Kings Jeter is little man making huge impressions

It’s impossible to know how good Kings rookie guard Eugene (Pooh) Jeter (that’s Jet-er, not as in Derek Gee-ter) will become.

However, two facts so far are undeniable. Jeter will not be out-worked. And he has impressed, personally and professionally, everyone who has been around him.

Kings coach Paul Westphal may have seen Jeter up close and personally more than anyone in the organization. Westphal was coaching Pepperdine when Jeter was playing for Portland State.

The coach said he didn’t know Jeter, but did recognize his talents.

“He was a great scorer,” Westphal said of the 26-year-old Jeter. “He’s always had a beautiful jump shot and he’s got that great speed. He’s a handful.”

Westphal said Jeter’s speed can be utilized particularly in a couple of ways.

“In the open court, especially,” said the coach, “but in high-and-pick roll situations is where a player like Pooh can be effective. I think the place Pooh’s improved the most since college is his leadership. He has improved his ability to get other players involved and be more than just a scorer.”

It’s good to see Jeter listed at 5-foot-11 because that means I’ve grown. After being measured my entire life at 5-9, I’m looking the Southern California native dead in the eyes.

Unfortunately, Jeter’s 175-pound listing is doing nothing for my 215 pounds.

Jeter said he's carried the nickname, Pooh, since birth.

"When I was born, my grandmother said I looked like a little black Pooh bear," he said.

Jeter was in 2006 Kings training camp and when asked what he’s done since, it didn’t take long to answer.

“I’ve been in the gym,” said Jeter, who has played in the NBDL and all over in Europe, including Spain, Ukraine and last season in Jerusalem.

Jeter said his European trip was no vacation, but it was enjoyable.

“It was a great experience,” he said. “In Europe, they have two-a-days (practice) the whole season. The (maximum) you can play is two games a week, so you play European competition and then you play in your league. There’s a lot of shooting.”

His elongated journey to the NBA unquestionably helps make him a favorite of Kings assistant coach Mario Elie.

Elie, a seventh-round pick in 1985 (back when the NBA draft was more than two rounds), played in Portugal, Argentina and Ireland before stints in the USBL, WBL and CBA.

“I love Pooh,” Elie said. “I love his command of the court and his work ethic. He sort of reminds me of me. He’s a guy who has been around. He’s an older player who has a good feel for the game and brings a lot of leadership out there.

“The boy works his butt off. He’s the first one (to practice) and the last one to leave. He’s always working on his game. I’m excited for him and for him to get the opportunity to play.”

Elie said he believes Jeter will get playing time. And that makes sense. Numerically, Jeter likely would be listed as the third point guard behind Tyreke Evans and Beno Udrih.

However, they likely will be starters. So, it’s conceivable Jeter, with solid early play, could be the first guard off the bench.

“You’ve got to love guys like him,” Elie said of Jeter. “You’ve got to love this (basketball) thing here and he loves it. He’s always asking questions and what he needs to do to get better. I think he’s going to get some minutes on this team. He’s made a good case for himself. He came into camp in terrific shape.

“You never see this guy breathing hard,” said the assistant of Jeter. “He’s picking up (defensively) and he’s very vocal.”

Jeter’s penchant for quickly advancing the ball up court, via the pass as well as the dribble, could lead to easy baskets.

Moreover, his ballhandling ability makes him a perfect compliment to move Evans or Udrih to shooting guard.

Evans was asked if he and Jeter can play together.

“Definitely,” the Rookie of the Year said. “The coach and everybody on the team like him. He makes smart decisions and he’s really smart. He knows how to play the game the right way.”

Evans struggled when asked who in the league was as small as Jeter.

“Is Earl Boykins in the league?” Evans said with a chuckle. (He’s) probably the closest one. Oh, yeah, Nate Robinson, yeah.”

Should Jeter simulate Robinson’s impact (minus winning the dunk contests), the Kings should be very content.

Francisco Garcia said Jeter and Jason Thompson came into camp in the best shape, other than himself, of course.

“That’s what I do,” Garcia said. “I’m always in great shape.

“Pooh is going to be a very good player. He’s a good player, who works hard. He just doesn’t get tired. He’s going to be around this league a long time if he keeps doing that.”

The Kings will be happy with that and so will Jeter.

Game 5 winner won't necessarily win NBA Finals

The winner of Game Five of the best-of-seven NBA Finals obviously will have two games remaining in which one victory makes it the 2010 champion.

However, a Game Five victory will be no guarantee of a series victory.

The Los Angeles Lakers certainly would gain a huge advantage with a victory and then returning home for Game Six and Seven, if necessary.

The Boston Celtics, armed with a 3-2 lead, would need just one victory in either of those two game in L.A., to win their second title in three seasons.

Yet, I believe it would not be impossible nor totally implausible for either team to win both games in Los Angeles, regardless of the situation. It's more inconceivable to believe people doubt the ability of either team to win a game.

Ultimately, when Game Six arrives, that singularly becomes the focus. There will be only the need to win that game and then it's a Game Seven for all the marbles.

Unquestionably, the Lakers would be glad to play that one at Staples Center, but there's no way the veteran Boston Celtics would fail to relish the opportunity to win that game on the road.

The defensively-oriented flavor both teams utilize almost promise close games that will be won in the final five minutes. That's the way it has been in six games, including two regular-season contests.

Which team can get the most solid performances from the most players? That's what will determine the outcome Sunday, Tuesday and possibly Thursday, if necessary.

If Glen (Big Baby) Davis, Nate Robinson and Tony Allen perform their roles to support the starters, the Celtics will be tough to beat. Conversely, should Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown chime in with timely contributions, that makes the Lakers a formidable opponent as well.

In that scenario, we've got a sweet game ahead.

Consider: Ray Allen has made eight three-point field-goals, each in Game Two. He's zero-for-14 in the other three games.

What if Kendrick Perkins and Rasheed Wallace each receive a technical and are suspended for the next game for receiving seven during the playoffs?

If the league is going to put those restraints on players, shouldn't a player with seven technicals during the playoffs immediately have to go sit down and then miss the next game? If the NBA is going to penalize, why wait until the next game?

For the record, if you can't play 28 games without getting seven technicals, you deserve some penalty.

Who is going to win Game Five? I have no idea and that's the way it should be.

Around the world in a boat alone? Why?

Call me a nut, but if you are 16 or 17 years old, shouldn't you have better things to do than try to sail alone around the world?

It's great Abby Sunderland was picked up safely Saturday by a French fishing vessel, but what the heck was she doing out there alone anyhow?

It doesn't seem as if sailing around the world with one or even two other people would be less of an achievement. I do understand her brother, Zac, also sailed around the world before her.

Then again, my idea of sailing is on the Circle Line around Manhattan or from Manhattan to Staten Island.

Wishing people would make up their minds

It's clear the sports world is made up of critics.

It takes a critic to know a critic.

However, perhaps we need to recognize there are good critics and then there are the other approximate 85 percent of them.

OK, I just threw out that number. It could be 75 percent or it could be 95 percent. That's what makes it an approximation.

What brought that to mind was hearing folks criticizing Boston's Glen (Big Baby) Davis and Nate Robinson's activities in Game Four of the NBA Finals.

Robinson jumped on Davis' back in celebration following the big boy's conversion of a put-back basket. Davis screamed and drooled simultaneously as he helped lead the Celtics into a 2-2 tie of the best-of-seven.

Robinson, a former defensive back at the University of Washington, basically had his legs taken out from him by Lakers' forward Lamar Odom as he attempted to trap a high pick-and-roll. Robinson, 5-foot-9 on a good day, got off the court and got into Odom's chest.

What the always feisty Robinson said, I have no idea. I do know referee Greg Willard immediately whistled him for a technical foul. Now this is the same Willard, who should have had to pay his way in to see the game or at least watch it on television.

The same guy who called a three-second violation on Kevin Garnett with four seconds elapsed on the 24-second clock. The same guy whom I believe has gotten more and more attitude as the years have passed.

Willard may have heard the words coming out of Robinson's mouth and those justified a taunting technical. However, after basically being tripped by a dude a foot taller during a heated contest for the NBA championship, as one of those little dudes, I can understand Robinson being hot and having a little something, something to say.

Commentators say he's got to stay under control just after they say, "a guy coming off the bench has to bring the intensity and energy."

C'mon! Make up your mind. Yes, both can be accomplished, but we're talking about two young players attempting to make their respective marks in the game.

Davis' power and strength come with his intensity. This is the same guy who took an elbow on the jaw from Orlando's Dwight Howard in the Eastern Conference finals, went down and then scrambled to his feet and staggered down court to get back into the play.

That effort alone should be enough to overlook a couple of primal screams and/or flex positions when they accompany superior and potentially series-saving plays.

Other critics say these Finals have too much defense. Not I.

Other some of the ridiculous officials calls, this has been a strong series. Two teams playing their hearts out battling to the end.

Sometimes it's difficult to figure what critics want. Defense win championships, so they say. Now, we have teams generally playing lockdown defense and resultant offensive woes draw complaints.

C'mon! Make up your minds.

World cup only has one way to go

One day and 180 minutes worth of viewing into the 2010 World Cup and I need more.

Two combined goals from four teams. Each team put three shots on goal.

Now, I'm not new to soccer.

I'm old enough to have covered Pele (Brazil's Michael Jordan) and Giorgio Chinaglia (an Italian star) when they were with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League.

My favorite player was Pato Margetic, an Argentine star who did such amazing things with the ball he reminded me of soccer's Earl Monroe. The boy was sweet.

Granted, my expectations are high because these players were some of soccer's all-time greats.

The teamwork utilized in soccer often times is so subtle, a relative novice as myself doesn't see the entire scenario until the deed is done. It truly can be beautiful.

However, can a brother get a couple of scores.

When you think you know, you don't

One thing about sports, is unlike Charles Barkley, we all really are experts.

One other thing about sports is the only place we are experts is in our minds.

Ultimately, Charles is right, at least about this one. We all know Charles weaves in facts amongst his hilarious takes on life, sports and basketball.

However, from the guys we used to pass on 205th st and Linden Blvd. every morning our way to Andrew Jackson High School to the allegedly big-time sportswriters toiling for the New York Times, New York Daily News, the old Long Island Press, the New York Post and Newsday, we all thought we knew why the New York Knicks, New York Mets, Yankees, Giants and Jets were doing what they were doing.

Nothing has changed. Those winos we passed daily waiting for the liquor stores to open didn't know any more or much less, for that matter, than the sportswriters. Everybody had theories, but no one truly knew or ever knows.

I can't speak for the so-called experts, but if they know so much, take it to Nevada and put that cheese where all the verbiage comes from.

I know I would if I felt that strongly. But you never know.

Many brainiacs believed the Boston Celtics would close out the Orlando Magic Friday night. However, many of those brainiacs, myself included, thought after the Celtics took that 3-0 series lead, they were going to win in four.

Moreover, how many of the brainiacs, myself included, would have guessed Nate Robinson would prove to be the Game Six spark offensively and defensively. Robinson clearly took Orlando's Jameer Nelson out of the game with his feisty, aggressive defense. All that while Robinson directed the Boston offense impeccably and scored 13 second-quarter points to enable the Celts to seize control.

By the way, what was that cheap-shot garbage Kevin Garnett did when he twice slammed his right forearm against the right wrist of Orlando's Dwight Howard with 8:09 left in the first quarter. Garnett got away with the first time before referee Mike Callahan whistled him after the second.

Garnett complained Howard was holding him. I've always been a proponent that when you're hooping and the referees won't help you, then you've got to do it yourself. Now, Garnett merely used his left hand to slap Howard's hand away once before twice violently slamming his right forearm.

So in a way I'm torn. You, especially at the professional level, have to keep people off you, pretty much by any means, necessary. However, that was Garnett's second foul early in the first quarter on a night when no one truly knew how long or how well either Rasheed Wallace and/or Glen (Big Baby) Davis could play.

The play occurred right in front of Callahan on the baseline. Whether he saw the entire situation only he knows. Yet, Callahan should have whistled Garnett for a flagrant foul because simply, it was flagrant.

Since this blog is in it's infancy, we'll be coming from different directions. It's like that when things are on the fly. We're going to start with a question or questions of the day. Feel free to reply in the comments section, but please bring the noise. Weakness is discouraged.

Who is the NBA's point guard and why?