1:WHITT021097.html

[David A Wickerham <aw623@freenet.buffalo.edu> (by way of wickerhd@nyslgti.gen.ny.us (Dave Wickerham))]

Thought the mailliing list might enjoy this article in the Fort Worth Star
last week.  That Dallas pick is looking better every day.

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First-half grades -- good and bad -- are in

   By Richie Whitt
   Star-Telegram Staff Writer 
   
   New Mavericks general manager Don Nelson said he gave up watching
   basketball for whales during his mini-retirement in Maui. With the
   NBA's trading deadline only 10 days away, here is a Cliff's Notes
   report card for what he was fortunate enough to miss during the
   Mavericks' first 44 games:
   
   Chris Gatling -- A-. Unprecedented offensive production off the bench.
   
   George McCloud -- B. Points and attitude have remained up despite
   Jamal Mashburn's return.
   
   Derek Harper -- B-. Inspired play overshadowed by lack of locker-room
   leadership.
   
   Michael Finley -- C
   . Despite playing four minutes less per game than when he was in
   Phoenix, adds excitement and athleticism.
   
   A.C. Green -- C. Relentless rebounder but hardly worth $5 million per
   season.
   
   Samaki Walker -- C-. In an injury-plagued 20 games, showed promising
   aggressiveness and soft hands.
   
   Jamal Mashburn -- C-. After a 10-month layoff after knee surgery,
   showed flashes of his former scoring-machine self mixed with tentative
   turnovers, which prompted fourth-quarter benchings.
   
   Oliver Miller -- D. Good shot- blocker and passer doomed by careless
   turnovers, weight problem and emotional locker-room outbursts.
   
   Jim Jackson -- D. Now a perimeter jump-shooter who rarely gets the
   ball in crunch time, it's hard to imagine the time when he outscored
   opposing shooting guards in all but seven games in 1994-95.
   
   Eric Montross -- F. Averaging a measly five points and five rebounds,
   worth nowhere near the cost to acquire him: three spots in last year's
   draft and the No. 1 pick in this year's.
   
   Sam Cassell -- F. A supposed warrior and winner valuable enough to
   cancel the loss of Jason Kidd, shot 40 percent and missed five games.
   
   Jim Cleamons -- F. With six players speaking out against him or his
   philosophy, he failed to extract the maximum consistent effort that he
   confidently promised from his players.
   
   Offbeat beat
   
   When we're wrong, we're not afraid to admit it, and we were wrong
   about the ultimate intentions of interim general manager Frank
   Zaccanelli.
   
   With Zaccanelli seeming so cozy in his front-office roost, we scoffed
   when he crowed about aggressively pursuing a big-name, permanent
   general manager. Zaccanelli's luring of Nelson to a franchise with no
   winning tradition, no room under the salary cap, no marquee players
   and no upcoming lottery draft pick deserves applause, and an apology.
   
   Numbers game
   
   2: NBA Play of the Year candidates, out of five total, belonging to
   former Mavericks forward Popeye Jones in last night's ESPY Awards.
   
   10: NBA players, including Harper, with 15,000 career points and 6,000
   career assists.
   
   16: NBA Championship rings working for Mavericks' new ownership,
   including five each from Nelson and Cleamons and two each from Green,
   Cassell and director of player development Mark Aguirre.
   
   The worst of moves
   
   Worst move: Granted, Miller was overweight and, at times, a locker-
   room malcontent. But the Mavericks have 16 victories, and he is
   personally responsible for two of them. Remember his last-second dunk
   and then seven overtime points in Orlando or his franchise-record
   eight blocked shots against New Jersey? Cutting a player who had a
   huge hand in one-eighth of your victories without even talking to him
   personally is, at best, a mistake and, at worst, unfair. "It was a no-
   brainer," Nelson contends.
   
   Worst move II: Generously-sized actor Chris Farley does a better
   cartwheel than whatever it was Finley tried in the All-Star Slam Dunk
   finals.
   
   Crystal roundball
   
   If there was ever an Odd Couple GM-coach partnership, it's Oscar
   Madison Nelson and Felix Unger Cleamons.
   
   Nelson, known for his askew ties and casual attire, holds an up- tempo
   philosophy based on outscoring his opponent. Cleamons, known for his
   buttoned-up attitude and passionate preaching of defense and
   discipline, holds a conservative philosophy based on holding his
   opponent under 100 points.
   
   Though Cleamons' job appears safe for now, it's an ever safer bet that
   the leading candidate to someday replace him is none other than his
   boss, Nelson.
   
   Mavs minutiae
   
   Ross Perot Jr. was wrong when he said "there's not a man in this
   country that knows more about basketball about Don Nelson." Actually,
   there's one on his payroll, named Dick Motta.
   
   Crime might not pay, but walking out of practice does. Since being
   suspended after a walkout prompted by a lack of playing time and an
   impending All-Star snub, Gatling saw his minutes increase eight per
   game the next three games, and he got his desired All- Star berth.
   
   Richie Whitt writes on the Mavericks each Tuesday during the season.