait for camp to make the decision. After he was traded to Indiana, Jackson made it clear he was willing to be Miller's backup. Undoubtedly, the franchise will be sensitive to what Miller wants. But Indiana was willing to take chances in at least pursuing big-name players this summer to shake up the lineup. Well, the Pacers now have a chance to shake up the lineup: Bench Reggie.

SPEED READS

* Kudos to Malik Allen, Udonis Haslem and Dorell Wright of the Heat for their efforts to help Floridians dealing with a brutal hurricane season. After Hurricane Charley, they made the six-hour (round-trip) drive to Arcadia, Fla., to visit a shelter and entertain kids. Wright also joined Rasual Butler and Jerome Beasley in visiting victims of Hurricane Frances.

* Gary Payton will report for duty in Boston and finish out his current contract. Danny Ainge has ruffled some feathers in Boston with his style and his changes, but the Celtics have added some talent and at the least will be a far more entertaining team than they were when Ainge took over.

* Trade Jason Kidd? Sounds silly, but it might be the Nets' best hope at rebuilding. New Jersey is left with Kidd, Richard Jefferson and a team of benchwarmers. Kidd won't be happy with that, and an unhappy Kidd can drag down a team. If another team is willing to take a chance on Kidd's balky knee, the Nets should jump at the opportunity to deal him.

INSIDE DISH

By SEAN DEVENEY

There's optimism in New York, despite the Knicks' failed attempt to land a big man. After all, New York finished 25-22 following the trade for PG Stephon Marbury--even though it lost SG Allan Houston for much of the second half of the season. But there are concerns, too. Houston, who had right knee surgery last offseason, is working his way back from a left knee injury that was exacerbated by a bad back and a quadriceps injury. When healthy, Houston is one of the most reliable shooters in the league. His contributions to the Knicks often are overshadowed by his too-rich contract (he will be paid $17 million this season). But Houston might not be 100 percent when the team opens camp--and at 33, he might he on the decline. If Houston is limited, G Jamal Crawford will have to pick up the long-distance shooting slack. Coming off a season in which Crawford made only 31.7 percent of his 3-pointers, that's not an ideal situation for the Knicks.... With contracts such as Houston's, the Knicks are well ahead in the race for biggest payroll, especially with the Trail Blazers trimming salaries in the past year. New York will have more than $100 million in payroll, which is not as bad as it sounds. The Knicks are owned by the same group that owns Madison Square Garden and have a lucrative television deal. Plus, a source says, the Knicks aren't afraid of being $60 million over the salary cap because, "There's a feeling that there won't be a luxury tax next season." ... Raptors SG Vince Carter has not been fully healthy since 2000-01, when he had the best season of his career just before Toronto gave him a six-year contract extension. He still has three years and about $45 million left on his deal, and that combination has made him difficult for the Raptors to move. Carter told the Toronto Star last week, "I want a fair shot at being on the market and being traded, and I feel I haven't had that fair shot." One Eastern Conference general manager questions that, saying Carter has been on the market. "I don't think Vince understands that his trade value is not all that high right now" the G.M. says. ... Henry Thomas, the agent for PF Marcus Fizer, says his client has drawn interest from "five or six teams that I would call serious." One team is rumored to be the Nets. But teams still are worried about Fizer's right knee, which Fizer first injured when he tore his ACL in January 2003. He reinjured it in the Bulls' 2004 season finale. Fizer had a hard time fitting in with the Bulls, who pushed him back in the rotation in favor of PFs Tyson Chandler and Antonio Davis. But when Fizer played, he showed he could be a scorer in the Corliss Williamson mold. Fizer has been working with trainer Tim Grover at Chicago's Hoops the Gym, and Thomas admits Fizer won't be completely ready when the season starts. "From what Tim says, for the first month, he can give you 10 to 15 minutes," Thomas says. "Around December, though, he should be able to go out and give you 20, 30, 40 minutes." ... One advantage to trading for C Dikembe Mutombo is that, according to Rockets G.M. Carroll Dawson, "He changes the game. When you bring someone off the bench, especially a center, you want someone who has a special skill that can change the game. Dikembe does that with his shot-blocking." In just 22.6 minutes per game over the past two seasons with the Nets and Knicks, Mutombo averaged 1.8 blocks.

RELATED ARTICLE: Friendship pays off for Bucks.

Eager to have old friend Maurice Williams join him in Milwaukee, Bucks point guard T.J. Ford called Williams at season's end to recruit him--even before Bucks general manager Larry Harris had the opportunity to contact Williams' agent. Williams stayed at Ford's house for four days while Ford showed him around the city.

Williams and Ford became friends on the AAU circuit seven years ago, when they were the best point guards from their respective states--Texas (Ford) and Mississippi (Williams). Fortunately for the Bucks, that friendship turned into a contract, one that might save Milwaukee's season.

Ford suffered a nasty fall during a game on February 24, landing hard on his backside. He bruised his spinal cord and was expected to miss two or three weeks. But the bruise has not healed. It's not the first concern Ford has had with his spine--he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal canal, in 2001. The team is expecting Ford to be back sometime this season, but the mysterious bruise has left the timetable indefinite.

That's where Williams comes in. During his stint as a rookie in Utah, Williams showed that he can be the same kind of player as Ford--not a great shooter but a lightning-quick point man who can set up teammates for easy scores.

"Guys like Keith Van Horn, Michael Redd, Joe Smith, they got a lot of easy baskets off what T.J. was able to do in the open floor," Harris says. "Mo has the same ability. Even before we knew what was happening with T.J., we wanted Mo."

Williams will come off the bench behind Mike James, a member of last season's NBA champion Pistons. James brings experience, perimeter shooting and a steady hand to the starting lineup. But it's Williams the Bucks are hoping can fill Ford's shoes.

"We thought we would have T.J., but we wanted depth at the position in case something happened," Harris says. "It has worked out that, even without T.J., I am confident in the guys we are sending out there."--S.D.

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