Gaffe aside, Carter has sparkled

Sporting News, The, Feb 17, 2003 by Sean Deveney

Vince Carter sat down just two days before the All-Star Game in Atlanta, smiling, wearing the bruised remnants of an errant poke by Bucks guard Sam Cassell under the rim of his left eye. That is the kind of juicy symbolism most of us notepad toting hacks dream about when we nap (which is often, believe me). Vince Carter entering All-Star weekend with a black eye. How fitting.

Carter spent the week heading into the All-Star Game earning a black eye on his public image, seemingly unwilling to budge on an apparently petty issue. Leading up to the game, Carter held fast to the notion that because he had been voted to start on the All-Star team, he owed it to the public to keep the starting spot despite calls that he yield it to Michael Jordan.

It was a reasonable enough position, and Carter stood by it--until just before tipoff of the game Sunday night, at least. That's when Carter, who had withstood pressure from fans and media all week, finally caved. The two were in warmups when Carter, who'd been getting pressure from his East teammates to make way for Jordan, asked him to please take his starting spot. Jordan declined, but Carter insisted. Finally, Jordan agreed.

The gesture on Carter's part should wipe the metaphoric black eye of the previous week from his permanent record, but the whole thing still was a public relations flop, something Carter has gotten used to lately. He could have saved himself serious headaches if he had just offered Jordan the spot from the beginning, instead of coming off as petulant and stubborn before the game. Tack that onto some recent bad pub he has gotten--the confusion and misinformation that has surrounded his recent knee injury, combined with criticism levied by former teammates Charles Oakley, Chris Childs and Keon Clark--and it has simply not been a good few months for Carter.

It's unfortunate that he allowed the whole Startergate issue to cloud his presence at the All-Star Game. Even though he repaired some of the damage to his image by giving his spot to Jordan, he managed to obscure the real Vince Carter story--that of his comeback to the hardwood.

Ah right, basketball. Leading up to the All-Star game, so much emphasis was placed on Carter's stance on starting that no one seemed to notice Carter was back, healthy and, he says, nearly 100 percent. Little was said about the minisurge the Raptors put together in the five games Carter played before the break--Toronto won four of them, including wins over Sacramento and Indiana. The team was 14-34 at the break this season but was 8-6 when Carter played a full game. That success has Carter doing some kooky talking.

"People will think I am crazy," Carter says. "But I believe we can make the playoffs in my heart and my mind. I am not afraid to come out and say it."

I agree with Carter. Not about the playoff thing, but about him being crazy. The Raptors must go 27-7 to finish .500, and that's not going to happen. But that's another aspect of his return that was lost in the shuffle of all the Jordan jabbering. Carter is playing with the enthusiasm and excitement he so often is said to lack. He's so elated that he is compelled to make pie-in-the-sky predictions.

And, in an odd twist, the injuries might actually help him in the long run. The problems in his left knee last year caused him to be ineffective when he played and eventually required surgery, which put him out for the last month and a half of the season. This season for Carter, it was a back problem followed by a pop in his right knee. The pop was the sound of the tendon disconnecting from the kneecap, an injury that, Carter reports, is as painful as it sounds. So not only is he returning, but he is doing so with two bum knees and an iffy back.

"He is not as mobile" one Western Conference scout says. "You can still make him into a jump shooter if you play off him, and that has always been the big thing, the big criticism with Vince. He wants to shoot instead of drive. He doesn't seem to be able to drive as well now, and I don't see Iron ever averaging 27 or 28 points again. But you know what? He looks like a better basketball player right now."

What that means is that Carter is a better team player. He is taking smarter shots, shooting 46.8 percent from the field since his return. He is averaging just 18.0 points per game since coming back, and he may be less agile, but he is using his head more. On the court, at least. His off-court decisions, well....

"Every decision I made, I think about it first," Carter says. "I think before I act, instead of act before I think. It's just unfortunate. It's been a rough season, but I can still wake up in the morning, I can still come to practice enthused, I can still smile every day, and I still love this game."

Carter has a twinkle in his eye when he says that. Let's hope that shiner dears up enough to let the twinkle show.

Want more NBA news? Standings? Fans' views? Audio interviews? Fantasy games? Player bios? TSN's news archive? Go to sportingnews.com/nba.