"Rants off the top of my head..." (December 8, 1997)

" Enough with Spreewell. He got what he deserved. Let's put it to rest and get on with the season. With the NBA appeal process, this will drag on for the season. He should suck it up, play in Europe for the year and then come back to the NBA and get his money. He should ask Stern if he can come back for the beginning of the NBA season next year, so he's part of whatever team he joins as opposed to coming in during the season. Remember, many teams have positioned themselves quite well with the salary cap for next year, so don't be surprised if the Bulls make a run for him. Remember, they have no shooting guard next year if Mike retires. The Bulls need a scorer at 2 and with him available, I can see him in red and black.Ok, the Raptors do suck. They have talent but it's mostly injured. Did Isiah see this coming and that's why he left. When Sharone Wright went down, so did the Raptors hope. No big man, no problem, no rebounds. The Raptors were hit so hard with the injury bug that they are playing Oliver Miller at center again. The Clippers. Oh my beloved Clippers. Why do they suck? I guess when you spend a couple million on undrafted free agent Keith Closs and then he loses the starting job to Stojko Vrankovic, you got a problem. When your best player, Loy Vaught, goes down, you got a problem. When your second best player, Brent Barry, wants out (is that news for the Clippers or the status quo) you got a problem. When your last few lottery drafts have produced no impact players, you got a problem.But not as big a problem as the Nuggets. They suck. Period. Forston looks like a keeper. Bobby Jackson reminds me a lot of Vinny Johnson. He can light it up and play both one and two, but he is not a starting point guard. He needs a healthy Bryan Stith to take some pressure off him. Of course, Stith really hasn't lived up to his potential, now has he. Jackson really is no different than he predecessor of the same surname, the former Chris Jackson. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf also could light it up but wasn't a real point guard either.Why is Cleveland so low scoring again? I can answer that with one word, Fratello. He hasn't released the shackles. He talks the talk, but has yet to walk the walk. With thorough breds like Shawn Kemp, Wesley Person, Brevin Knight and Derek Anderson, you'd expect the Czar to run until they collapse. I guess not. Seattle looks good with Vin Baker. Sure, he's not as explosive as Shawn Kemp but he's consistent and a good passer and great low post scorer. Like his former teammate...Glenn Robinson who is playing great this year. He really is coming into his own. Sure he's not scoring 28 points per game, but he could. With a team loaded on scoring talent, Ray Allen and Terrell Brandon, Robinson is playing like a real leader. Don't be surprised if Milwaukee gels and takes off. They have a good starting five and some good players off the bench.Is Pat Riley that good of a coach or is but one NBA scout that bad at judging talent. Ike Austin is playing as well as just about any and all centers in the NBA. He's almost at 20 and 10. That's awesome. So is it Riley's coaching or Austin's latent ability or both. Just remember, Riles has had some decent centers to work with, Kareem, Patrick and Zo. So I think he knows what he's doing.Lakers. When Shaq gets back, look out.Is anyone really afraid of the Suns? I don't think they're that good. Small ball can be beaten by a big man, especially when the big men in the west can run as well. Danny Manning is playing great as usual. Hot Rod Williams is playing well for a man 100 years old. Antonio McDyess is unimpressive. Now I know why the Nuggets didn't want to pay him $100 million and the Clippers unloaded his rights.Finally, should the NBA expand once more so there are 30 teams? Just a question. This way there could be 2 conferences, and 6 divisions, like the new organization of the NHL. There could be the Pacific, the Southwest, the Midwest, the Central, Atlantic and Southeast. I can see only one problem, with five teams per division, one team on the west coast will have to move to the Southwest. I figure the Clippers could move because, well, they suck and don't really matter that much. It's not like there is that big L.A. rivalry.