 |
| |
|
 |
 |
|||||||||||
|
Flawed Finals Title is still up for grabs, but poor play is defining this seriesPosted: Friday June 13, 2003 11:23 AM
The New Jersey Nets were on the brink of going down 3-1 to the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night. Knowing that no team in NBA Finals history has ever come back from such a deficit, the Nets played with desperation and eked out a 77-76 win to even the series, 2-2. SI.com spoke with Sports Illustrated's Jack McCallum about his thoughts on the series so far, and Friday's pivotal Game 5 at the Meadowlands. SI.com: What has surprised you most about this series? McCallum: What's been really amazing is how incredibly, indescribably ugly the Finals have been. I don't think anyone expected the knock-down, drag-out almost-impossible-to-score series we've seen so far. I also didn't anticipate the Nets having this much trouble trying to run and fast break, either. Nobody, with the exception of Tony Parker, who came back to earth himself in Game 4, has played a spectacular series. Kenyon Martin has played the best for New Jersey, but even he's struggled at times. SI.com: Is the low scoring a result of bad offense or good defense? McCallum: Obviously, both. If you wanted to be positive, you could argue that these are two very good defensive teams. However, you could also take a negative stance and say, once you stop the Nets from running, which the Spurs have done, and you turn New Jersey into a halfcourt team, it will have trouble scoring. If the Nets are supposed to be a very good team, though, they should be able to generate some points in the set offense. I think the bottom line is both the Spurs and Nets are flawed teams. SI.com: Jason Kidd was solid in Game 2, but has struggled in all the other games. What does he have to do to turn things around? McCallum: I hate to sound like a coach, but Kidd has to do exactly what he's been doing. He's shooting a dismal 33 percent from the field. Yet, when I picture the Nets, I still picture Kidd in the middle of everything, making things happen. He's contributing energy, and at least when he misses, he gets his own rebound once in a while. Plus, with Kerry Kittles getting minutes guarding the Spurs' point guards, Kidd can be a pest on the defensive end, and move around to disrupt other players -- especially Tim Duncan. So, despite Kidd's horrendous shooting, he's still a factor, so he doesn't have to change much about his game. SI.com: After barely playing in the postseason, Dikembe Mutombo has done a nice job on Duncan. Do you expect Byron Scott to continue using Mutombo for big minutes? McCallum: Mutombo must continue to get more action because he has the height and length to guard Duncan, and his veteran experience is paying off. The rustiness seems to have worn off and Mutombo is improving with each game. It also looks like he's gotten in the Spurs' heads because of his intimidation and shot-blocking presence. I would expect him to keep playing about 25 minutes a game. It would be foolish for Scott not to use Mutombo in a significant manner. SI.com: How important was Richard Jefferson's performance Wednesday night? How much do the Nets need him to contribute? McCallum: What made Jefferson's first solid game of the Finals noteworthy was that he got "Richard Jefferson points." He was effective in transition, he was able to dunk and score off the break. Playing in the halfcourt is not his strength -- he needs to pick up loose balls, get some put-backs, run around wildly and play in a helter-skelter way. That's when Jefferson is most effective, and if he can do that, the Nets will be much better off. SI.com: Tony Parker played miserably in Game 4. Can the Spurs win if he doesn't give them some points? McCallum: Well, Parker cannot play that badly again. I would be amazed if he does. However, I think the play of Speedy Claxton has been eye-opening. Claxton is not as good as Parker. But Claxton is very quick. He can get in the lane and make his outside shots. If Parker plays poorly again, or starts moping around like he did in Game 4, he could get a quick hook from Gregg Popovich and Claxton could see more action. Parker is still the man at point guard, but Popovich is not going to let Parker get into such a deep funk, as he did Wednesday night. SI.com: Obviously, if the Spurs win Friday, they are in the driver's seat, with the next two games being played in San Antonio. But what kind of chance do you give the Nets to win the series if they take Game 5? McCallum: I'd give the Nets a 20 percent chance to win one game in San Antonio. The Spurs are shaky mentally, they tend to lose leads and they don't have a very confident, we'll-kick-your-ass-at-home swagger about them. The Spurs have also played poorly at home in the playoffs and counted on winning two or three games in Jersey. Sports Illustrated senior writer Jack McCallum covers the NBA for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com.
|
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||||
