Friday, March 15 Mavs content to just run and gun

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Each week, ESPN analyst Dr. Jack Ramsay delves into his mailbag and answers questions from users. Here is his latest installment. Send your e-mails by clicking on the file to the right!

Mavericks center Raef LaFrentz feels more at home shooting from the perimeter. Can the Mavericks battle in the playoffs with the style of basketball they play? It seems that playoff basketball revolves around defense, whereas this year's Mavericks continue to dominate games in which their defense is sloppy. They have depth, star power, stamina, speed, and they excel at both the transition game and setting up the half-court offense. The Mavs have great veteran role players in Nick Van Exel and Johnny Newman, but is there any way we can win games in the playoffs 120-110? Joe Dallas

Dear Joe, Don Nelson made a bold move -- essentially giving up players (Juwan Howard and Tim Hardaway) who helped them achieve one of the top records in the Western Conference for Raef LaFrentz and Nick Van Exel. The jury is still out as to whether the Mavs are better. Much depends on the chemistry that Nellie develops within his squad. You're right. The Mavs' premise for winning is to outrun and outgun their opponents, rather than shut them down defensively. Nellie also feels that, since he couldn't match the size and strength of big teams (like the Lakers, Spurs and T-Wolves), he can draw their bigs away from the basket with his corps of perimeter shooting big men. It has never worked before in the history of the league; but unless the Lakers play at their top level -- like they did last year in the playoffs -- there's no dominant team in either conference. So, in the playoffs, whichever team carries out its game plan best has a chance to win it all ... and that includes the Mavs.

Odom's future in L.A. The young Los Angeles Clippers appear to be playing quite well without Lamar Odom (may I dare suggest even better without him). What is his future with the club? Will he be re-signed or traded? If the Clippers are seriously considering trading him, what caliber of player/players could they get in return? The Clippers organization appears to be in great shape with a nice, young nucleus of players, good chemistry and no salary cap problems. I hope the front office doesn't blow it. Sid Walker Yonkers, N.Y.

Dear Sid, The Clippers are playing very well. They're three games over .500 and have a shot at the eighth playoff spot if Utah falters down the stretch. They're an exciting team to watch. Alvin Gentry has done a good coaching job there. But it's hard to know what that franchise will do so long as Donald Sterling owns it, and he doesn't show any signs of selling. Donald never sells anything -- except players.

Odom is signed through the 2003 season, so it's not essential that he be signed this summer. My guess is that he'll be traded. Lamar is a skilled player who might thrive in a different environment. I'm not sure what level of talent he might command in a trade, but the Clips don't need a lot. Another reserve big man would help them, and I think they could get that or a high draft pick that would provide the same.

Celtics' tough road How realistic is it for the Celtics to catch the Nets and claim the No. 1 seed in the East? Also, how do you see the Celtics holding up the last 19 games of the season? Stephen Boyd East Meadow, N.Y.

Dear Stephen, Based on the Celtics' recent win over the Nets, moving them within three games in the Atlantic Division, you'd like to think so. But there are a lot of games left to be played, including just one more meeting between them. Both teams have 18 games left. Both play 10 of those at home. The Celts have a tougher schedule -- five games against the best teams in the West (San Antonio, Lakers, Portland, Dallas and Minnesota), while the Nets face only Portland, Lakers and T-Wolves. I think it's unlikely, therefore, that the C's will finish at the top of the Eastern Conference. But Boston coach Jim O'Brien will take what he gets so long as his team is still playing after April 17. He has done a great job!

All the (Cart)wright stuff What do you think of the Bill Cartwright signing and what he has done with the Bulls? For all the fuss that is made about a lack of black coaches, why don't we hear more? Roger Chicago

Dear Roger, I'm very impressed with Mr. Bill as a coach. I thought he'd be too quiet and impassive as a coach, but he's not. I watched a Bulls practice shortly after he took over the club and felt he was everything you'd expect of an NBA coach. He was very much in charge, the practice was well-organized, the players paid attention and they did meaningful work on the floor. Cartwright also stays on top of game situations and makes appropriate adjustments in strategy when coaching the game. The Bulls were smart to offer him the extension because if they hadn't, some other team would have signed him at the end of this season. Cartwright is one of 14 black coaches in the NBA, if anyone is counting. They are all there because they can coach, not because of their color. And, if a team doesn't have success, the coach will be fired -- no matter what his color. That's just the way it is.

Alonzo Mourning, right, and the Heat just might be the East's team to beat. East's beasts? I am a firm believer that if the Miami Heat make the playoffs and Alonzo Mourning stays healthy, they and Philadelphia would be the teams to beat in the Eastern Conference. I base this on the fact that they have the best defenses and the most dominating centers in the East. What do you think (no disrespect to Jermaine O'Neal)? Coach D Las Vegas

Dear Coach, I agree with your assessment. If both Philadelphia and Miami had been at full strength throughout this season, they'd both be among the top teams in the East. Both have experienced personnel, excellent coaches (Larry Brown and Pat Riley), and both play a sound game that stresses defense and team play. Miami has dug itself out of a huge hole and looks like it's going to make the playoffs, while the Sixers are almost assured of being in postseason play. For either team to hope to win the East, the Heat need Zo healthy (at least 90 percent) and Eddie Jones to keep up his stellar work. The Sixers have the amazing Allen Iverson to put points on the board and Dikembe Mutombo to defend, but they need Aaron McKie back from injury. These playoffs should be wild.

Boston's best deal Who do you think has benefited the most from their recent trades? Jonathan Simon Surfside Beach, S.C.

Dear Jonathon, The Celtics have gotten more from their pre-deadline trade with Denver than any other team. They gave up no one who was in their player rotation and got two players (Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers) who stepped right in and gave them a boost. The C's are now 10 games over .500, and in their recent winning streak they beat all the teams they needed to beat (Philly, New Jersey, Detroit, Orlando and Toronto) in their surge for the playoffs.

Hornets' new nest The Hornets' owners seem like they want to move at any cost to New Orleans. Even though New Orleans is a smaller market than Charlotte, they think they will sell more tickets -- even though they failed to sell even 8,000 season tickets in New Orleans. So what is the reasoning now? They tested the New Orleans waters and they couldn't sell tickets. There has to be another story behind New Orleans being the destination of choice. Why not another city, with a larger market? Jeff Lacey Minneapolis

Dear Jeff, It appears to me that the Hornets' owners, Paul Shinn and Ray Wooldridge, realize they've burned their bridges in Charlotte and just want to move the franchise somewhere else -- and the best somewhere they could find is New Orleans right now. The best thing for that franchise is for the current owners to sell the team to a group that would keep the team in Charlotte. There has to be a way for that franchise to survive there. The team is good enough to attract a strong fan base. There was a time when the Hornets led the league in attendance. There is an NBA committee now active that is studying the merits of the move to the Big Easy. It will soon recommend to the other owners whether the team should be permitted to move. A majority vote is needed for the move to take place. Many of the owners have expressed their unofficial opposition to the change, and as you've stated there was not a great response for season ticket or luxury box sales in New Orleans. I hope the Hornets stay in Charlotte. New ownership would give the franchise a real shot in the arm.

Cream of the rookie crop When all is said and done, who will be the top five rookies from the 2001 rookie class? I personally see a lot of talent from this draft. I think Curry, Chandler, Gasol, Richardson then Brown will be the best. As you can tell, I'm a Bulls fan!!! Now, without escaping the question, who are your top 5? Scott Levin Chicago

Dear Scott, Sorry to differ, Scott. Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler are doing very well now that they've found out what the NBA is all about and are getting a chance to play. But neither is on my All-Rookie first team right now. Based on games to date, my five are: Jamaal Tinsley, Jason Richardson, Andrei Kirilenko, Pau Gasol and Shane Battier.

Spying on Hunter It is obvious that the Magic lack size and rebounding in the frontcourt. Why doesn't Steven Hunter get quality minutes? He is a big, athletic guy who has shown he can rebound and block shots in a limited role. Doug Grassian Gainesville, Fla.

Dear Doug, I put the same question to the Magic coaches last weekend before their game with Toronto and was told that although they like Hunter's defensive skills, he doesn't understand the offensive demands of the center position in the Orlando system. I agree with you on Hunter. I saw him in an early-season game against the Wizards and thought he did a pretty good job in limited minutes of play. Hunter's shot blocking and rebounding could help the Magic now. It would be to their advantage to limit the offense to some simple offensive sets (screen and rolls and curls) while he's in the game in order to get the benefits of his defense. But it doesn't appear that Hunter is in their game plan for this season. They'll work with him over the summer and hope that he'll be able to improve his offense enough to play a bigger role next year.

Was Nance worthy? Will you compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of Larry Nance and James Worthy? They had a nice rivalry when Nance was in Phoenix. I contest the Lakers would not have missed a beat if the two players had swapped places. Todd Nelson Omaha, Neb.

Dear Todd, Nance and Worthy make an interesting comparison. Both had fine careers and could score from inside and from the perimeter, and both had effective post-up games. Neither had what I'd call a glaring weakness. I give Worthy the edge in overall skills because of his tremendous running ability and his defensive toughness. I remember seeing James, at 6-foot-9, overplay and deny opposing small forwards the ball for critical parts of games. He had the advantage of playing a more up-tempo game with the Lakers and having a teammate like Magic Johnson, who got him the ball in offensive transition whenever Worthy got a step on his man. Nance was also a fine player -- points per game were about the same as Worthy, and Larry had a slight edge in total rebounds and was a better shot-blocker. But I don't rate him as versatile as a defender and he didn't run the floor and finish as well as James. It's difficult to project how players would perform for different teams, but I don't think the Lakers would have had quite the same success with Nance.

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