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On the court Expect a louder Staples Center tonight
Posted: Friday June 09, 2000 09:10 PM
By Marty Burns, Sports Illustrated LOS ANGELES -- Maybe it was the Lakers' fast start. Maybe it was the distraction of seeing Selma Hayak in a purple wig. Maybe it was just typical blasé Southern Californians. Whatever the reason, the Staples Center crowd never seemed to get all that into it during Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday. Instead of raising the roof, it was like they were raising champagne glasses. "It was different," said Pacers guard Travis Best, comparing the low-key L.A. crowd in Game 1 to the raucous Knicks fans in the previous series. "The Garden crowd was crazy. This crowd is a lot more tame." Even some Lakers players admitted they were disappointed the crowd didn't get more into the game. "I blame it on our promotion guys," forward Robert Horry said. "For Game 7 of the Portland series, they gave away all those [gold "I Love L.A."] T-shirts and the crowd was great. "But nothing for Game 1 of the Finals? C'mon..." Horry and the Lakers said they expect it to be much louder for Game 2. They hope so, at least. And forget the incense, tooDon't look for Pacers coach Larry Bird to take a page out of Phil Jackson's book and try any unusual motivational ploys before Game 2. Pacers guard Mark Jackson says Bird would rather eat glass than resort to any weird tactics. "He doesn't have to do that with our team," Jackson said. "We're veterans. We know what we have to do." When asked what book he'd be likely to get from Bird if the Indiana coach were ever to handpick books for his players à la the Zen Master, Jackson replied, "It'd better be the Bible." And which movie Bird would choose? "Probably Hoosiers," he said. "I wouldn't watch it, though." Pregame problemsBefore Game 1, the Pacers had a little trouble with the traffic on the way to the Staples Center. Before Game 2, it was the fire alarm in their hotel.The Pacers were unceremoniously awakened Friday morning around 7:00 by a false alarm. No one was evacuated, but it did interrupt the team's game-day rest, as the morning shootaround wasn't scheduled to begin until 10:30. Jalen Rose, for one, said he had trouble getting back to sleep. His experience in the public-school league in Detroit had prepared him for such incidents, though. He told reporters that fans there tried many tactics to get players off their games, including throwing sawdust on the court. Not that Lakers fans would have done such a thing. Score one for the scribesLakers center John Salley tried to turn the tables on one member of the press during Thursday's media session, only to get more than he bargained for in return. Videocamera in hand, Lakers center John Salley was interviewing Sacramento Bee beat writer Marty McNeal when the veteran NBA scribe referred to Portland's "choke" in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals last Sunday. "Oh, it was a choke, huh?," Salley replied with a smile. "I don't think so. I think we won it." "They missed 13 shots in a row!" McNeal countered. "Wide-open shots, too." After a little more good-natured bantering, Salley asked McNeal what he'd consider a legitimate "comeback." "I recall a pretty good one by the Pistons against Portland in the '90 Finals," McNeal said. Salley, a member of the Detroit club, basically conceded the argument at that point. "Well, you're right about that," Salley said, chuckling. Sarge still in chargeSgt. Phil Harrison, Shaquille O'Neal's stepfather, will be back at the Staples Center for Game 2 after making his first appearance at a Lakers home game this season for Game 1. In Shaq's previous three years in L.A., Harrison attended about one Forum game a year. Still, that doesn't mean "Sarge" hasn't made his presence felt. During L.A.'s season finale at San Antonio, Harrison could be seen in the crowd yelling at Lakers coach Phil Jackson to take Shaq out when the Spurs began committing hard fouls in the closing minutes. Last Sunday, when Shaq was struggling during Game 7 of the Blazers series, Harrison paged Jerome Crawford, Shaq's bodyguard. Harrison asked Crawford, who was seated behind the bench, to pass on a message. "I told Jerome to tell Shaq, `Relax, take your time, you're going to be fine.'" Harrison told the L.A. Times. "I could see on TV what he was feeling." Crawford relayed the message to Shaq during the next timeout. Marty Burns covers pro basketball for CNNSI.com. Click here to send Marty a comment.
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