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Rolling up their sleeves

Steve Kerr

STEVE KERR'S THREE POINTS

1. PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mike James – James averaged 25 points and seven assists while the Toronto Raptors won three out of four last week – the lone loss coming against the New Jersey Nets on Vince Carter's last-second shot. James' energy, shooting and fiery play have helped the Raptors bounce back from a horrendous start, and suddenly they're a tough team to beat.

2. MATCHUP OF THE WEEK
LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant – These two will face off Thursday night at the Staples Center in one of the most intriguing individual matchups the league will feature all season. With Larry Hughes injured, James will most likely guard Kobe – a major challenge for LeBron, who is more comfortable defending away from the ball and looking for steals in the passing lanes. Bryant looks forward to every challenge and will undoubtedly take his shots defending LeBron one-on-one. This is a basketball fan's delight: a matchup of two of the best basketball players – and athletes – on earth. Oh my.

3. GAME OF THE WEEK
Thursday: Detroit Pistons at San Antonio Spurs – The Pistons pounded the Spurs into submission on Christmas Day, out-rebounding San Antonio 57-30 on their way to a 15-point victory. However, the Spurs were without Manu Ginobili, who allows them to play at a different speed when he's in the lineup. Revenge will be on the minds of Tim Duncan and his mates, as they were embarrassed on national television in the previous meeting.

One team that absolutely appears headed for the playoffs is the Phoenix Suns, who sit atop the Pacific Division at 22-12 despite playing the entire season without Amare Stoudemire.

The Suns made two major offseason moves, adding Kurt Thomas and Raja Bell in an effort to improve defensively, and Bell and Thomas each made a difference in the Suns' victory over rival San Antonio on Saturday.

Bell played feisty defense all night against the Spurs, and he dove on the floor in front of San Antonio's bench to make a huge steal late in the game. Thomas, meanwhile, guarded Tim Duncan much of the night and fouled him hard a couple of times, letting Duncan know he wasn't getting anything easy.

It was the type of toughness and dirty work Phoenix never displayed last season in losing to the Spurs in the Western Conference finals. If Stoudemire comes back at full strength in February, the Suns could be very difficult to beat with a more versatile, tougher roster.

  • Meanwhile, Phoenix's Pacific Division rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, are riding the coattails of Kobe Bryant as they try to climb back up the division ladder. Kobe has scored 45 or more points in four straight games, becoming the first NBA player to accomplish that feat since Wilt Chamberlain in 1964.

The big number, of course, is that the Lakers are two games above .500 and on the tails of the Clippers, who staked a claim as L.A.'s best team early in the season. Kobe is doing his best to prove otherwise.

  • When the Utah Jazz beat the Detroit Pistons in Salt Lake City on Dec. 12, most people chalked it up to the schedule. It was the Pistons' third game in three cities and four nights, and they were flat.

But when Utah duplicated the feat at the Palace in Auburn Hills last Saturday, no one could blame the schedule. Detroit played the night before, but it was an easy home win over the Seattle SuperSonics. The Pistons were rested and ready, and the Jazz still took it to them.

What does it prove? Just that Utah is a tough matchup for Detroit.

The Pistons shot a combined 37 percent and averaged just 84 points in the two games. In Saturday's 94-90 overtime victory, rookie Deron Williams played extremely well but was very close to being the goat.

Williams fouled Chauncey Billups purposely with 26 seconds left and the score tied. Apparently, he thought his team was down two points. Billups made both free throws, and fortunately for Williams, the Jazz tied the game and won it in overtime.

Proof that rookies are rookies – even very good ones like Williams.

  • The Toronto Raptors surged back from their horrendous 1-15 start by going 10-9, and in a very weak Eastern Conference, they find themselves just 4½ games out of the eighth playoff spot.

Given the Raptors' offensive power – they're averaging 98 points per game – and the emergence of Chris Bosh, it is not inconceivable that Toronto could find a way to slide into the postseason. It would be reminiscent of last season's Chicago Bulls team that overcame an 0-9 start to win 47 games and make the playoffs.

Actually, a more apt comparison would be George Karl's 1984-85 Cleveland Cavaliers' team that began the year 2-19, recovered and won 36 games and qualified for the postseason. Karl was carried off the floor when Cleveland won the playoff clincher, and he called it the best moment of his career.

Karl said he had an agreement with World B. Free, his star player that year. "I told World that I'd get him 20 shots a game, but that he had to at least pretend to try to play defense," Karl said.