Cavs suspend Davis

Branson Wright of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that things have really gone south for the Cavaliers. After scratching and clawing to get back into last night’s game against the Philadelphia, they came up short as Allen Iverson and the Sixers stole the game in the end. The loss extended their losing streak to 13 games.

But the biggest news came after the game when Cavs coach John Lucas announced that Ricky Davis had been suspended by the team for disciplinary reasons. According to Lucas, Davis will miss the Cavs' next two games, which includes tonight's game against Miami and Monday's game at New York.

Davis had heated words with teammate Tyrone Hill during the third quarter. Both Davis and Hill were benched for the fourth quarter as rookies Dejuan Wagner and Carlos Boozer helped lead the Cavaliers comeback. Neither Davis nor Hill would comment on the game.

"We have some issues that aren't about the team, so I'm going to address those because we have to be about the team of basketball," Lucas said. "I didn't put Ricky back in because Dajuan was playing well. Boozer was playing very well and that's why he was in."

This isn’t the first time that Lucas and Davis have clashed this season. Two weeks ago, Lucas took Davis out of the first quarter in a game with Indiana when Davis had a heated conversation with teammate Bimbo Coles. Davis sat for the entire first half and he remained in the locker room, under Lucas' orders, during the second half. Davis didn't start in the Cavs' following game.

Lucas announced that a second player had been suspended as well. Wright did not report who the second player is, but he does write that Tyrone Hill was not suspended for his argument with Davis.

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Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers

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Mutombo Wants More Time

Liz Robbins of the New York Times reports that Dikembe Mutombo doesn’t like his stat line this season. He sees that his minutes and his production are way down from his career averages and he’s worried. "I realized I'm not where I should be," he said.

He’s averaging 24.9 minutes with the Nets this season compared to a career average of 36.3 minutes. "I don't know if I'm happy with it," he said. "Or if I'm just trying to accept it. It's becoming a situation where I'm trying to see my way through — can I keep dealing with it or should I see it changing?"

Mutombo asked coach Byron Scott for more minutes on Monday. Scott told him the same thing he’s been saying all season. He wants to limit Mutombo’s minutes during the season and keep him fresh for the playoffs. The reason why his minutes are so low is because he still doesn’t know the offense.

"I told him exactly what I told him months ago, that it's going to be between 25 and 30," Scott said. "I told him that as the season goes along and he gets a little more familiarized with what he's doing on the offensive end, then his minutes go up.

"But he has to know what we're doing out there every single time. I can't have some of the breakdowns that we have sometimes on the offensive end. So once he gets it, the minutes will go up to 29, 30, 31 minutes. I've got to do what's best for the team."

Questioning Mutombo’s offense is one thing, but Scott also questions his rebounding ability. "I still think he could get more rebounds," Scott said. "Although he'll probably say it's because he hasn't played enough."

The Nets' president, Rod Thorn, supports Scott's allocation of minutes and credits Mutombo's aggressive tone-setting defense in the past three games. (He had three blocks in the last game, a victory, against Minnesota.) "If he plays like that, he'll probably get more playing time," Thorn said.

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New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers

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Brown will coach Team USA

ESPN.com reports that Larry Brown will be named the coach of the USA Basketball team for the 2004 Olympics. The formal announcement will be made Tuesday.

Brown won a Gold Medal in the 1964 Olympics as a player and has won twice as an assistant coach. He will lead the team through next summer’s qualifying tournament and the 2004 games in Athens.

"If they asked me to be the coach, it'd be the greatest honor going. If they said they had someone else in mind, I'd respect that as well,'' Brown said last week. Other coaches considered for the position were Phil Jackson of the Lakers, Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz and Pat Riley of the Miami Heat.

Tracy McGrady, Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd and Ray Allen have already contacted USA Basketball to say they're willing to play in 2003 and 2004. A core group of eight or nine players is expected to be announced by February, with Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant expected to be shoo-ins if they accept invitations to play.

O'Neal and Bryant "are two of the best players in our league, without question, and with the way other teams around the world have improved, we need our best players -- but also high-character guys. And I think they fit the bill,'' Brown said.

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Philadelphia 76ers, General Basketball

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