Two mediocre teams. Two teams on the playoff periphery.
One huge
trade.
That sums up
the blockbuster perpetrated Wednesday by Indiana and Golden State. The Pacers sent
forwards Al Harrington and Josh Powell and guards Stephen Jackson and
Sarunas Jasikevicius to the Warriors for forward/center Troy Murphy,
forwards Mike Dunleavy, Ike Diogu and guard Keith McLeod.
Golden State
received a badly needed offensive infusion in Harrington (15.9 points a game) and Jackson
(14.1). Jasikevicius was reputed to be a strong perimeter shooter, but has yet to find
consistency in the NBA.
Indiana needed a greater inside presence to complement Jermaine O'Neal and should
be bolstered by the additions of Murphy and Dunleavy.
"This is
a situation where both teams feel good about what's going to happen," Golden State
Vice President and former player for both teams Chris Mullin told the Associated
Press. "They're all key components. All these guys that are in the deal, they're
going to have good roles with their new teams.
The most
prominent name in the swap is Harrington, whose similar style to O'Neal made him
expendable. Jackson is still linked the infamous brawl in Detroit two years ago and will
be standing trial on Feb. 12 for shooting a gun outside an Indianapolis strip club.
"I think
he was in a difficult environment for him," Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh told AP.
No matter what he was going to do, he wasn't going to outlive that environment. So I think
it's good for him to go to another city and start fresh, and I think it's good for our
team as well."
The Warriors
were forced to sign NBDL forward Renaldo Major to a 10-day contract and suit up
injured center Adonal Foyle just to have the required eight players in uniform
Wednesday night for a 115-109 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Indiana will
face the same disadvantage Thursday night in Miami. Its new players won't be available
against the Heat, who are 8.5-point favorites, according to WagerWeb.com.
The game
might mark the return of Miami center Shaquille O'Neal, who has missed all but four
games this season after knee surgery. O'Neal participated in his first full practice
Wednesday since the injury.
ONE DEBUT,
ONE RETURN: The unveiling of Chris Webber in a Detroit uniform and the return
to health of Chauncey Billups Wednesday night didn't change recent fortunes.
The Pistons
still lost.
In fact, they
have dropped seven of their last 10 games and have plummeted into third place in the
Central Division. Their latest was a 100-99 defeat at home to Utah in which Billups scored
a team-high 26 points.
Webber,
meanwhile, emerged from the bench to record just two points on 1-of-5 shooting and five
rebounds in 17 minutes. It won't be long before Webber takes over as starting center. Dale
Davis attempted no shots in a scoreless performance against the Jazz.
DRIBBLES:
The Los Angeles Lakers moved to within a half-game of San Antonio among Western Conference
teams Wednesday night with a 100-96 road victory over the Spurs. Kobe Bryant was
the lone Laker starter in double figures, but he scored 34 points. Catching San Antonio
won't be easy Thursday night. The Lakers play at Dallas and are 10-point underdog,
according to WagerWeb.com. ... The Atlanta Hawks are healthy again and playing their best
basketball of the season. Their surprisingly easy 105-88 win at Minnesota Thursday night
was their third straight. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith combined to score 50
points for the winners. ... The Atlantic Division is actually getting better. Toronto
and New Jersey both won Thursday night to move within two games of .500 while New York has
split its last 10 games. It remains easily the worst division in the NBA, however, with a
combined 76-118 record.
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