|
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Dream matchup Gamesmanship begins for Western Conference finals
Posted: Friday May 19, 2000 07:08 PM
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) -- Kobe Bryant said there's no doubt about it -- the Portland Trail Blazers have better players than the Los Angeles Lakers. Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who coached Scottie Pippen in Chicago for nine seasons, believes the Blazers underachieved this season, and said Pippen has to step forward or they won't advance to the NBA Finals. And with that, the gamesmanship officially began Wednesday for the dream matchup of the NBA playoffs, the Western Conference finals, which start Saturday at Staples Center. "I personally think if Scottie doesn't lead this club and take them by the horns, they're not going to get by us," Jackson said at the Lakers' practice facility on a day off for his team. "I'm going to try and take that strength away. "I don't know who else can lead them, I don't see another leader on that basketball club." Pippen didn't fill that role with the Bulls, who won six championships during the 1990s -- Michael Jordan did. Neither Jackson nor Pippen has won a championship without Jordan. Perhaps one will next month. "This is what it's boiled down to, as ironic as it is," Jackson said. "I think this is great intrigue." The Lakers and Blazers were the NBA's best teams record-wise during the regular season, winning 67 and 59 games, respectively. When asked if Portland was the best team he had faced, Bryant replied, "I'd say so, yeah." "Everybody's been talking about this series forever, now it's here, let's play," Bryant said. "I'm ready to rock and roll, man, I'm ready to play. We'll be ready." Pippen said much the same thing in Portland, and expressed confidence in the Blazers. "This is kind of what everybody anticipated it would come down to, so I think both teams are looking forward to the challenge," he said. "We're very confident that we are pretty much the team to beat. "But the focal point is not between me and Phil Jackson. It's the Lakers against the Blazers, and it's the players out on the court. But it should be a fun series. I'm going to enjoy competing against him." Bryant, who scored 17 points as the Lakers manhandled Phoenix 87-65 Tuesday night to earn their berth in the conference finals, said he had a "tremendous amount of respect" for the Blazers. "As far as athletically, everybody knows they're better than we are," he said. "They have better players, too. Physically, we can't match up with them, they're bigger than we are. We beat teams with execution." Bryant also said he believes the Lakers are the steadier of the two teams, who split four games this season, with each going 1-1 at home. In their last meeting, on Feb. 29 in Portland, the Lakers rallied to win 90-87. Both teams entered that game with 11-game winning streaks and 45-11 records. "I think Portland underachieved this year," Jackson said. "They had a low spell in March, after we beat them up there." Starting with the loss to the Lakers, the Blazers went 14-12 to finish the season. However, they were without Brian Grant due to an injured right foot for 11 games including the one against the Lakers, something Jackson was quick to point out, and later lost starting center Arvydas Sabonis, who also injured his right foot. Both are healthy now. Grant, a burly forward, played a major role defensively against Shaquille O'Neal, the NBA's leading scorer and MVP, when the Blazers rallied for a 95-91 victory over the Lakers at Staples Center on Jan. 22. O'Neal scored only three points in the second half and 17 overall in that game. O'Neal and Bryant provide the Lakers with a 1-2 punch the Blazers can't match. However, as Jackson said: "They're pretty deep one through 11 or 12 or whatever. That's the one intriguing thing about this series -- does quantity beat quality, in terms of experience, talent? "Our key is Shaquille, going inside, making them adjust. Our key is to corral their offense. They have a lot of things that they can do, a lot of bodies for Shaq." The Lakers have a 23-1 record at Staples Center since losing to Portland nearly four months ago, with the lone loss a meaningless 98-80 setback to San Antonio on April 8. The Lakers played without O'Neal in that game, and they had already clinched homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. "There's one thing that hasn't changed," Blazers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "If we're going to win this series, we've got to win at least one game in LA." Dunleavy was the Lakers' coach the last time they played in the NBA Finals, in 1991. Their opponent? The Jackson-coached Bulls, who won their first championship that year.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
