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Veteran leadership Malone impresses with 50-point performance
Posted: Thursday April 27, 2000 12:05 AM
This is the time of year when the veterans prove their worth. That's mainly because there's an awful lot of mental preparation that goes into the playoffs. You see the same players on the same teams for five games and then seven games, and it's more of a half-court game. You've got to really focus. One of the veterans you really have to give credit to Karl Malone. It's just amazing how well he and the Jazz have played in the first two games. I've always believed that in the playoffs, the toughest thing to do by far is to score. The defense tightens up, and you get much more of a half-court game than you do in the regular season. So you really have to be a terrific basketball player to score 50 points in the playoffs. The most impressive thing to me is how much Malone has improved as his career has gone on. After three or four years, most players who put in a lot of minutes reach their peak, but he's gotten better and better. He came into the league a terrible foul shooter; now he's an excellent foul shooter. He didn't have an outside shot; now he has a terrific outside shot. He couldn't -- or at least didn't -- pass when he came into the league; now he's an excellent passer. Strange strategyThe Butch Carter-Marcus Camby situation is a little strange. If I could have sued all the players who said bad things about me, I'd be a billionaire now. While I know Carter says he was trying to divert the media's attention away from his two young stars, the situation probably has more to it than we know. The series started in New York, and there's so much media coverage, but there's also probably more between Camby and Carter than anybody realized. I wouldn't go that far. Coach's breakdownThe Timberwolves are definitely capable of beating the Blazers. Kevin Garnett and Terrell Brandon and the rest of that team can compete with just about any team in the NBA. Rasheed Wallace and Garnett are the key matchup there. One thing Garnett doesn't do is get to the foul line, and Wallace is one of the better defensive players at his position. He's long and athletic; he can play perimeter and interior defense. So this is one of the better matchups in the playoffs.
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