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The next step

Lakers face a huge test in quest to be the champs

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Posted: Friday June 09, 2000 11:35 AM

By John Donovan, CNNSI.com

	• Storylines • Hot Hands, Cold Feet • Bandwagon • Swishes & Bricks

This is a special edition of the NBA Week at a Glance. It will appear every day until the NBA Finals conclude.

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers are still figuring out this whole "Being a Winner" thing.

They play like champions sometimes -- they had the best record in the NBA this season, for Pete's sake -- but sometimes ... well, sometimes they just don't. Sometimes they flick at opponents like a cat at a mouse, they play with teams they should put away and then they find themselves fighting for their lives.

It is a flaw, a big flaw, and everyone knows it. And there's only one way to prove they've fixed it. Winning the whole thing.

SI's Marty Burns For Game 2 the Pacers' mission is obvious: slow down Shaq. Besides hitting him with more aggressive double teams, they also will ask their guards to hack him when he gets the ball down low and at the other end drive at him in hopes he picks up fouls. The idea is to disrupt Shaq's rhythm enough so he scores 30-35 points instead of 40-45. This time, Indiana wants to make L.A.'s erratic outside shooters win or lose it. Here are a few other things to watch: Pressure from top : The Pacers will try to slow down L.A.'s offense by pressuring the ball more on the way up court, and vigorously contesting the entry passes to Shaq. It will leave them vulnerable to dribble penetration, but they have no other choice. Get Reggie off : Instead of looking early to center Rik Smits, Indiana will likely try to get Reggie Miller cooking at the start in Game 2. They'll run him off screens, probably along the baseline where it's harder for his defender to follow him. Gang rebounding : After getting hammered on the boards last game, the Pacers will send four or five guys to the defensive glass in Game 2. It will mean even better looks for L.A.'s outside shooters, but it's another risk they have to take.

When the Lakers play Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Friday night against the Indiana Pacers, it will be the biggest step yet on the Lakers' trip to greatness. A win would be huge.

They'd hold onto their homecourt edge and force the Pacers to hold onto theirs as the series moves to Indianapolis for Games 3, 4 and 5. No team has ever won all those games at home.

It wouldn't guarantee their first NBA title since 1988. But it would be oh-so-much closer.

Yet not even Phil Jackson, the Lakers' coach who has brought this previously dysfunctional group to the brink of the championship, quite knows if they're up to it yet.

"This is not a group that's been together, outside of five players, for any length of time," Jackson said. "This is all new to them. It's kind of exciting to them, but yet it's kind of like unpaved territory. They're just learning how to do it."

Jackson has let them do their own learning much of the time. He tends to let them play through their rough spots instead of calling a timeout to regroup. He has put the responsibility of leading this team directly on Shaquille O'Neal.

He has set them up. Now, it's up to them.

"He's brought in a sense of composure and poise that we've never had before," guard Derek Fisher said. "When we get out there on the court, even when it feels like the world is falling apart, we'll figure out a way to just hold ourselves together and try to weather the storm."

The storm will hit full-force Friday night.

On to the NBA Finals Day at a Glance, which on the day of Game 2 of this deal asks this: Humdinger or humdrum Friday night?

The answer: Could be both.

Doubling
OK. The Pacers learned their lesson. You can't guard Shaq with one man. (Didn't we all know that?) How well they work the double team will be a key to the rest of the series.
Reggie's Touch
Does he get it back in Game 2? Will it be enough? One thing's for sure: He won't stop trying. Look for Indiana's Miller to put it up early and often. The Lakers' ability, or inability, to keep him down is another key.
The Albatross
A win in Game 2, and the Lakers go into Indianapolis' Conseco Fieldhouse for Game 3 by passing the "must-win" mantle to the Pacers. A loss, though, and the Pacers get three games in their new arena to try to pull the shocker of this century. OK, so the century's still young.
Downtown
Miller's big for the Pacers, but Glen Rice, Brian Shaw, Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant have to knock down some outside shots for the Lakers, especially if Shaq is doubled-up effectively inside.
HOT: The Pressure Game 2s are often called the most critical. This is when the first adjustments are made. The team that reacts best to the other team's adjustments is the one who walks away with the win -- and sometimes the series.
COLD: The Lakers Outside Shaq did everything imaginable in the paint in Game 1, but the 3-point shooting was terrible. L.A. went 3-for-12, topped -- or bottomed -- by Brian Shaw's blank-for-4.
COLD: Pacers Out of the Gate In Game 1, a hurting 35 percent shooting in the first quarter. And without Mark Jackson, it would've been a painful 23.5 percent. Hardly a way to put the pressure on the other guys.
HOT: Rick Fox Talk about getting overshadowed. The Lakers' Fox made the most of his time in Game 1, sinking three of his four shots -- including his only 3-point try -- and all four of his free throws for 11 points. He also had four rebounds and two assists.
Reggie Miller . We always wondered how he'd do in big games. Now we know. But we reserve the right to flip this arrow at any time.
Shaq . You had your doubts, eh? Any more? But we reserve the right to flip this arrow at any time. Hey, that's sports.
The NBA . Aw, come on. This is the time of the year the league's wagon starts to fill up. It's OK to want on. And there's plenty of room. Lots of people jumped off after Michael left, you know.
Travis Best . He didn't have all that great a Game 1. But you can tell, he's the bench boost for the Pacers. And if he's pushing the ball and creating headaches for the Lakers, he's great to watch.
Game 2
Swish : Sure to be hard-fought. This one's important. Brick : Doesn't mean it will be pretty.
Timeouts
Swish : Phil Jackson letting his Lakers play through their bad times -- awesome. Brick : If only the NBA would drop some TV timeouts.
The NBC crew
Swish : For The Glance's money, Costas and Collins are the best broadcasting duo in the league. Brick : But is there any need for all those others?
Fastbreaks
Swish : They can make for some of the most exciting plays in the game. Brick : Nobody here does them with any consistency.

 

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