Can the Heat burn the East?
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Send an Email to Chad Ford
Tuesday, March 23
Are the Miami Heat the team no one wants to face in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs?
We know the question itself is an oxymoron. Is there a team in the East not named the Pacers or Pistons that teams don't want to face?
The third-seeded Nets are reeling without Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin.
The fourth-seed Hornets are missing Jamal Mashburn and sinking fast (4-7 in March).
The fifth-seed Bucks are even worse. They've lost five straight and eight of their last 10. How long is it going to be before folks tap the NBA's No. 1 scapegoat, Keith Van Horn, for the Bucks' implosion?
The sixth (Heat), seventh (Knicks) and eighth (Cavs) seeds in the East all have losing records. They're not going to scare any team that has its act together.
Of course, that's the real issue in the East. Only two teams have their act together, which means seeds three through eight are extremely vulnerable.
Lamar Odom
Forward
Miami Heat
Enter Stan Van Gundy's Heat (sounds like a bad, soft-porn flick). Healthy for the first time all season, the Heat (pardon the pun) is on. Finally. After two seasons mired in injuries and disappointment, the kids in Miami are playing up to potential.
The team has won eight of nine and shocked a few playoff teams (Kings, Nets, Hornets) with their up-tempo play. The team is averaging 97 ppg during the stretch. That's pretty impressive considering that the Heat rank 28th in the NBA in scoring (88 ppg) this season.
The Heat are getting balanced scoring from, arguably, one of the best starting fives in the East.
Lamar Odom is averaging 16.8 ppg, 10.7 rpg and 4.8 apg. Eddie Jones is chipping in 16.1 ppg and 4.1 rpg. Rookie Dwyane Wade is scoring 14.9 ppg and dishing out 4.6 apg. Point guard Rafer Alston is averaging career highs of 14.6 ppg and 5.6 apg.
Caron Butler
Small Forward
Miami Heat
Even Caron Butler, who struggled mightily to get his game on track this season after beginning the season on the injured list, is helping out with 12 ppg and 6 rpg. Throw in big men like Brian Grant and Udonis Haslem to crash the boards and the Heat's seven-man rotation hasn't been this solid in a long, long time.
There's no question the Heat are on a roll and are a dangerous first-round foe. The question now? How to get out of the deadly sixth seed they're currently sitting in. With the way the playoffs are set up, the red-hot Pistons are virtually locked into the third seed in the East. Detroit is the team that no one wants to play in any round of the playoffs.
Van Gundy knows his team is much better off either slipping to seventh (to play a weakened Nets team) or making a late charge and grabbing the fifth seed. The sixth seed is the kiss of death.
"I'd prefer to play, like, Palmetto High," the Heat coach said. "But I don't think that's going to happen."
"We're trying to win games and we can't say, 'OK, let's manipulate our wins and losses so we can play New Jersey,' because that's dangerous, and New Jersey is still going to be a dangerous team," center Brian Grant said. "It might even be more dangerous because they may not have Jason and guys on that team will step up. Their guards will step up, and you know Kenyon Martin will step up his game even more.
"I don't think a team that's in a playoff race should ever look back. We want to look at the teams in front of us."
Will the Heat move up, down or are they stuck in the deadly sixth seed in the East?
Insider took a look at the schedules and recent trends, and based on the evidence, it looks like the Heat have a chance to nab the fifth playoff spot in the East.
Here's how we break it down:
5. Miami Heat
Current record: 33-37
Projected record: 40-42
Skinny: The Heat may be one of the hottest teams in the East, but they've been one of the worst teams in the league on the road this season (9-25). Unfortunately for Miami, seven of its last 12 games are on the road. The good news is that those road games include stops in Orlando, Atlanta and Chicago. Those are the keys. If the Heat can win their homes games against Chicago, Boston, Cleveland and New Jersey and those three road games, they have a great shot at passing Milwaukee and grabbing the fifth seed.
6. Milwaukee Bucks
Current record: 34-35
Projected record: 39-43
Skinny: Another Cinderella story that looks like it might have a bad ending. If the Bucks slip to a sixth seed, their chances of advancing in the playoffs look pretty dim. The Bucks have been in a funk since the Van Horn trade and face a pretty brutal schedule down the stretch. In that stretch they have to play the Pacers and Cavs twice, Kings, Rockets, Hornets and Nets. None of those teams are good match-ups against the Bucks right now. To finish with this result the Bucks would have to go 5-8 the rest of the way. But given their poor play and their schedule, it's not out of the question.
7. Cleveland Cavaliers
Current record: 31-38
Projected record: 38-44
Skinny: The Cavs have been very good since the All-Star break and will catch a few breaks in their schedule down the stretch. They have tough games down the stretch on the road at San Antonio, Dallas, Milwaukee, Memphis, Miami and New York, but all of their home games look winnable. If they can just take care of their home court and squeak out one road victory (maybe against the Sixers or Knicks) they'll be in good shape. The Cavs currently own the tie breaker with the Knicks, so if they finish tied for seventh with the Knicks, they get a huge break by having to face the Nets instead of the Pacers in Round One.
8. New York Knicks
Current record: 33-38
Projected record: 38-44
Skinny: The Knicks missed some golden opportunities after the break to position themselves better for the playoffs. With 11 games remaining, they have some work to do. The problem for New York is it has some tough road match-ups against the Pistons, Nets, Pacers and Hornets and some hard home games versus the Grizzlies, Blazers and Cavs. Assuming they beat the teams they should beat down the stretch, the Knicks are going to have to come up with three wins against those seven teams to get out of the eighth seed.
9. Boston Celtics
Current record: 31-40
Projected record: 37-45
Skinny: Danny Ainge gets his wish . . . sort of. The Celtics are one of those teams that has no shot of winning in the playoffs and will be better off getting a nice lottery pick. The way things work right now the Celtics would draft 15th if they made the playoffs and 10th or 11th if they just missed the playoffs. Those five draft positions mean quite a lot. The problem in Boston is that the Celtics have been playing much better lately and have a fairly easy schedule down the stretch. If they can grab a road win at New Jersey and Washington and a home win against the Blazers down the stretch, they could end up bumping the Cavs or Knicks for the eighth seed.
10. Philadelphia 76ers
Current record: 29-42
Projected record: 34-48
Skinny: A shocking win against the Mavs notwithstanding, with Allen Iverson and Glenn Robinson out, they aren't going to be dropping 107 points every night. Their schedule isn't too bad for the rest of the way, but even .500 ball for the Sixers won't get them to the promised land this year.
11. Toronto Raptors
Current record: 30-39
Projected record: 33-49
Skinny: The Raptors have been clicking since Jalen Rose returned, but a tough schedule down the stretch is really going to haunt them. Their road games in the last 13 are against the Grizzlies, Rockets, Knicks, Pacers, Cavs, Pistons and Bucks. I don't see them winning any of those. They also have tough home games against the Grizzlies, Bucks, Pacers and Pistons. Now you know why we have them going 3-10 down the stretch.
Around the League
Chemistry problems in New Orleans: It's one thing to have chemistry problems on the court, but what's going on in New Orleans right now hasn't surfaced in the NBA since the days that Penny Hardaway was in Orlando.
Hornets players are upset with Jamal Mashburn, who has been injured for most of the season. The first tiff took place at the start of the season when players publicly grumbled about Mashburn choosing to rehab in Miami instead of with the team. Mashburn, upon hearing the complaints, flew to New Orleans and had a team meeting with the players.
Jamal Mashburn
Small Forward
New Orleans Hornets
He thought that everything was solved, but after a recent bone bruise injury, the grumbling resurfaced. When the Hornets asked Mashburn to stay with the team to rehab, Mash was miffed.
"I guess a lot of people are upset over the way I chose to handle my rehab, but I thought it was a closed or non-issue. Obviously it wasn't," Mashburn told the Times Picayune. "When I got hurt this time, the first question that was asked is where I'm going to do rehab at? It wasn't, 'How are you feeling?' or 'I'm sorry to hear that.' "
"That's in his mind, that's not in our mind," vice president Bob Bass said. "We're looking at a short-term injury this time, so we wanted him to be around the team on all the trips and all of that. I don't know what he's thinking. I don't know what he feels about the organization. I can't look into a guy's head or heart. But there is no question we wanted him around the team."
Mashburn's public feud with his teammates and management has led to increased speculation that the Hornets will try to trade him this summer. Mash has just two years and $20 million left on his contract after this year with an early termination option after next season. Last season Mash turned in the best performance of his career and was rewarded with a spot on the All-Star team. However, Mash has a history of injury woes that may scare off teams.
Mash believes the Hornets are making a mistake if they trade him.
"In all honesty, I'd like to finish things that I start," Mashburn said. "I would like to be back here, but I don't know what the future holds.
"I know for sure they're not going to win a championship without me. I think everybody on this team is smart enough to know that. We'll see how it plays out. I've taken a lot of heat in some places I played, and this is mild. Many people may say I'm the problem, but I've come across a lot of people who want to see me playing."
Chiriaev in the draft:
Ivan Chiriaev, the 7-foot-1 Russian playing high school ball in Canada, declared for the NBA draft on Monday. Insider was the first to write about Chiriaev last summer as he prepared to play ball at St. Thomas Aquinas. Chiriaev played point guard for the team this season and averaged nine assists a game in addition to double digits in points and rebounds.
His press conference, however, didn't go over so hot after he claimed that "the NBA wants and needs Ivan Chiriaev."
The last thing the NBA needs is another 18-year-old declaring for the draft, and several GMs rolled their eyes when they heard the quote. However, several NBA scouts told Insider that Chiriaev is the real deal and has the handle and shooting touch of a player a foot shorter. Others aren't as convinced because of the lack of competition Chiriaev faced in Canada.
He scoffed at the claims.
"Dirk Nowitzki at my age played in Germany in a league which was probably worse than Canadian high school basketball, and Yao Ming played professionally in the worst league in the world," argued Chiriaev, who played for Russia's junior team. "Those two players are all-stars."
Chiriaev claims that he'll prove his talent at the Nike Hoop Summit in April.
"I will be the leader of the World team at the Hoops Summit," he said. "America and the world will get to see me play."
Say what you will about Chiriaev and his lack of experience. He's got all-NBA confidence going for him.
"I have a great opportunity right now and everybody from scouts to GMs, to presidents of the clubs are saying I will go top five. And worst case, it will be a lottery pick.''
"I was able to go from nowhere in Russia to this day and this press conference with hard work," said Chiriaev. "This hard work will help me go from today and this press conference to the next level, NBA all-star."
Sixers owners trying to be patient: The Sixers are clearly headed to the lottery for the first time in awhile. With so much unrest on the team . . . is GM Billy King going to take the fall this summer?
King
"I'm going to wait to evaluate every aspect of this," chairman Ed Snider told the Philly Daily News. "We know all about the injuries, the lack of cohesiveness, the injuries, the injuries to Allen Iverson, the coaching changes, all the factors. I'm going to take a deep breath and address it all with [president/general manager] Billy King, who is the main guy."
King can blame many of the Sixers woes on current Pistons head coach Larry Brown, who also served as defacto GM when he was coaching the Sixers. But King has made Brown's mistakes worse this summer. He overpaid to re-sign Kenny Thomas and Derrick Coleman, signed Allen Iverson and Eric Snow to huge extensions that appeared to be more than their market value, and traded away Keith Van Horn for a broken down Glenn Robinson.
The result has been a disastrous season with little cap or roster wiggle room to get out from under it.
Dalembert helping out back home: 76ers big man Samuel Dalembert will present a check for $15,000 to the American Red Cross to aid his native county of Haiti and will also announce a $7,500 in-kind contribution of Adidas clothing for Haitian youth on Wednesday.
Dalembert will present the contribution on behalf of himself, the NBA, the 76ers and Adidas, each of whom contributed to support the people of Haiti with medical assistance and supplies, through the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Dalembert, who lived in Haiti until the age of 14, has more than a passing interest in the war-torn country. His grandmother, Hypromene Charle, still resides in his hometown of Port-au-Prince. The violent unrest in Haiti has weighed heavily on Dalembert's mind.
"It affected me a little bit a few games ago, but I tried to block it out," Dalembert said recently. "When I talk to her after a game, I feel better. She tells me, `Oh, don't worry about it. Everything's fine.' But the main thing I'm thinking is, I know how crazy it is (in Haiti). When I was little, I saw things happen. I saw crazy stuff going on. I can imagine how it is right now."
Dalembert tried to get his grandmother to move in with him, but she was uncomfortable. So instead he's tried to get her into a nicer, safer part of Haiti.
"When she was here, she kind of felt uncomfortable living with me," he said. "I said, 'You don't need to feel uncomfortable, because you've been raising me all your life. It's my time now to take care of you.' But she's still independent. I'm hoping I can slowly move her into a better area and to leave her house. I don't know how I'm going to do that, but I'm thinking about how I'm going to do it, a little slowly. Moving her here is so much a big transition for her."
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Send an Email to Chad Ford
Tuesday, March 23
Are the Miami Heat the team no one wants to face in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs?
We know the question itself is an oxymoron. Is there a team in the East not named the Pacers or Pistons that teams don't want to face?
The third-seeded Nets are reeling without Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin.
The fourth-seed Hornets are missing Jamal Mashburn and sinking fast (4-7 in March).
The fifth-seed Bucks are even worse. They've lost five straight and eight of their last 10. How long is it going to be before folks tap the NBA's No. 1 scapegoat, Keith Van Horn, for the Bucks' implosion?
The sixth (Heat), seventh (Knicks) and eighth (Cavs) seeds in the East all have losing records. They're not going to scare any team that has its act together.
Of course, that's the real issue in the East. Only two teams have their act together, which means seeds three through eight are extremely vulnerable.
Lamar Odom
Forward
Miami Heat
Enter Stan Van Gundy's Heat (sounds like a bad, soft-porn flick). Healthy for the first time all season, the Heat (pardon the pun) is on. Finally. After two seasons mired in injuries and disappointment, the kids in Miami are playing up to potential.
The team has won eight of nine and shocked a few playoff teams (Kings, Nets, Hornets) with their up-tempo play. The team is averaging 97 ppg during the stretch. That's pretty impressive considering that the Heat rank 28th in the NBA in scoring (88 ppg) this season.
The Heat are getting balanced scoring from, arguably, one of the best starting fives in the East.
Lamar Odom is averaging 16.8 ppg, 10.7 rpg and 4.8 apg. Eddie Jones is chipping in 16.1 ppg and 4.1 rpg. Rookie Dwyane Wade is scoring 14.9 ppg and dishing out 4.6 apg. Point guard Rafer Alston is averaging career highs of 14.6 ppg and 5.6 apg.
Caron Butler
Small Forward
Miami Heat
Even Caron Butler, who struggled mightily to get his game on track this season after beginning the season on the injured list, is helping out with 12 ppg and 6 rpg. Throw in big men like Brian Grant and Udonis Haslem to crash the boards and the Heat's seven-man rotation hasn't been this solid in a long, long time.
There's no question the Heat are on a roll and are a dangerous first-round foe. The question now? How to get out of the deadly sixth seed they're currently sitting in. With the way the playoffs are set up, the red-hot Pistons are virtually locked into the third seed in the East. Detroit is the team that no one wants to play in any round of the playoffs.
Van Gundy knows his team is much better off either slipping to seventh (to play a weakened Nets team) or making a late charge and grabbing the fifth seed. The sixth seed is the kiss of death.
"I'd prefer to play, like, Palmetto High," the Heat coach said. "But I don't think that's going to happen."
"We're trying to win games and we can't say, 'OK, let's manipulate our wins and losses so we can play New Jersey,' because that's dangerous, and New Jersey is still going to be a dangerous team," center Brian Grant said. "It might even be more dangerous because they may not have Jason and guys on that team will step up. Their guards will step up, and you know Kenyon Martin will step up his game even more.
"I don't think a team that's in a playoff race should ever look back. We want to look at the teams in front of us."
Will the Heat move up, down or are they stuck in the deadly sixth seed in the East?
Insider took a look at the schedules and recent trends, and based on the evidence, it looks like the Heat have a chance to nab the fifth playoff spot in the East.
Here's how we break it down:
5. Miami Heat
Current record: 33-37
Projected record: 40-42
Skinny: The Heat may be one of the hottest teams in the East, but they've been one of the worst teams in the league on the road this season (9-25). Unfortunately for Miami, seven of its last 12 games are on the road. The good news is that those road games include stops in Orlando, Atlanta and Chicago. Those are the keys. If the Heat can win their homes games against Chicago, Boston, Cleveland and New Jersey and those three road games, they have a great shot at passing Milwaukee and grabbing the fifth seed.
6. Milwaukee Bucks
Current record: 34-35
Projected record: 39-43
Skinny: Another Cinderella story that looks like it might have a bad ending. If the Bucks slip to a sixth seed, their chances of advancing in the playoffs look pretty dim. The Bucks have been in a funk since the Van Horn trade and face a pretty brutal schedule down the stretch. In that stretch they have to play the Pacers and Cavs twice, Kings, Rockets, Hornets and Nets. None of those teams are good match-ups against the Bucks right now. To finish with this result the Bucks would have to go 5-8 the rest of the way. But given their poor play and their schedule, it's not out of the question.
7. Cleveland Cavaliers
Current record: 31-38
Projected record: 38-44
Skinny: The Cavs have been very good since the All-Star break and will catch a few breaks in their schedule down the stretch. They have tough games down the stretch on the road at San Antonio, Dallas, Milwaukee, Memphis, Miami and New York, but all of their home games look winnable. If they can just take care of their home court and squeak out one road victory (maybe against the Sixers or Knicks) they'll be in good shape. The Cavs currently own the tie breaker with the Knicks, so if they finish tied for seventh with the Knicks, they get a huge break by having to face the Nets instead of the Pacers in Round One.
8. New York Knicks
Current record: 33-38
Projected record: 38-44
Skinny: The Knicks missed some golden opportunities after the break to position themselves better for the playoffs. With 11 games remaining, they have some work to do. The problem for New York is it has some tough road match-ups against the Pistons, Nets, Pacers and Hornets and some hard home games versus the Grizzlies, Blazers and Cavs. Assuming they beat the teams they should beat down the stretch, the Knicks are going to have to come up with three wins against those seven teams to get out of the eighth seed.
9. Boston Celtics
Current record: 31-40
Projected record: 37-45
Skinny: Danny Ainge gets his wish . . . sort of. The Celtics are one of those teams that has no shot of winning in the playoffs and will be better off getting a nice lottery pick. The way things work right now the Celtics would draft 15th if they made the playoffs and 10th or 11th if they just missed the playoffs. Those five draft positions mean quite a lot. The problem in Boston is that the Celtics have been playing much better lately and have a fairly easy schedule down the stretch. If they can grab a road win at New Jersey and Washington and a home win against the Blazers down the stretch, they could end up bumping the Cavs or Knicks for the eighth seed.
10. Philadelphia 76ers
Current record: 29-42
Projected record: 34-48
Skinny: A shocking win against the Mavs notwithstanding, with Allen Iverson and Glenn Robinson out, they aren't going to be dropping 107 points every night. Their schedule isn't too bad for the rest of the way, but even .500 ball for the Sixers won't get them to the promised land this year.
11. Toronto Raptors
Current record: 30-39
Projected record: 33-49
Skinny: The Raptors have been clicking since Jalen Rose returned, but a tough schedule down the stretch is really going to haunt them. Their road games in the last 13 are against the Grizzlies, Rockets, Knicks, Pacers, Cavs, Pistons and Bucks. I don't see them winning any of those. They also have tough home games against the Grizzlies, Bucks, Pacers and Pistons. Now you know why we have them going 3-10 down the stretch.
Around the League
Chemistry problems in New Orleans: It's one thing to have chemistry problems on the court, but what's going on in New Orleans right now hasn't surfaced in the NBA since the days that Penny Hardaway was in Orlando.
Hornets players are upset with Jamal Mashburn, who has been injured for most of the season. The first tiff took place at the start of the season when players publicly grumbled about Mashburn choosing to rehab in Miami instead of with the team. Mashburn, upon hearing the complaints, flew to New Orleans and had a team meeting with the players.
Jamal Mashburn
Small Forward
New Orleans Hornets
He thought that everything was solved, but after a recent bone bruise injury, the grumbling resurfaced. When the Hornets asked Mashburn to stay with the team to rehab, Mash was miffed.
"I guess a lot of people are upset over the way I chose to handle my rehab, but I thought it was a closed or non-issue. Obviously it wasn't," Mashburn told the Times Picayune. "When I got hurt this time, the first question that was asked is where I'm going to do rehab at? It wasn't, 'How are you feeling?' or 'I'm sorry to hear that.' "
"That's in his mind, that's not in our mind," vice president Bob Bass said. "We're looking at a short-term injury this time, so we wanted him to be around the team on all the trips and all of that. I don't know what he's thinking. I don't know what he feels about the organization. I can't look into a guy's head or heart. But there is no question we wanted him around the team."
Mashburn's public feud with his teammates and management has led to increased speculation that the Hornets will try to trade him this summer. Mash has just two years and $20 million left on his contract after this year with an early termination option after next season. Last season Mash turned in the best performance of his career and was rewarded with a spot on the All-Star team. However, Mash has a history of injury woes that may scare off teams.
Mash believes the Hornets are making a mistake if they trade him.
"In all honesty, I'd like to finish things that I start," Mashburn said. "I would like to be back here, but I don't know what the future holds.
"I know for sure they're not going to win a championship without me. I think everybody on this team is smart enough to know that. We'll see how it plays out. I've taken a lot of heat in some places I played, and this is mild. Many people may say I'm the problem, but I've come across a lot of people who want to see me playing."
Chiriaev in the draft:
Ivan Chiriaev, the 7-foot-1 Russian playing high school ball in Canada, declared for the NBA draft on Monday. Insider was the first to write about Chiriaev last summer as he prepared to play ball at St. Thomas Aquinas. Chiriaev played point guard for the team this season and averaged nine assists a game in addition to double digits in points and rebounds.
His press conference, however, didn't go over so hot after he claimed that "the NBA wants and needs Ivan Chiriaev."
The last thing the NBA needs is another 18-year-old declaring for the draft, and several GMs rolled their eyes when they heard the quote. However, several NBA scouts told Insider that Chiriaev is the real deal and has the handle and shooting touch of a player a foot shorter. Others aren't as convinced because of the lack of competition Chiriaev faced in Canada.
He scoffed at the claims.
"Dirk Nowitzki at my age played in Germany in a league which was probably worse than Canadian high school basketball, and Yao Ming played professionally in the worst league in the world," argued Chiriaev, who played for Russia's junior team. "Those two players are all-stars."
Chiriaev claims that he'll prove his talent at the Nike Hoop Summit in April.
"I will be the leader of the World team at the Hoops Summit," he said. "America and the world will get to see me play."
Say what you will about Chiriaev and his lack of experience. He's got all-NBA confidence going for him.
"I have a great opportunity right now and everybody from scouts to GMs, to presidents of the clubs are saying I will go top five. And worst case, it will be a lottery pick.''
"I was able to go from nowhere in Russia to this day and this press conference with hard work," said Chiriaev. "This hard work will help me go from today and this press conference to the next level, NBA all-star."
Sixers owners trying to be patient: The Sixers are clearly headed to the lottery for the first time in awhile. With so much unrest on the team . . . is GM Billy King going to take the fall this summer?
King
"I'm going to wait to evaluate every aspect of this," chairman Ed Snider told the Philly Daily News. "We know all about the injuries, the lack of cohesiveness, the injuries, the injuries to Allen Iverson, the coaching changes, all the factors. I'm going to take a deep breath and address it all with [president/general manager] Billy King, who is the main guy."
King can blame many of the Sixers woes on current Pistons head coach Larry Brown, who also served as defacto GM when he was coaching the Sixers. But King has made Brown's mistakes worse this summer. He overpaid to re-sign Kenny Thomas and Derrick Coleman, signed Allen Iverson and Eric Snow to huge extensions that appeared to be more than their market value, and traded away Keith Van Horn for a broken down Glenn Robinson.
The result has been a disastrous season with little cap or roster wiggle room to get out from under it.
Dalembert helping out back home: 76ers big man Samuel Dalembert will present a check for $15,000 to the American Red Cross to aid his native county of Haiti and will also announce a $7,500 in-kind contribution of Adidas clothing for Haitian youth on Wednesday.
Dalembert will present the contribution on behalf of himself, the NBA, the 76ers and Adidas, each of whom contributed to support the people of Haiti with medical assistance and supplies, through the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Dalembert, who lived in Haiti until the age of 14, has more than a passing interest in the war-torn country. His grandmother, Hypromene Charle, still resides in his hometown of Port-au-Prince. The violent unrest in Haiti has weighed heavily on Dalembert's mind.
"It affected me a little bit a few games ago, but I tried to block it out," Dalembert said recently. "When I talk to her after a game, I feel better. She tells me, `Oh, don't worry about it. Everything's fine.' But the main thing I'm thinking is, I know how crazy it is (in Haiti). When I was little, I saw things happen. I saw crazy stuff going on. I can imagine how it is right now."
Dalembert tried to get his grandmother to move in with him, but she was uncomfortable. So instead he's tried to get her into a nicer, safer part of Haiti.
"When she was here, she kind of felt uncomfortable living with me," he said. "I said, 'You don't need to feel uncomfortable, because you've been raising me all your life. It's my time now to take care of you.' But she's still independent. I'm hoping I can slowly move her into a better area and to leave her house. I don't know how I'm going to do that, but I'm thinking about how I'm going to do it, a little slowly. Moving her here is so much a big transition for her."
