Posts tagged ChrisWebber at FanHouse

As Brinson relayed, Tim Donaghy has alleged the NBA and two referees conspired to fix a playoff game in 2002 in order to provide for a high-ratings Game 7. Only one series in 2002 went to seven games: Kings-Lakers in conference finals. How funny, that's a Game 6 with is the first example anyone brings up when discussing monumental miscarriages of NBA justice.

In said Game 6 -- which makes me queasy on memory to this day -- the Lakers took 27 free throws in the fourth quarter (the Kings had 9). Scot Pollard fouled out in 11 minutes. Vlade Divac battled foul trouble the entire night and finally got disqualified with three minutes left. Chris Webber -- never confused for a banger -- had foul trouble and finished with five. Both Vlade and Webber received techs in the first half. Shaquille O'Neal took 17 FTs, and Kobe Bryant 11. Sacramento was called for a stunning 31 personal fouls ... and lost by 4. Coach Rick Adelman had this to say to reporters after the game:

"It's a shame, a real shame. ... Our big guys get 20 fouls, and Shaq gets four. You tell me. Obviously, they got the game called the way they wanted to get it called. We tried to play through it ... but obviously, it was a huge change tonight over the last few games.''

Donaghy could very well be making an attempt to embarrass the league or save his own skin. He is not a trustworthy person. And being that Game 6 is such a legend, that believing it was fixed is such an easy conceit to make ... it makes sense that Donaghy would make the claim. David Stern's arguments (and Pollard's statements) make sense.

But you can't unsee certain things. And on May 31, 2002, almost everyone saw an unfairly officiated game. Maybe Donaghy's team just knew the right button to push, but you can't blame us for believing him. We think we saw it, and this guy's saying it happened. What do you want to do?

Several outlets -- including, um, TNT's Kenny Smith -- are reporting that TNT's Kenny Smith will interview for the almost-vacant general manager role with the New York Knicks. The GM will report to Donnie Walsh; Billy King and Rick Sund have been the other names floated for the gig. Glen Grunwald has the job this morning, and Walsh has said he'll keep Grunwald's crew in town through the June draft.

The Jet, of course, has front office experience ... which means he'll fit nicely with prospective Knicks coach Mark Jackson, who has zero bench experience. But any personnel decisions he makes will pale in import to the void his move to Madison Square Garden will leave in TNT's Thursday night (and in the playoffs, more frequent) studio.

So how about some replacement ideas?

• Chris Webber. Webb got mixed reviews for his work last night, with Ball Don't Lie's Kelly Dwyer opposed and Awful Announcing's Brian Powell in favor. He has the attitude and chops to hang with Charles Barkley, but remains a bit lacking in the analysis category (which would not be unique to the left side of Ernie Johnson's chair).
  
• Sam Cassell. Sam's getting into coaching once he playing career ends, so this is probably a non-starter. But can you imagine??? Heads would explode with a weekly dose of Barkley and Cassell.
  
• Anyone but Magic. Everyone loves Magic Johnson ... but can anyone stand him on Inside the NBA? Didn't think so.

It was a week ago to the day that I pointed out how irrelevant Chris Webber had become for the Warriors. Not surprisingly, he also made that same realization: the San Francisco Chronicle reports that C-Webb will announce his retirement at a press conference tomorrow morning. Don Nelson, though, couldn't wait that long before waxing nostalgic:

"I really enjoyed working with him. It was great to get to know him again as a man, and I really enjoyed our short time together. I wish it really would've worked out better, but it didn't. And I think we'll remain friends for the rest of our lives."

Awww, that was nice of him (though I couldn't help but laugh after reading this comment left by a Chronicle reader: "i think nelson brought him back just to outlast him this time around. nellie is sly...."). Webber's reunion tour was embarrassingly short: he appeared in just nine games, averaging 3.9 points and 3.6 boards in 14 minutes.

After last year's semi-successful return with the Pistons, I'm sure Webber had somewhat different expectations about how this year would play out. Knowing what he does now, you have to wonder if perhaps he regrets leaving $10 million or so on the table by turning down an offer to play overseas.

Right about now, it seems a little silly how much attention everyone gave Chris Webber earlier in the year. Would he or wouldn't he sign with a Greek team? Would he or wouldn't he sign with the Pistons? Would he or wouldn't he return to Oakland? These days, the question has become simply, will he or won't he play a meaningful minute the rest of the season?

According to Don Nelson, it's not likely, and that's even if C-Webb could magically get healthy. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

With Chris Webber (sore left knee) missing his eighth straight game tonight and still nowhere near healthy, even Nelson is saying that Webber might not have a role on the team when - and if - he returns.

"It's get more difficult the longer we go," Nelson said. "We're down the stretch drive now. We'll probably have to play the way we've been playing."

So yeah, C-Webb, a big to-do about nothing (that's not supposed to be a statement about his entire career ... but it kind of fits). He shouldn't feel ashamed, though; just about every team that made a big move at the deadline is treading water at best. But unlike after his semi-successful cameo with the Pistons, this might really signal the end of the line -- not even a crazy Greek owner will throw money at him this summer.

Since we have a quick moment to breathe between All-Star weekend and the rest of the season, let's take a look back at the winners and losers of the first half.

Winners:

Lakers: Landed Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown and Javaris Crittenton, also known together as "basically nothing." Started a chain reaction of trades in the West, and even after those are considered by many to be the favorite to reach the Finals.

Suns: Traded for Shaq, as an obvious response to the Lakers' deal. They're winners because a motivated Shaq for a season-and-a-half is definitely worth something, and the guy still has a little left I think. Remember, Shaq returned from injury earlier this season to put up a strong effort of 24 and 10 against the Bulls ... but his team lost the game by 30. He'll definitely contribute something positive to his new team.

Heat: Anytime you get $40 million in contracts off the books when you're the worst team in the league, you win. Plus, the Heat have played with more energy since Shawn Marion has arrived, and now they have some cap space to rebuild for next year.

Pistons: Very quietly, the Pistons have racked up the league's second best record at the break, and are currently riding a 10-game winning streak. No one's paying attention to them right now, and that's just the way they like it. This team will be extremely dangerous come playoff time.

As a longtime Chris Webber fan, it pains me to refer to the following as 'a C-Webb moment.' But honestly, you know exactly what I'm talking about before you even look at the video (which is via Odenized).

Sonic down 1, 15 seconds to go, Wally Szczerbiak with the inbounds.



I bet this was P.J. Carlesimo's fault.

(After the jump, the original which inspired this remake.)

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the L. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

Thursday was Turn Back the Clock night at ORACLE Arena, featuring a former Warrior and first overall pick making a triumphant return to the Bay Area. Unfortunately, instead of Chris Webber basking in glory, it was Joe Smith, leading the Bulls to victory.

The Bulls eeked-out a 114-108 win, thanks in part to Smith's 27 points and eight boards. He got his points the easy way, all alone at the free-throw line where he shot 13-14 for the night. C-Webb, on the other hand, had a rather inauspicious debut with just four points and one rebound in 13 minutes. Things will get better, Warriors fans -- but not by much.

Also Receiving Votes:
Chris Duhon: 41 minutes, 34 points (11-16 FG, 4-6 3P, 8-9 FT), nine assists and three steals. How surprising was Duhon's night? Not only were his 34 points a career high but also the same number he's scored in the last 10 games combined.

Aaron Brooks: I don't know why, but I got a kick out of the fact he shot 1-for-8 in just 16 minutes -- with all of his attempts coming from beyond the arc. Talk about a gunner without a conscious (or a shooter's touch).

In this dude's book, signing Chris Webber was a low-risk, no-lose situation for the Warriors if Webber could contribute 10-15 minutes on bench action a night, fortifying the bench assault led by Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus. Don Nelson started telling folks with notepads and voice recorders last week Webber might get up to 30 minutes a game, which is somewhat surprising. Today's salvo? Webber is a permanent starter.

Al Harrington and Andris Biedrins will switch off as the fifth starter, depending on matchups. Each has started at least 37 games this year already. Biedrins is a 21-year-old beast, #5 in the league in True Shooting percentage and top 10 in rebound rate (which is a key Warriors weakness). Harrington is a walking matchup problem, a 6'9 bomber who has more made threes than all but four guys in the NBA this year and hits them at a 40% rate (and hitting lots of threes is the goal of the Warriors offense). These two will be pushed aside for... Chris Webber, whom the Lakers decided was worse than a D.J. Mbenga/Kwame Brown rotation.

Salt in the wound: the San Francisco Chronicle's Janny Hu reports Harrington's a serious New York Giants fan. Nellie had originally given his team Sunday off. Harrington had tickets on the 50-yard line. Webber's signing necessitated more practice. Harrington had to give up the tickets for the greatest game in his team's history. If Webber finds a razor blade in his quesadilla, we have a suspect.

Discussion of the return of Chris Webber to Golden State has been muted since the somewhat skeptical decision was announced last week. Webber visited the Warriors Faithful on Friday, and his return wasn't particularly boisterous.

In fact, former Dub Jason Richardson got the major order of applause; Webber was introduced during a montage video before tip-off... a montage split-screen, actually, featuring both Webber and Richardson. Protecting someone from boos, GSW PR team? Ann Killion of the San Jose Mercury News thinks so.

By combining it into a dual welcome - for Richardson, who was returning in a Bobcats uniform, and for newly signed Webber, who was sitting in a suit on the Warriors bench - awkwardness was avoided. The love for J-Rich was pure and uncomplicated, a true and heartfelt thank you. The feelings for C-Webb are far more complex and there were a smattering of boos mixed into the response.

Beyond the hometown fans, the Webber signing has turned into a bit of a punchline around the league. Recent C-Webb teammate Allen Iverson reportedly responded to the news with "How is he gonna run with THEM?" There's the perceived insult of being offered a 10-day contract by the Lakers. When Webber suits up for the first time Thursday (on TNT, no less), he'll be trying to prove something -- not the things he had to prove before, that he was a winner or a superstar or a good teammate. He has to prove he's not a mistake.

We were all pretty surprised to see how quickly the Pau Gasol-to-the-Lakers thing came together. Usually there are days of rumors leading up to something like this (see: Kidd, Jason), but this came down almost out of nowhere. That being said, the general consensus around here was "Wow," but here are some more in-depth reactions to the big trade.

Tom Ziller: This is way, way better than getting Kidd. And it sort of makes all that Chris Webber talk look silly. Everyone knows the Laker hole was up front until Bynum returns, and there's not a player on the market better to fill it right now than Gasol. Even the inside defense should be fine by the time Bynum returns for the postseason, and this could now be a top-3 offense.

Will Brinson: Okay, initially, I thought this was maybe a little too much. Then I realized I'm an idiot. The Lakers don't need the draft picks and if they keep this team together those picks will be late anyway. I still like the deal from the Grizzlies side of things though, because they get a very good young player (at least one I think will be good) in Crittenton, Kwame clears a ton of cap space and they have ample picks to begin maneuvering for draft position. I will admit as a Bynum fan/fantasy owner I'm a little nervous just because, well, because I'm paranoid. If he's healthy though, it won't matter and the Lakers suddenly might be favorites to win the West.