THE coronation has taken place, they just forgot to invite the right king. In its search for the Almighty Next Michael, the NBA has put crowns on the heads of the likes of Grant Hill, Kobe Bryant and now Vince Carter.
If you look closely, however, the guard who has ascended to royalty in regard to his team’s success is none other than Latrell Sprewell. Just two years ago Sprewell was the anti-Jordan – he represented everything that was wrong with the NBA after choking P.J. Carlesimo.
Over the last two seasons since being resurrected as a Knick, no guard has done more for his team in the playoffs to make it successful than Sprewell. It was Sprewell who carried the Knicks to the NBA Finals last season. The Spurs got there thanks to big man Tim Duncan.
No other would-be Michaels made it to the Finals. Now this season Kobe may well become king if his Lakers win the title, but look at the lift Sprewell gave the Knicks. Not only did he put a commanding performance together on the offensive end, scoring 21 points to tie Allan Houston for the team lead in the impressive 92-88 victory Sunday over the Raptors in Game 1, but he did a defensive number on Carter that was Jordanesque.
That’s the key reason that Sprewell is closer to Jordan in team impact than any other guard right now. Carter doesn’t know how to play defense. Sprewell does it on the defensive end and he’s also a high-energy, inspirational player who excels at the hip-hop game.
Considering Sir Michael didn’t win his first NBA title until his seventh year, Sprewell, now in his eighth season, is hopeful of being on a similar pace. Sprewell played only 14 games in his choke-shortened 1997-98 season, so it’s basically his seventh year.
The Knicks, to a man, know how important Sprewell is to their success and they will be calling on him to make a similar all-around contribution in Game 2 tomorrow night at the Garden against Carter and the Raptors.
And don’t forget it was Sprewell who sent the most physical message Sunday, taking down Carter, who was on his way for his first dunk of the game. There is a toughness about Sprewell that Jordan would appreciate.
“I think this year he’s really focused on his defense because he knows each and every series we move on, he’s going to have his hands full, he’s going to have that challenge,” Chris Childs said yesterday at Purchase College, admitting the Knicks have a lot bigger game in their sights than purple dinosaurs. “He accepts that challenge of playing defense because people have viewed him the last two years as just a scorer. But he’s one of our best defensive players.”
“Everybody knows how explosive Vince is,” Sprewell said. “Somebody has to take that responsibility of trying to stop him. I look forward to that. It’s something that’s not easy, it’s taken a lot of hard work, a lot of studying and trying to figure out what he likes to do and what he doesn’t like to do.”
It’s that type of challenge Sprewell longed for during his dark years at Golden State where his team never won a playoff game.
“I was sitting at home watching these games in the past, now I’m getting the chance to be part of them, so it does feel good and it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “I don’t want it to end right now, I want to get back to where we were last year … Don’t get me wrong, some nights it’s nice to have a guy who doesn’t get the ball all the time and you can sag off and relax a little, but somebody needs to get it done [against Carter] in order for us to advance, so if they need me to do it, I’m going to give it my best shot.”
Noted Larry Johnson: “The guy is a hell of a team player, a hell of a person off the court. He’s not a bad person. I’m just happy he’s on our team, trying to help us win a championship.”
“Defensively, Spree is perfect for Toronto because he has the quickness to cover for his mistakes, that’s one of the reasons he did a great job on Vince,” said Knick assistant coach Don Chaney. “Vince may shake him and get spacing, but Spree is so quick he recovers. The No. 1 thing I like about him, though, is that he stands up for the challenge. A lot of guys will say, ‘I don’t know if I want to challenge this guy.’ But he will challenge anybody at any time.”
Just like Michael. “He gives us that added dimension that we lacked,” Chaney added.
Childs agreed, “When put forth with a challenge, like he has been his entire life, he accepts it. I’m glad I’m on his team.”
They used to say the same thing about Michael this time of year.
