Johnson, Masur named NBA Players of the Month

Big guys lead way for Lakers, Sonics

SEATTLE (RWN) - "Fast Eddie" Johnson and Alaa Masur will take home honors for the NBA's offensive and defensive players of the month.

Johnson, the power forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, averaged 41 points, 29 rebounds and 12 assists a game over the last month, leading the Lakers to a 9-1 record.

Masur, the center for the Seattle Sonics, averaged nine steals and four blocked shots a night over the last month as the Sonics played an 8-2 month.

"Oh man, I'm just happy that I could help the team," Johnson said. "The guys on the team have been giving me crap for the season, since I'm the only Catholic. They're all 'Catholics can't dish it,' 'Catholics can't hit the boards the way the brethren do.' It's all in good fun, but it's been driving me crazy. So now I'm feeling good, and I wanted to go out and show them a little Vatican rock and roll."

The Lakers' coach, Stu Brummett, confirmed that his players have been riding Johnson pretty hard. "I think it's just easy to pick on 'Fast Eddie,' since he's a papist," Brummett said. "But he's just this gentle, fun giant who takes it in the spirit it's intended. And it gave him something to prove, which is what he's needed all season. Remember two years ago after he got drafted out of Loyola? (Trailblazers coach) Tim Duncan called him 'soft' and '7-feet-4 inches of lard?' Do you remember the month he had after that? You couldn't touch Eddie with a 10-foot pole he was so on fire. Same thing this time."

Masur becomes the first center in 16 years to win defensive honors. "It's a great honor," Masur said. "Big guys in this league have the reputation of being static defensively. You know, that we just stand there and take up space. I really worked on my defense this summer and I'm proud of what I've done."

The difference in Masur's defense between this year and last year is like comparing night and day, said Kelvin Cartwright, the Sonics' two-guard. "Last year, Alaa was slow," Cartwright said. "He wasn't dogging it, really, but he wasn't picking up his man real crisp. We always joked that he was this giant immobile wall. This year, Alaa's really got a lot better footwork. He'll get on his guy pretty fast and he doesn't get knocked off the ball."


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