Branson Wright of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that things have really gone south for the Cavaliers. After scratching and clawing to get back into last night?s game against the Philadelphia, they came up short as Allen Iverson and the Sixers stole the game in the end.  The loss extended their losing streak to 13 games.

But the biggest news came after the game when Cavs coach John Lucas announced that Ricky Davis had been suspended by the team for disciplinary reasons. According to Lucas, Davis will miss the Cavs' next two games, which includes tonight's game against Miami and Monday's game at New York.

Davis had heated words with teammate Tyrone Hill during the third quarter. Both Davis and Hill were benched for the fourth quarter as rookies Dejuan Wagner and Carlos Boozer helped lead the Cavaliers comeback. Neither Davis nor Hill  would comment on the game.

"We have some issues that aren't about the team, so I'm going to address those because we have to be about the team of basketball," Lucas said. "I didn't put Ricky back in because Dajuan was playing well. Boozer was playing very well and that's why he was in."

This isn?t the first time that Lucas and Davis have clashed this season. Two weeks ago, Lucas took Davis out of the first quarter in a game with Indiana when Davis had a heated conversation with teammate Bimbo Coles. Davis sat for the entire first half and he remained in the locker room, under Lucas' orders, during the second half. Davis didn't start in the Cavs' following game.

Lucas announced that a second player had been suspended as well. Wright did not report who the second player is, but he does write that Tyrone Hill was not suspended for his argument with Davis.

Liz Robbins of the New York Times reports that Dikembe Mutombo doesn?t like his stat line this season. He sees that his minutes and his production are way down from his career averages and he?s worried. "I realized I'm not where I should be," he said.

He?s averaging 24.9 minutes with the Nets this season compared to a career average of 36.3 minutes. "I don't know if I'm happy with it," he said. "Or if I'm just trying to accept it. It's becoming a situation where I'm trying to see my way through ? can I keep dealing with it or should I see it changing?"

Mutombo asked coach Byron Scott for more minutes on Monday. Scott told him the same thing he?s been saying all season. He wants to limit Mutombo?s minutes during the season and keep him fresh for the playoffs. The reason why his minutes are so low is because he still doesn?t know the offense.

"I told him exactly what I told him months ago, that it's going to be between 25 and 30," Scott said. "I told him that as the season goes along and he gets a little more familiarized with what he's doing on the offensive end, then his minutes go up.

"But he has to know what we're doing out there every single time. I can't have some of the breakdowns that we have sometimes on the offensive end. So once he gets it, the minutes will go up to 29, 30, 31 minutes. I've got to do what's best for the team."

Questioning Mutombo?s offense is one thing, but Scott also questions his rebounding ability. "I still think he could get more rebounds," Scott said. "Although he'll probably say it's because he hasn't played enough."

The Nets' president, Rod Thorn, supports Scott's allocation of minutes and credits Mutombo's aggressive tone-setting defense in the past three games. (He had three blocks in the last game, a victory, against Minnesota.) "If he plays like that, he'll probably get more playing time," Thorn said.

ESPN.com reports that Larry Brown will be named the coach of the USA Basketball team for the 2004 Olympics. The formal announcement will be made Tuesday.

Brown won a Gold Medal in the 1964 Olympics as a player and has won twice as an assistant coach. He will lead the team through next summer?s qualifying tournament and the 2004 games in Athens.

"If they asked me to be the coach, it'd be the greatest honor going. If they said they had someone else in mind, I'd respect that as well,'' Brown said last week. Other coaches considered for the position were Phil Jackson of the Lakers, Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz and Pat Riley of the Miami Heat.

Tracy McGrady, Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd and Ray Allen have already contacted USA Basketball to say they're willing to play in 2003 and 2004. A core group of eight or nine players is expected to be announced by February, with Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant expected to be shoo-ins if they accept invitations to play.

O'Neal and Bryant "are two of the best players in our league, without question, and with the way other teams around the world have improved, we need our best players -- but also high-character guys. And I think they fit the bill,'' Brown said.

ESPN?s Page Two features a new book on Allen Iverson by Larry Platt.  It includes two substantial excerpts.

The first piece is about AI growing up in Newport News.  It talks about the poor coach who had to drive the van Iverson was in and listen through a 14 hour monologue.  It also talks about some of the situations Iverson lived through in his teens.

The related piece is about how Iverson has succeeded while doing it his way.  Not quite a Frank Sinatra song, but it looks at things like how Iverson showed up to receive his MVP award.

The final piece is an interview of Platt by Eric Neel.

Peter Vecsey of the New York Post reports that USA Basketball is looking to shake up the national team. After this summer?s embarrassing display by Team USA in the National Championship Tournament, the selection committee is discussing what needs to be done to make sure it doesn?t happen again.

It appears as if they have all but decided to ask Sixers coach Larry Brown to lead the team. He has a great relationship with the organization and understands the importance of international play.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson is not being considered. Vecsey thinks that his attitude against his players participating in international play may have something to do with it. With Jackson earning a $2 million bonus for each NBA title he wins, is it any surprise that he wants Kobe and Shaq resting during the summer?

"The process of choosing a coach already has begun," confirmed one of the USA Basketball selection committee members, "and, yes, Larry is the frontrunner. As great a coach as Phil is, he's not really being considered."

Another committee member had this to say about Jackson, "Evidently Phil sees himself as a savior. For years, he's distanced himself from USA Basketball and made very few friends. Now that our reputation is soiled he's willing to sacrifice his precious time in order to resuscitate it . . . out of the goodness of his heart, of course. Who needs him!?"

An upgrade in talent will also be discussed by the committee. Vecsey writes that according to sources, Kobe, Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Jason Kidd, Chris Webber and Michael Finley have been approached about their interest in participating in the qualifying tournament and the Olympics.

The response has been 100-percent favorable except for Shaq who's 75 percent committed, and only if Jackson coaches. Sources say they don't expect Paul Pierce or Baron Davis to be asked again due to last summer's flagrant lack of team play.

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports that even the return of Latrell Sprewell couldn?t stop the Knicks? losing ways. Sprewell scored 16 points off the bench and ignited his team with his hustle and defense, but the Knicks blew another fourth quarter lead and lost to the Sixers 93-92.

The Knicks dropped to 1-8 tying the team?s worst 9-game start. "We have a lot of basketball left," said Sprewell. "If we give up now, it can get a whole lot worse."

The Sixers led for most of the first half. The Knicks came back in the third quarter and raced to a 9-point lead with eight minutes remaining in the fourth. The Sixers scored 17 of the games final 25 points to finish with the one point victory.

Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald reports that Paul Pierce isn?t smiling anymore. When it was pointed out that he was outscored by Philadelphia?s Todd MacCulloch, he laughed it off because the Celtics had won the game. After last nights loss to Dallas, with Shawn Bradley outscoring Pierce 10-9, the joke ceased to be funny.

``It's a little frustrating,'' Pierce said after last night's 97-86 loss to the now 9-0 Mavericks. ``It's something I haven't worried about, but it's a little frustrating tonight because we lost. We won six in a row, so regardless of how my shot was going we were winning. I'm not going to be worried about it, but it's disappointing when you lose.''

``I don't have any concerns about Paul's stroke,'' said Celtics coach Jim O'Brien. ``I think he's one of the great scorers in the league. They played zone. And it's a little bit like the man-to-man that the 76ers played when they had (Dikembe) Mutombo. When you have somebody that's a prolific shot-blocker inside, you can push up as hard as you want on the other team's scorers. And what they did with Paul was getting under his chin and making him either pass the ball or making him shoot challenge shots. ``Their response is, well, if you want to drive the ball into 7-foot-6, be our guest. And (Bradley) had five blocked shots.''

Before last night?s game, Pierce had scored in double figures in 78 straight contests. His shooting slump has gone on for four games now. Pierce started out 3-14 against Minnesota last Saturday. Then He missed 8 of his first 11 against Utah. In both games, he was able to finish strong. Against Philly, he finished 4-20 and never got on track. The Mavericks were able to hold him to 4-20 from the field as well.

``It's been difficult the last two games, but that's something I'm not really worried about," Pierce said. "Once I get back into my rhythm, I know I'll be all right. I'm going to just keep playing, keep doing other things. I know I'll be fine. The last couple of nights shots haven't really been there. . . . But I'm never going to be worried about how many shots I miss and how many I make. I'm going to just keep playing the game.''

Laura Price-Brown of Newsday reports that Latrell Sprewell isn?t the only Knick who will be getting a chance against the Sixers this afternoon. Coach Don Chaney has announced that rookie Frank Williams will also get some time as well. Sprewell is returning from a broken hand while Williams is getting the chance to back up Howard Eisley at the point guard spot.

The Knicks normal rotation would consist of Charlie Ward starting at the point with Eisley backing him up. Ward is out with a right leg injury which gives Eisley a chance to start. Chaney could use Allan Houston as the point guard along side of Sprewell to create a big backcourt, but he would rather not.

"If Allan's at point, he's passing the ball. I want him receiving it," Chaney said. "I'm going to give Frank a chance."

A broken wrist slowed William?s development during the offseason, but he has shown some improvement as of late.

Sam Borden of the New York Daily News reports that Latrell Sprewell will be back in the lineup tomorrow night against the Sixers. After participating in a full-contact scrimmage yesterday, Sprewell has been okayed to play.

Knicks? coach Don Chaney is glad to have Sprewell on the floor, but isn?t ready to hand over the starting job just yet. Shandon Anderson was just as effective as Sprewell during the scrimmage. "I'd like to have Sprewell in the lineup, but I'm not going to hand it to him," Chaney said.

Sprewell?s ability to defend the Sixers? Allen Iverson should ensure plenty of playing time whether he?s in the starting lineup or not.

There was no contact limit placed on Sprewell during yesterday?s scrimmage. He played hard and took a few hits on the hand that was injured during a boating incident last summer. He admitted that he?s not in game shape, but teammate Allan Houston said that Spree "never looks tired".

Phil Jasner of the Philadelphia Daily News reports that Allen Iverson didn?t break his thumb like he thought on Wednesday. An MRI exam revealed a sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament and a small incomplete fracture in Iverson's thumb. His thumb will be stabilized in a brace and he will be tested on a daily basis.

So will Iverson be in uniform against the Cavaliers tonight? It?s a definite possibility. This is the same Iverson that was supposed to miss 2-4 weeks with a chip fracture on the middle finger of his right hand during the pre-season, only to return after 5 days.

Iverson will test himself in the morning sootarouind to decide whether he can play or not. If he can?t go, coach Larry Brown will probably move Aaron McKie to Iverson?s shooting guard position and bring in one of his big men to start.