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Zoned out Loughery dislikes NBA rule change
Updated: Saturday April 14, 2001 2:53 AM
The NBA season is drawing to a close. CNN/SI NBA insider Kevin Loughery joined the Sports Tonight gang to discuss the hot topics throughout the league.
Vince Cellini: What was your initial reaction to the rule change that is going to allow zone defenses? Kevin Loughery: I think it's probably the biggest mistake the NBA could possibly make. I think the game is a game of stars and now you're making it easier to defend the great players in the NBA. You're going to see penetration cut down. You're making it a jump-shooting league when there are no outside shooters. Also now you can double the post early, which will make it tougher for the post players. I think it's the biggest mistake the NBA has made in years. And 24 seconds is not enough time to attack a good zone defense. Mike Galanos: Is Michael Jordan coming back and should he? Loughery: I think Michael should come back. And I think he will come back, and I think he'll be joined by Charles Barkley. Michael is a great businessman. He loves the limelight. He's sitting around with the owners in Washington saying, 'How are we going to improve this club that's been a disaster the last 20 years?' I think he should come back. Michael can fill that arena and any other arena. Michael will be almost as good as he was when he left. Cellini: He's going to be 39 in February. Won't there be some diminishing of his physical skills? Loughery: In everyone else's mind there is some diminishing of his skills. But not in Michael's mind. He believes in himself and he thinks he could come in the league next week, average 30 a game and make the team a winner. And I do, too.
Galanos: Who do you like to come out of the Western Conference? Do you see any upsets? Loughery: I think the upper-tier teams have the strength. Maybe Dallas if there was going to be a sleeper. But I like San Antonio. I picked them at the beginning of the year. I think they are a better basketball team this year than they were when they won it all two years ago. [Tim] Duncan is healthy and they added Derek Anderson, a very good basketball team. Sacramento has improved. They are a much, much better defensive team than they were last year with the addition of [Bobby] Jackson and [Doug] Christie. And [Predrag] Stojakovic is a heck of defensive player. Can the Lakers get the chemistry going to win it all again? I don't think so. I think the Shaq [O'Neal] problems with Kobe [Bryant] will come up in the playoffs in an adverse situation. Cellini: Alonzo Mourning has been looking good for the Heat. That has to be a good sign. Loughery: That's very impressive. I think if Mourning and [Eddie] Jones are healthy and you add [Anthony] Mason, [Brain] Grant and [Tim] Hardaway to that starting lineup, that's the best lineup in the NBA. I think they win the East. I think Philadelphia is going to have problems. You have [Allen] Iverson in a situation where he has to score almost 40 points every night to help Philadelphia win. He hasn't been the same since the Dikembe Mutombo trade. Kara Henderson: We have a caller with a question. Caller: What's the possibility of Chris Webber and Jason Williams going to L.A. for Kobe Bryant? Loughery: Oh man. Well, Webber is a free agent after this year, so who knows where he is going to end up. But I think that if the Lakers do not win the championship this year, then Kobe Bryant will be traded. To what team, I'm not sure. They'll get a ton of offers; Kobe is a sensational player. Look at Tracy McGrady. He got away from Vince Carter and he became a big-time star. That's what Kobe wants, but on his own terms. Galanos: Why do think the Lakers won't be able to come together and beat, say, the Spurs? Loughery: Too many things have happened this year. Everyone seems to be ganging up on Kobe. And when you go to a seven-game series, adversity hits and that's where chemistry has to carry you. I just don't think the Lakers have that chemistry to carry them to a championship. They're really good and they have two great players, but there has been too many problems. Galanos: Did Phil Jackson fail in Los Angeles? Loughery: I coached Phil and I wouldn't say he has failed, but he has surprised me by totally taking Shaq's side with everything. Which means to me, if there's a problem, Kobe goes and Shaq stays because Phil is staying. I think you have a whole team against one star and that's made it really hard on Kobe. But Kobe plays hard every night. He's a great talent. Some nights he may even come to play harder than Shaq. But Shaq is really friendly with his teammates and Kobe really is not.
Kevin Loughery is a former NBA player and head coach. He appears each Sunday on CNN's This Week in the NBA.
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