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Playoff atmosphere Lakers, Blazers offered glimpse of things to come
Posted: Thursday March 02, 2000 08:30 PM
Tuesday night's game between the Lakers and Blazers gave us a glimpse of what we might see more of as we get closer to the playoffs and the games get bigger: Defense really kicks in. L.A. and Portland are two outstanding defensive teams, and they played exceptionally hard. With Shaquille O'Neal playing the way he's playing, the Lakers are particularly tough. Because he's started hitting his foul shots, Shaq basically plays the entire game now. And when they come off the bench with Robert Horry, Derek Fisher and Rick Fox, that's a very good defensive unit. If Kobe Bryant and Shaq stay in the game to provide the scoring, that's a real tough unit. But Tuesday's game was a grind-out game -- we're getting back to a slowed-down game, which we saw a lot of last year. I don't think it's good for the game, but it's natural when you start getting close to the playoffs. And the league also has gotten away from calling the new fouls. But they'll get back to that, because they want to speed up the game a little bit. You have to get the game opened up for the fans, so we'll see more fouls coming down the stretch than we have recently.
Riley's role playersMiami head coach Pat Riley has a knack for finding solid role players, and it seems he's got another one in recent addition Bruce Bowen. Bowen did a great job on Allan Houston in the game against New York last Monday. One thing Riley looks for is a very tough, physical player who can defend, and that's the type of player Bowen is. He's very physical, he plays hard, and he can defend very well. He's a nice player to have coming off your bench, particularly against a team that has a player who can get hot or a team that has two outstanding guards, like New York. He's a good addition to their club. Riley is good at getting the type of player that fits into the Heat's physical style and at getting his players to play hard. P.J. Brown is a player who's willing to sacrifice and just defend, do the things that are necessary to win. Dan Majerle is that type of player now, too. He was a great offensive player at one time, but he now sacrifices and plays hard, defends extremely well and does all the little things to win. These players will be a big advantage for Miami as we get closer to the playoffs, particularly if we continue to see the slowed-down, physical games. Coach's breakdownThe Bucks' seven-game home skid finally ended with a win over Orlando on Sunday. I didn't think Milwaukee could get into that kind of slump with the three big players that they have -- Glenn Robinson, Ray Allen and Sam Cassell. But they really don't have any post-up player, and with the games slowing down and getting more physical, that goes against their style. Head coach George Karl will probably have to give some consideration -- meaning, minutes -- to the people who are a little bit more physical, such as Danny Manning. Ervin Johnson is decent at blocking shots, but they have no post-up game and they really don't have any interior defense. That hurts you when the game slows down. Kevin Loughery is a former NBA player and head coach. He appears each Sunday on CNN/Sports Illustrated's "This Week in the NBA."
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