THERE'S NO REASON to believe in the 76ers. Not when they're 27-28 with 27 games to play. Not when they follow up a blowout loss to Orlando by coughing up a nine-point fourth-quarter lead last night in an 88-83 loss to Portland.

Not when with two-thirds of the season gone, the coach and star player talk about guys' not knowing the plays at crucial moments in a game. Faith is a big thing to ask for, and based on their performance, the Sixers don't deserve much.

Still, the question remains: Is it officially time to write off the Sixers for the 2001-02 season? How many more nails before the coffin is sealed for good? I guess the real question is: Are the Sixers a basketball team playing badly or really just a bad basketball team?

That's an important point of semantics because the perspective from which you look will determine whether there's anything positive to cling to during the final third of the season. If the Sixers are simply a bad team, and most of the tangible evidence leans that way, then this season is pretty much over.

Tinkerbell isn't floating around the First Union Center sprinkling fairy dust, so there is no magical cure to be found. A team capable of turning things around wouldn't have lost last night to the Trail Blazers - not when it led, 71-62, in the fourth quarter.

A team capable of pulling things together in time to become a viable factor in the playoffs doesn't get outscored, 26-14, in the fourth quarter of a game it desperately needed to win to position itself for a credible push down the stretch.

"I don't know," Sixers coach Larry Brown responded when asked what is a reasonable expectation for his team.

Wasn't he too quiet, too reserved? Was he really sure he wanted to be an NBA head coach? Hadn't he simply found his comfort zone in seven seasons as an assistant with the 76ers?
Maurice Cheeks was surrounded by questions about coaching the way he once was surrounded by stars as the Sixers' point guard for 11 seasons. He had the answers then, and - in his head-coaching debut with the Portland Trail Blazers - he has them now.

Witness a 31-24 record, including 18 victories in the last 24 games. Witness his resolute willingness to confront problems, to establish his modus operandi, to establish who is directing the team.

"I think his personality as a player was misperceived,'' said Blazers assistant Jim Lynam, a former head coach, assistant and general manager with the Sixers, tonight's opponents. "Yes, he was quiet, but he directed all those Sixers shows as the proverbial coach on the floor.

"The moment now that he steps in the gym, there's a 180-degree difference from that. To borrow an expression, it might still say 'Cheeks' on his jersey, but that's where the resemblance ends.''

The Associated Press reports that Portland Trail Blazers forward Shawn Kemp was suspended indefinitely without pay by the NBA yesterday for violating terms of the league's anti-drug agreement.

The NBA said the suspension will continue until he has resumed full compliance with his treatment program. Kemp, who also has battled weight problems, left the Blazers late last season for treatment of cocaine abuse.

"Obviously we're very sadly disappointed, but we're very supportive of Shawn and his efforts in his personal life. We're pulling for Shawn," Blazers president and general manager Bob Whitsitt said.

"I talked to Shawn a little while ago," Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "He's a little sad, a little disappointed in himself. He says he's going to come back, he's going to do everything he has to do to get back."

Last season, Kemp took a leave of absence from the team with eight games left in the regular season. Three days later, the Blazers said he would enter a substance abuse program.

According to the AJC, There was no suspense here Thursday night.

After their worst offensive half of the season, 32 points, the Hawks packed their gear and headed up the road to Seattle, where they get another chance tonight. They had no chance against Portland, falling to the Blazers 94-79 in a game that wasn't as nearly as close as the final score indicated.

Bob Young of the Arizona Republic states that if the Nuggets want to trade Van Exel they will probably need to sacrafice center Raef LaFrentz in the same deal, which is something they do not want to do.  Denver had a chance to sign LaFrentz to a contract extension in the summer but were unable to come up with a suitable deal, and now it looks like they will not get the chance at the seasons end either.

The sacrafice of LaFrentz comes in light of Van Exel's public disclosure of his wanting to get out, a move which offers Denver very little flexability in discussing potential trades.  The front runner seems to be New York, who is offering a deal including Marcus Camby.  Adding a player like LaFrentz would act as a sweetener, but as Young stats other teams will need to be involved due to cap reasons.  Golden State (Marc Jackson) and Phoenix were listed as possible suitors to help with a deal.

Young reports that another deal circulating is Portland's Damon Stoudamire, Dale Davis and Bonzi Wells reportedly would be offered for Van Exel, LaFrentz and Tariq Abdul-Wahad, although the deal does not make sense from Portland's perspective.

And a ripple in that one discipline that ended the Mavericks' franchise-high eight-game road winning streak also gave them a peek at the same old flaws that emerge from time to time: a lack of toughness and rebounding.

Namely, when the opponent pushes and shoves and finds a way to outrebound the Mavericks, 45-27, Dallas doesn't have much of an answer.

Except for the Mavericks' designated tough man, pint-sized Tim Hardaway. He had definite opinions Wednesday about why his team slipped in the second of a back-to-back series on the road, midway through a four-game road swing through the Western Conference.

The NBA trading deadline is only next Thursday, and Knicks guard Latrell Sprewell is hoping it will be a quiet one.  His New York Knicks have been involved heavily in trade speculation, himself included in some scenarios, with most centering around Nuggets duo Raef LaFrentz and Nick Van Exel.

While he is hoping that there would be no trade involving the Knicks, Sprewell is intrigued with the prospect of teaming with Van Exel.

"If you get somebody who's really going to help, you want that," Sprewell added. "The guys that are here have been better than I thought, especially at the start of the season when I was saying we really need something big."

A league official, however, said the Knicks are not as high on Van Exel as they are on LaFrentz, and he not being included may be enough to void any deal.

The Timberwolves and Blazers have also showed strong interest in the point guard over the past few days, turning a stone cold situation into a red hot possibility.  The Knicks have also been showing interest in one of the Warriors trio Danny Fortson, Erick Dampier or Marc Jackson to bolster their front line.

Back in Denver Van Exel was in for a suprise of his own, his home crowd at the Pepsi Center giving him the 'Kobe treatment', boo'ing him every opportunity they got.  All Van Exel could do after the game was stand on the court with his hands raised, motioning to the crowd to bring it on.  Is this the final nail in the Van Exel-Denver coffin?

"He's here, and he's part of our team," GM Kiki Vandeweghe said. "Let's not forget that he's a great player, and these fans have cheered for him for a long time.

Interim coach Mike Evans does not believe this action is impacting the way the rest of his team performs, stating that Van Exel is still providing a full effort on the court, which in his mind is all that counts.

Of course the Knicks aren't the only team making a play for Nick Van Exel.

Steve Aschburner of the Star Tribune reports that the Wolves and Nuggets have talked about a Van Exel trade, though T'Wolves VP Kevin McHale downplayed the possibility of a trade. On a scale of 1 to 10, McHale pegged the liklihood of Minnesota swinging a deal as a "one".

"They made it known they were trying to do something," McHale said. "But we haven't had any serious talk with anybody, really."

Meanwhile, Marc J. Spears of the Denver Post reports that Kiki Vandeweghe is in flat-out denial.

"None of these rumors are true. We haven't really done much," Vandeweghe said in a phone conversation early Monday night. "I saw a lot of people over the weekend and talked to everybody. But there is really nothing happening as of now.

"Where do you think these rumors are coming from? They're flying. I hear them all, too. (But) it's been really quiet."

Spears breaks down the hot talk, listing rumored packages from teams all around the NBA.

But the interesting rumor comes from The Associated Press, which reported the "leading candidate" for a Van Exel trade was Portland. That scenario suggested the Nuggets would send LaFrentz and swingman Tariq Abdul-Wahad ($5 million) to Portland for point guard Damon Stoudamire ($12.3 million), shooting guard Bonzi Wells ($2 million) and forward-center Dale Davis ($7 million).

Even more interesting is that this is very close to a package that RealGM threw together in its December 10, 2001 edition of Real Deal.

Finally, a way to watch the Timberwolves on national television.

Finally, a reason to want to. Sort of.

It would be premature to think Minnesota's 113-103 should-have-been-a-blowout victory Wednesday against the Trail Blazers at Target Center solved all the team's problems heading into the all-star break. The Wolves allowed a 23-point lead to drop to seven before they broke the game back open in the fourth quarter.

But having been bumped from three previous national TV appearances this season ? either for Michael Jordan or the Super Bowl ? the Wolves finally got to show NBA fans a bit of what they were missing. The game on TNT was shown only on Fox Sports Net within 40 miles of the Twin Cities.

The Wolves got back a bit of what they've been missing over the past two weeks ? like better, if not the best, defense. And a quick, if not the fastest, transition game. And sharper, if not lethal, shooting.

It helped that Portland, coming off a one-point defeat Tuesday at Denver 24 hours earlier, looked lackadaisical at the outset, perhaps dreaming a bit ahead of the all-star break, which begins today. It helped that Wolves guard Wally Szczerbiak scored 17 of his team-high 30 points in the second half.

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan thoughts:

? All I know is the Cavs still had Chris Whitney covered on that last play.

? How can a veteran like Bryant Stith switch off Jordan to cover Whitney? Wouldn't the Cavs have been better off if both Jumaine Jones and Stith chased Jordan, and just left the 6-foot Whitney wide open? At least they could say they didn't let Jordan beat 'em.

? Jordan plays most of the game now well below the rim. There were a couple of plays on Thursday when he could have dunked, but didn't. It's a good guess that his knees still ache, and he's trying not to put any unnecessary pressure on them.

? He's shooting only 42 percent, well below his career mark of 50 percent. That's because he's mostly a jump shooter and those 38-year-old legs just don't get him to the basket as often for easy shots.

? He looks to be in excellent physical condition. He'll be 39 next week, and he's a physical marvel, on the court for close to 40 minutes each night.

? He's not the defensive factor as in the past, but he still can go inside and get a rebound.

? He still raises the level of play and dedication of his teammates. Washington is not very good, yet it was 22-21 after beating the Cavs on Thursday. Last year, it was 9-34 at the same point. Washington started this season at 5-12 as Jordan was playing himself into shape.

Here's why

Some Cavs fans wanted to know why their team traded the No. 20 pick for Michael Doleac, and that 20th choice became Brendan Haywood, a 7-footer who is helping Washington by averaging 6.4 points and 6.9 rebounds. The Cavs say the following:

? After drafting DeSagana Diop at No. 8, they didn't want another young big man. They thought Doleac's experience would help them. He played reasonably well early, then was hurt, and has been rusty since he came back.

? They wanted Zach Randolph at No. 20, but when he was picked by Portland at No. 18, the Cavs decided to trade the pick to Orlando for Doleac.

? Haywood had a so-so senior year at North Carolina. The Cavs were not excited by him, and neither was Orlando, who shipped him to Washington before Haywood ever played a game in Florida.

? The problem is that Coach John Lucas doesn't think Diop is ready for any significant time. But the Cavs need to start developing this kid, especially since it's pretty obvious there will be no playoffs.