Fizer a f@#king embarrassment?

Being an NBA head coach is a stressful and often frustrating job, a position which sees grown men often ride a wave of emotions. In a game which is decided by a single possession these bottled emotions may explode, but is there a fine line which a head coach must be careful not to cross?

Bulls coach Bill Cartwright may have crossed that line last night in Chicago's 77-75 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, offering some harsh words for some of his players, forward Marcus Fizer in particular.

"Rick Brunson wasn't very good. But who was good? Nobody. It's terrible. Marcus Fizer was terrible, a [expletive] embarrassment."

Fizer has been one of the Bulls most solid players through the last two months of the season, even winning the game against the Houston Rockets on a hustle play with 0.4 seconds left at home in the Bulls' last game. According to the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson Fizer was visibly upset after talking with reporters, near tears and punching his locker.

Cartwright took exception to Fizer’s tendancy to look for calls as he drove the ball into the lane, a trait he despises. Fizer’s dives to the basket last night resulted in contact but no whistle.

"We're not looking for any fouls, period," Cartwright said. "You just play. It's as simple as that. That's part of the problem too. Nobody's going to bail you out here on the road. You have to earn your way."

Fizer didn’t agree with Cartwright’s assessment, suggesting that his coach look at what is going on before his actions rather than criticize when the players are out there trying to win.

"We were out there trying to win the game," Fizer said. "I don't agree with [Cartwright] at all. I went at it with a purpose.”

"Each and every time I took the ball to the basket, I ended up on my head. I would think that would be an example of someone trying to win a ballgame."

Last night was the first of Chicago’s five game West Coast swing, with stops in Portland, Seattle, Phoenix and Denver still to come.

"The Clippers didn't have anything to do with how we're playing," Cartwright said. "It's our inability to be ready to play, to be ready to guard, to be ready to rebound, to be ready to make a shot. We had guys not show up. And until we have guys who play on the road as well as home, we may not win a game. Who knows?”

It was another game in which the Bulls showed an inability to simply win on the road, despite appearing to have control during the fourth quarter. The Bulls lost a five point lead in the fourth quarter, prompting Cartwright to smash his clipboard in frustration as yet another winnable game fell through his fingers.

"We should be past this," Cartwright said. "And that's what's disappointing."

Eighteen hours on and Johnson writes in his latest article that Cartwright regrets nothing he has said on the issue.

"I don't regret anything. I told these guys this morning, 'The reason I was upset is because I think you're good when you play right. And you should be upset too.'

"If I single out guys, it's because I expect more from them. It's not to belittle them. It's because I think they're pretty [darn] good. A guy like Marcus has to be more consistent because I think this guy is the best sixth man in basketball."

Fizer seems to have calmed since the incident also, saying "I can handle adversity, and I don't dwell on the past at all. It's time to move on, and that's what I think we've done."

For the record Bulls GM Jerry Krause is standing by Cartwright on the issue, saying that his coach was simply blowing off steam and has a handle on the situation.

"I would assume he let off a little steam, which is fine," Krause said Thursday. "Coaches are allowed to do that. And I'm sure he told Marcus before he told you. Bill knows where to go with that. He's very bright and knows how to handle himself. If he thinks somebody needs to be criticized, he'll do it. Bill handles things very well."

The Bulls are expected to bring rookie Jay Williams off the injured list before tonight's game against the Blazers, while Rasheed Wallace returns after his seven game suspension for Portland. Lonny Baxter will take Williams' place on the injured list, allowing the Bulls to run with three active point guards.

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Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers

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Blazers hit bump on road

Plain and simple, the Trail Blazers ran out of gas Wednesday and as a result were run out of the Delta Center, 95-71 by the Utah Jazz.

The Blazers led 47-37 at halftime, but that was followed by one of the worst halves in franchise history. They made five baskets in the second half and tied two franchise records for futility, scoring 24 points in the second half, which included nine points in the fourth quarter.

"We couldn't score," coach Maurice Cheeks said. "We died in the second half."

Via Oregonian

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Jazz Eventually Rout Blazers

With the Jazz trailing by 10 and actually playing much worse, assistant coach Phil Johnson must have given the halftime speech of his life. "No," said John Stockton, "it wasn't that great. He just said we need to come out and play." So Johnson spoke. The Jazz listened. The Trail Blazers crumbled.

Via Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers

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