Carter’s Confession Irks Former Team

Vince Carter’s former teammates were dismayed Friday after hearing him admit he didn’t always try his hardest when he played for the Toronto Raptors.

In an interview Thursday, TNT analyst John Thompson asked Carter whether he pushed himself as hard as he should have in Toronto.

“In years past, no,” said Carter, acquired by the New Jersey Nets on Dec. 17. “I was fortunate to have the talent.... You get spoiled when you’re able to do a lot of things. You see that you don’t have to work at it.”

Said Raptor guard Rafer Alston: “It’s a reflection on him and his character. Is he a guy that you can go to war with night in and night out? That’s what a lot of people are going to be questioning.”

Carter is averaging 22.5 points in 40.3 minutes with New Jersey, compared with 15.9 points in 30.4 minutes with the Raptors.

Toronto guard Morris Peterson watched the interview.

“It caught me off guard. Being a professional player, that’s something I always pride myself on,” Peterson said. “I can sleep better at night knowing I give it everything I can.”

He added: “You could tell he wasn’t playing his best.”

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Allen Iverson, the NBA’s leading scorer, did not play in the Philadelphia 76ers’ game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night because of a sprained right ankle.

Iverson injured the ankle Wednesday night at Utah in the first quarter but played the rest of the game. He will probably play Monday against Portland, Coach Jim O’Brien said.

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The Portland Trail Blazers put forwards Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Darius Miles on the injured list and activated center Ha Seung Jin.

Abdur-Rahim, who has sat out seven games with loose particles in his right elbow, will have surgery that could keep him out five weeks. Miles injured his left knee in the Blazers’ 102-98 loss to the Clippers on Wednesday and could be out four weeks.