Sports

Nets fail to impress; James cleared

NBA Report

Geronimo Rodriguez
 

With the All-Star game coming up, itis time to sort out the contenders from the losers and decide whether the winning teams thus far have what it takes to be on top come playoff time.

Aside from the New Jersey Nets, the three division leaders -- Dallas, Sacramento and Indiana -- have shown they can pull off big wins and keep bad teams from making them look bad.

At times, New Jersey just looks a lot worse than a 29-14 record.

The team might be a player away from brushing off its opponents, but until then, Jason Kidd and teammates will have to scrape their way through victories.

Another thing keeping the Nets from a promising future is that a formidable Boston team is only a few games from first place.

The way Indiana has played, losing only one game at home and clawing for one last shot, has been one of the leagueis surprises this season.

If head coach Isaiah Thomas keeps his guys in line, the Pacers might widen the three-game gap between them and second-place Detroit.

The way Dallas (34-9) and Sacramento (32-12) have played, it seems like these teams will meet in the Western Conference Championship series.

The only problem with this prediction is the fact that they can shut down so quickly.

Letis not forget about how good a memory these teams have. It seems like both the Kings and Mavericks are afraid to play as well as they can; if this keeps up, a dismal playoff effort just might open the doors for other teams.

In-vince-able, for now

Vince Carter, who missed 23 games because of a strained knee, contributed 22 points Sunday in his return from a courtside seat.

Torontois star player, whose nagging injury was met with criticism by fans, helped his sub-par team defeat the Sacramento Kings.

"It was a very nice birthday present," said Carter, who celebrated his 26th birthday with the 101-97 win over the Kings, cnnsi.com reported. 

"It wasnit just a present for the team, it was a present for the fans," he said. "It was an opportunity to show that we can play with one of the best teams in the league, and show that when we get the majority of our guys back, weire a pretty good team ourselves."

The fans will take the gift for now, but itill take more than a few big games from Carter to show he can hold a steady spot on the Raptoris roster.

Everyoneis in on it

Two weeks after his mother stated she bought him a $50,000 vehicle as a birthday gift, LeBron James is ready to roll.

Officials said Monday that "King James" did not violate state amateur bylaws by accepting a Hummer vehicle as a gift from his mother, cnnsi.com reported.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association concluded its two-week investigation by clearing James, the nationis most highly touted high school basketball player, of any wrongdoing, cnnsi.com reported.

The report said OHSAA commissioner Clair Muscaro spent the past two weeks gathering information and documentation to determine how the 18-year-old received the $50,000 sports utility vehicle.

Cnnsi.com reported that Muscaro said no violations of the OHSAA amateur bylaws "as currently written" have been found and that James is still eligible to play.

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