Los Angeles — The suspension of Indiana Pacers players Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson for fighting fans in Detroit has sparked plenty of commentary.
Not all has been serious.
Take Indiana center Scot Pollard's take on the situation:
"It was kind of like when John Wayne got cancer and they had to take out both his lungs. He said, 'Take 'em both out, doc, I don't need 'em. I'll grow gills and breathe like a fish.' Take away our three best players and we'll just pray," Pollard, a former Kansas University player, quipped.
The Pacers' home attendance, by the way, improved by 1,000 per game after the Artest incident. Besides the salary Artest is losing, LA Gear has pulled images of Artest and the products he endorses off its Web site while it mulls its options with him. D-Apparel, which had Artest pitching its headbands, decided to dump him. And according to E! Online, Artest's rap album has barely left the shelves across the country: Amazon.com ranked it 9,318 after release.
¢Really Big Dog: Sixers coach Jim O'Brien said he offered Glenn Robinson a chance to start with the benching of Kenny Thomas, but Robinson said his ankles and elbows are too sore. ... Former Illinois standout Brian Cook has played his way into the rotation with the Lakers, who are in Chicago Wednesday.
"His shooting opens up the floor for us," coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "I consider us a driving, slashing-type team. When you have a guy like Cook to keep people honest on the outside, it really helps."
¢One Good Turn: Last week, the Nets' Richard Jefferson read about a special-needs 5-year-old who lost her motorized wheelchair in an accident. Jefferson replaced it for $9,000. The family, not the team, publicized his contribution.
¢Rockets woes: There are just two words to explain what's wrong with the 6-9 Houston Rockets: Jeff Van Gundy. Or is that three words? This is not to say Van Gundy is a bad coach. He's just the wrong coach for the Rockets.
The larger issue is more than the fate of a team many believed would be a power in the league with the union of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. The real question is Yao's future with the franchise--it doesn't seem as if he can grow and prosper under Van Gundy, and he could be lured away when he becomes a free agent.
And don't you think the Lakers, with a big Asian population on the West Coast, have identified Yao as their future center?
This is a classic case of a coach demanding his players adjust to him rather than him adjusting to them. And this is not one of those disciplinary, make-them-work, good-for-the-coach, teach-the-bums values things. The Rockets have a good group of players, by most accounts serious-minded and committed. But they're playing a slow game, mostly walking the ball up and running a halfcourt offense. The Rockets need to run, or at least play more in transition. Defenses are setting up against them and Van Gundy better consider change soon.
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