Wolves: It worked out for two guards in the long run
This is not the first season Mike James has come to the Midwest looking for
an NBA starting job.
It happened a few years back and one state over. It was 2004, and James,
looking to become a full-time starter, signed a multiyear deal with the
Milwaukee Bucks. At the time, he hoped the two-year deal with his option for
a third would be the first step toward a long-term stay with the Bucks.
James, in his first season with the Timberwolves, is the type of player who
tries to find the positive in any situation. So when he looks back at his
half-season in Milwaukee he focuses on the friendships he made. Particularly
with fellow guard Mo Williams. The two will face off tonight at the Bradley
Center in Milwaukee as opponents.
Back in 2004 the two faced off in practice, each vying for a coveted starting
job.
"It was never a bad thing," James said after practice Friday. "That's my boy
there, my young boy. We built a nice friendship."
And if the rest didn't work out there? Well, it seems like things might have
worked out all right for both of them.
But back to 2004. The Bucks had a point guard of the future in T.J. Ford. But
he suffered a season-ending injury in his rookie season in a game against the
Timberwolves. Ford ran into Mark Madsen, then fell down, bruising his
tailbone and injuring his spine. It wasn't clear in the fall of '04 whether
Ford would be able to play at all.
So the Bucks signed James, a reserve on Detroit's 2004 championship team, to
be the starter. Williams, a backup in Utah as a rookie, was acquired to back
up James.
But James got hurt.
"Mike was playing terrific basketball," said Bob Ociepka. Now a Wolves
assistant, Ociepka was an assistant in Milwaukee for three seasons starting
in the fall of 2003. "Just great. And then he got hurt, in training camp. He
got hurt, and he went to the bench and Mo started the season as the starter."
It was a rib injury, and it didn't keep James out of action long. But by the
time he returned the Bucks decided they liked Williams running with the first
team knowing that James could supply scoring with the second team. The two
split time almost evenly at the point.
James was only there for a little more than half a season, appearing in 47
games before being traded to Houston in the first of a couple of moves by the
Bucks designed to clear salary cap space with contract negotiations looming
with Michael Redd.
"That was coming up," Ociepka said. "They had to have the money to pay him.
So [Keith] Van Horn went, Mike went."
Ford returned for the 2005-06 season and Williams went to the bench. What
happened next is an interesting study on how much one team can affect another.
James went to Houston, then to Toronto, where, after a productive 2005-06
season, he opted out of the third year of that deal he originally signed with
Milwaukee, became a free agent and signed with the Wolves. The Raptors,
needing a point guard, traded Charlie Villanueva to Milwaukee for Ford, which
thrust Williams back into the starting lineup.
And so, tonight, the two will meet again. Both have had their ups and downs
as they adjust to leading their teams as the starting point guard. James
started slowly, then appeared to hit his stride during the Wolves' recently
ended four-game winning streak. Williams, surrounded by scorers Redd,
Villanueva and Ruben Patterson, has adjusted to distributing the ball more
than shooting it.
Lightning-quick, Williams runs an up-tempo offense that averages 100 points
per game, second-most among Eastern Conference teams. Unfortunately, Williams
and the Bucks have been hurting on defense, allowing opponents to shoot 48.7
percent and score 103.4 points per game.
"I think he fits that team well," Wolves coach Dwane Casey said. "His ability
to shoot the three-pointer makes it tough to play zone against them. And he
has the ability to push the ball on the break."
The Wolves, meanwhile, need James to score for the team to be successful;
James has averaged 17.2 points in December, and the Wolves have gone 4-2.
Most important, though -- at least to James -- is that he and Williams used
that half-season to become good friends. They still keep in contact, with
each appearing at the other's basketball camps in the summer.
"This game is all about work, and he's a hard worker," James said of
Williams. "By them trading Ford and keeping him, that showed a lot of trust
in him. So now he's playing with a lot of confidence."
原文：http://myurl.com.tw/phas
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