With the season reaching its one-month mark on Friday, scoring is down, play has been sloppy and the most surprising story is the Philadelphia 76ers' start.

Before Friday's 89-78 loss to the Miami Heat, Philadelphia was on a six-game winning streak (the team's best since 1991), had a 10-5 record and was third in the Atlantic Division.

Credit the maturation of guard Allen Iverson for the team's strong start. Since he entered the league launching shots at every opportunity -- a byproduct of his two years at Georgetown when he always had the green light -- Iverson has developed into a team player.

As a shooting guard, he's doing a great job coming off screens and taking good shots. When he shifts to the point, he has learned to look more for his teammates.

Iverson, the NBA's Player of the Month in February, leads the league in scoring (29.1), and a Philadelphia player hasn't led the league for a season since Wilt Chamberlain in 1966.

"If we were 5-8, he wouldn't get that award," said teammate Theo Ratliffe. "But playing the way we have been, he can. This isn't the first time he has scored like this, but winning presents opportunities for everybody."

Said Iverson after he scored 38 points against the Washington Wizards last week:

"I think I'm the best guard in the league. I might not be, but I'm not going to say anybody is better than me. I worked hard to get here, too. I'm not going to say any guard is more talented than I am, and that's not being big-headed or conceited. That's just confidence. "

Barkley speaks out, again

While the Sixers have surprised, the Houston Rockets have been one of the league's biggest disappointments with a 10-7 record. And Charles Barkley, who has a lot to say about everything, blames squeezing in a 50-game season.

"I think that David Stern did a terrible job with the season," Barkley said. "Not just our games, but the games are so sloppy now. The level of play is down, and it's not fair to the fans and it's not fair to the players. The way the games are so close together, there's a lot of sloppy basketball going on.

"They should have played fewer games and gave us more time between them," Barkley added. "The quality of basketball would have been better, but also the games would have meant more."

The problems the Rockets have with their backcourt -- or lack of a backcourt -- were obvious at the season's start. What the team hasn't done is settled the chemistry problem between the three future Hall of Famers: Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon and Scottie Pippen.

In Chicago, Pippen was used to constant movement on offense in the triangle offense. Both Olajuwon and Barkley like to operate out of the low post.

Said Pippen: "It's something that we're not doing. We have to provide more energy out on the court, and I think we all realize that."

Teary times

Maybe the NBA's slogan should change from "I still love this game" to "The crying game" as players showed their sensitive side in recent weeks.

Nearly two weeks ago, Dennis Rodman cried during a news conference announcing his intent to play with the Los Angeles Lakers. And last week, Seattle SuperSonics forward Vin Baker broke down after a poor performance.

Baker, who started the season missing his first 18 free throws, cried openly at his locker after scoring two points against San Antonio. Baker, whose struggles might be related to the 18 extra pounds he carried at the start of the season, said he didn't sleep that night. His scoring average of a little more than 11 points a game is a career low.

"I feel just awful, just terrible," Baker said. "I feel bad about my game. I just am not happy with Vin Baker right now."

Around the league

The league fined Seattle center Olden Polynice $5,000 for his extension of half the peace sign to the fans of his former team, the Sacramento Kings, who apparently were not happy to see him on Monday.

"All the respect I had for the people of Sacramento went out the window," Polynice said. "Five years I played for other teams, I went back to those cities, I never got treated like that. That was totally classless. [To heck with] David Stern and his fan-friendly policy. That was BS. I didn't appreciate that."

In a season where low scoring has become the standard, the Golden State Warriors scored six points in the fourth quarter last Sunday against Phoenix -- tying the record for the lowest-scoring quarter in NBA history. The Warriors hit two of 21 from the field in the period and were kept from sole possession of the record by Tony Delk's layup with three seconds left.

Speaking of the Warriors, isn't it absurd that center Erick Dampier wants a six-year, $71 million contract? The request can't be based on his numbers: 6.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 31.0 shooting from the field and 51.0 shooting from the foul line.

Michael Jordan, attending last week's game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Rockets, received a 70-second standing ovation from the crowd at the Great Western Forum.

The Chicago Bulls, after leading the league in road attendance last season (21,970 average), rank 24th this season (14,659) in the post-Jordan era.

Facing a double-digit deficit against the Utah Jazz in the first quarter recently, Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson pulled his starters. Four of the five starters played less than 10 minutes in Utah's 80-65 win. The rested Mavericks beat Sacramento the next night.

"It was a gamble that paid off," said Mavericks forward Michael Finley of the move that drew an inquiry from the league. "Fans that came out to see a competitive game in Utah were cheated, but Nellie came out looking like a genius."

Said Kings forward Chris Webber, who feuded with Nelson at Golden State: "It's disrespectful to the league, and to us. It's just not right."

The Los Angeles Clippers, 0-15 after losing last night to the San Antonio Spurs, are challenging the record 0-17 season start set by the Miami Heat in 1988.

The Clippers haven't won a game in 321 days and with two games against the Lakers and games at Houston, San Antonio and New York coming up, the next good chance to win might be March 24 against the Warriors (at which time the Clippers would be 0-23 if they continue to lose).

Quotable

"I don't think they should put all their marbles in the bag and rely on Dennis, because from his past he's not a guy you can really rely on."

-- Rockets forward Pippen, on former teammate Rodman.

"What an athletic body you've got! Have another beer. Hey, Budweiser! Get a Bud over here."

-- Boston Celtics coach Rick Pitino, to a chubby fan in Cleveland who was harassing Eric Riley.

Pub Date: 3/07/99