The Los Angeles Times
THE ICE COLD TRUTH
by J. A Adande
The Amplifiers have become shadow of their former selves; decimated by the injuries to superstars LavRok, Afriquedelux, Holmzini and ALL-Star Rookie of the Year, The Freak, they have struggled to maintain the high level of play they have become accustomed to. Coach Wings Reason Offense is looking more and more like The Excuse.
the recent slide is even more discouraging when you consider the way ALL STAR center Mad Scientist has been playing- he has been on fire in the 8 games since the All-Star break, avereraging a monstrous 38 points, 17 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 rejections and countless alterations. "He's doing all he can out there to keep us afloat. The rest of the team is giving their heart out there, but they have just been demoralized by the losses of our Big Four. Tobights victory should go a long waytowards helping thier confidance.
When asked what stirred tonghts rousing comeback from 23 points down in the 4th quarter against the Sacramento Que-er, Kings- Wings told reporters that he had cancled practice, gave the team some books and scheduled a day of yoga. I dont knowhow much that helped, but i know what did. Actually, it was WHO helped, not what.
Ten day contracts are the sole hope for many players with the passion and heart for the game, but few chances to show what they can do. Upon learning of the injuries to four of their stars (rumor has it that cheerleaders/groupies ana and shiela were involved in the fight Kevin Garnett.. more on that on page 4), The Amplifiers signed 3 players to 10 day contracts- one, a 6-2 power forward by the name of innrctyhoodmuzik. Hood was actually a lottery pick, but his temper had often left teamates bloody and broken in practice. He then choked then celtics coach Rick Pitino after the coach argued for a flagrant call against hood. The second was Guevara, a 6"1 Shooting guard from queens, also with a penchant for violence, albeit at a (much) lower level then hoods...
And then there was Cold Truth. Cold came out of a tiny JuCo program, the Mt. San Jacinto Junior Eagles- the same junior college that onced housed the likes of denver broncos running back Mike Anderson and Pacers point guard Jamal Tinsley. (rumor has it Truth's boy June served jamal an ass whoopin and a half at the park some years ago, but thats another story) Cold has flat feet and isnt very quick- but man can he play the game.
In a suprise move, Wings decided to start the three castoffs against a sacramento team finally at full strength. As one would figure, Peja lit the Amps up from the ark, hitting 5 of 5 3 pointers in the first quarter and brad miller was quietly on his way to another outstanding, all around game. Wings pulled the trio of Truth, Hood, and Guevara half way through the first quarter, but to no avail. the onlslaught of the kings continued from every possible angle. mike bibby hitting the mid range jumper, peja deadly as always from the arc, and even third year swingman gerald wallace joined the fray with 6 dunks in the first half.
Wings called the three back at the beginning of the fourth quarter. " we were down by 23 on the kings home court without our four best players. what did we have to lose?" on the first play of the game, Divac caught an elbow to the throat but was ignored by the officials, assuming he was flopping. Truth then stripped him of the ball and threw it upcourt to Mad for a no contest dunk, and so began the comeback.
Hood was ejected early on for two consecutive flagrants on Chris webber, the second of which resulted in what may be a career ending chest injury- lets just say chris doesnt have one any more. the result was an Amplifier team so riled up that the hit their next 7 shots to get within 12 with 7 minutes left.
this is where things got REAL bizarre. a known affiliate of many of the the Amplifiers players, Deuce MAde, ran onto the court with a pipe and bashed in both of Mad Scientists knees. "their are my boys and all, but this is the home team.." he was quoted as saying. oddly, and coincidentally, C.O.P.S was filming in sac town and were the ones that got the quote. as it turns out, deuce's alchol level was a staggering 3.47%- over five times the legal limit.
as if on cue, Cold Truth who had been 0 for 6 at the time, suddenly turned into a very Kobe-esque player in amatter of minutes. not the kobe from this year, or even last year- the kobe who WRECKED the Spurs three years ago for 45 a game in a four game sweep, two of those 180 points coming by way of a reverse dunk over david robinson AND tim duncan. the kobe who led the 15 point comeback in the fourth against portand, the kobe who has manhandled this same Sacramentoi team the last 4 years....
Cold's Statline read 16 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and four blocks. Oh, and did i mention that those four points came on a single play in the waning seconds of the second over time, when mike bibby fouled him with .01 left on the clock?
Cold's 10 day contract expires today, along with the other two. sadly, it will not be renewed because all four stars are coming back in the next game.