Friday, March 21, 2003
Coach Keith Smart said embarrassment is punishment enough.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Ricky Davis will not be fined by Cleveland Cavaliers coach Keith Smart, who said Monday that outright embarrassment is punishment enough for what the team's leading scorer did in Sunday's game against Utah.
"The deed is done, what good would it do to slap him on the wrist?" Smart said after a morning practice. "He has to live with what he did. Wherever he goes, people will remember it."
They will remember Davis's astonishingly selfish attempt to pad his own statistics during a 122-95 win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday.
What happened
To get his first career triple-double in the final seconds of the lowly Cavs' biggest win of the season, Davis purposely mis-shot at the wrong basket and grabbed the carom, thinking it was his 10th rebound.
Davis was fouled hard by the Jazz's DeShawn Stevenson, angered that his club was being mocked. Davis made the two free throws to finish with 28 points, 12 assists, nine rebounds -- and one of the most shameful moments in franchise history.
"No comment," the usually exuberant Davis said as he left practice Monday.
Davis apparently did not know that his stunt backfired even without Stevenson fouling him. The rulebook states: "It is a violation for a player to attempt a field goal at an opponent's basket. The opposing team gets the ball."
Davis did not get a shot attempt or his precious rebound.
"I talked with Ricky after the game," Smart said. "The thing is, one tiny moment ruined the team's most successful game. Ricky had his finest game as far as blending in with his teammates.
"None of that will be remembered, but what he did will follow him always."
Smart said he and Cavaliers players were embarrassed.
"I felt very, very bad and before Ricky shot the free throws, I went and apologized," Smart said of his walking over to an incensed Utah coach Jerry Sloan.
Highs and lows
Davis, who signed a six-year, $34 million contract before the season, has provided the highlights and lowlights of a disappointing season for the Cavaliers. The 6-foot-7 guard is averaging 20.7 points and is the first player in team history to record three 40-plus scoring games in a season.
Davis also had two run-ins with former coach John Lucas, fired Jan. 20 after a 17-point loss at Utah. Lucas suspended Davis for two games earlier this season for arguing with teammates and being selfish.
"This is another learning point for Ricky," Smart said. "Four, three, two years from now, maybe next season, things like this won't happen.
"It took just a second," Smart said, putting his fingers a half-inch apart, "that's all it took for Ricky to negate all the good things he did and our team did Sunday."
The win was just the second in 15 games for the Cavaliers, who have a league-worst 12-53 record. Cleveland needs four wins in its final 17 games to avoid tying the franchise's worst mark of 15-67, set in the inaugural season of 1970-71 and matched in 1981-82.