| | LOS ANGELES -- They're calling him "Dumb-leavy" out here, but what Mike Dunleavy is doing against the Lakers in the Western Conference finals is the smart move.
|  | | Shaq shoots so much better from the field, so why not send him to the line? |
Until Shaquille O'Neal proves he can make an unguarded 15-foot shot 70 percent of the time, the Blazers are right to employ their Hack-a-Shaq defense.
I mean, is it too much to ask of the NBA's MVP to hit at least 70 percent of his free throws? If Shaq were capable of doing that, Dunleavy would have to abandon a strategy made popular by Don Nelson and play the Lakers star a little more honestly.
But if this is what is going to give the Blazers their best chance of winning, who cares if it looks ugly and drives the NBA's already-anemic ratings into the ground?
"I'm playing the percentages," Dunleavy said.
They're not hard to figure. If you let Shaq get the ball in the paint, he's about a 55-percent shooter. On dunks he got at the expense of the Kings and Suns, he was obviously even better. But if you send him to the line, he has been shooting at only a 46 percent clip in the postseason. So what's even to debate?
Granted, it looks ridiculous, having the Blazers run down the floor, chasing Shaq and putting the big man in a bear hug, 40 feet from the ball. It even slowed Game 1 of the Western Conference finals down to an absurd crawl, with the fourth quarter taking 58 minutes to play.
"They're profiting from fouling," Phil Jackson moaned.
Jackson even recounted how when Dr. Naismith invented the sport, players who fouled had to go sit down on the bench. Well, that's as relevant today as discussing the merits of the peach basket.
Times change. Rules change. Coaches are paid to find an opponent's weakness and expose it.
With Shaq, he doesn't have many weaknesses. But the one he does have is just asking to be exploited.
"All of my career," Shaq said of his adventures to the foul line, "I've made at least one."
Which also means he has missed one. And guess what? In Game 1, he made only 13 of 27 free throws overall. So he leaves Dunleavy no choice but to try it
again in Monday's Game 2. Of course, he should also try it in Portland. If Shaq is only a 50-percent shooter at home, how's he going to fare
with all that pressure on him in the hostile, boisterous Rose Garden?
The problem with the Blazers' strategy in Game 1 wasn't that Shaq made them pay -- he hit only 12 of 25 free throw in the fourth en route to a 41-point game -- but that they failed to take advantage at the offensive end.
"Had we scored better," Dunleavy said, "we would have put ourselves in position to win the game."
That's all this is about.
Just remember, when Jeff Van Gundy was facing Shaq earlier this season he was asked, "If you're close in the final four minutes, would you consider using Hack-a-Shaq?" The Knicks coach didn't waste a second.
"Absolutely," he said.
That day, Van Gundy was coaching the East stars in the All-Star Game. Now, with the stakes significantly higher, Dunleavy has to do what gives
his team its best chance of winning.
"Shaq is a great player, he's the MVP," he said. "He just can't shoot free throws."
Until he proves otherwise, Portland is crazy if it doesn't hack away.
Rim Shots I
Let's see if Larry Bird attacks the hobbled Allan Houston in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, or if Bird lets a big
opportunity slip through his hands. As Pat Riley did.
In one of his questionable moves, Riley never went after Houston in Game 7 even though the Knicks guard was playing almost on one leg.
"Houston's ankle will be a huge factor," one Eastern scout said. "It's a lot easier guarding Dan Majerle when he's sitting on the wing, standing around, than it is chasing Reggie Miller and Jalen Rose around screens."
It didn't take long: The Timberwolves, who figured they could push Portland to at least a fifth game, are already shopping Terrell Brandon. The T-Wolves are looking for a point guard who can break a defense down. They don't think
Brandon gave them enough penetration.
Before Tom Izzo turned the Hawks' $3 mil-per-year offer down, he did his homework, calling one NBA head coach out of the blue to ask his opinion of Atlanta's future. Asked the head coach: "Are you prepared to lose as many games in one year as you have at Michigan State in the last four combined?" Then he went on to
say that no matter how Hawks president Stan Kasten sells the job, Atlanta isn't a playoff team next season.
What "options" is Gary Payton talking about in the latest talk of escaping Paul Westphal and Seattle? Last
we checked, he has three years left on his contract. Then again, he could always force the Sonics to trade him. Players and coaches want him out
of town, but why would Seattle give up on its best player? The Warriors have interest, but they'll have to give up Antawn Jamison and/or Larry Hughes, at the least.
Jerry Krause was hoping to land the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery, just so that he could trade down to No. 3 to get Texas big man Chris Mihm. Now he can get him at No. 4. Tim Floyd, incidentally, is partial toward Iowa State's Marcus Fizer.
TNT voice John Thompson is waging an all-out campaign to get the Nets GM job. If the Nets don't use the No. 1 pick on Cincy power player Kenyon Martin, something's wrong. Jayson Williams has missed more games over last two seasons than Patrick Ewing.
If they have any chance of keeping Eddie Jones, and it's looking slim, the Hornets might have to move Anthony Mason. Jones didn't like playing third option behind Mase and Derrick Coleman. Mase has a year to go on his deal, so this might be the best time for GM Bob Bass to make a move.
Rim Shots II
That was a calculated move by Phil Jackson when he observed that Scottie Pippen would have to lead the Blazers by the
Lakers. Jackson knows as well as anyone that Pippen can't carry a team. So far, that has been the best mind game being played in the Western Conference finals.
"Phil had Michael for a certain amount of years. But he also had Scottie when Michael wasn't there," L.A. reserve John Salley said. "He knows Scottie's strengths, but he also knows his downfalls. Phil made Scottie what he is, to be truthful. When I played in Detroit against Scottie, we
knew that's who you went after. He didn't have the mental strength."
Jackson is betting that after all these years, Pippen still doesn't.
Mike Jarvis is looking for $3 mil per from Wizards, but he's got no leverage with NCAA police hot on the trail of his St. John's program. Michael Jordan is offering $1.5 mil per. Jarvis is about the fifth choice, after Roy Williams and John Paxson both turned it down, while Darrell Walker and Rod Higgins, new Wiz execs, were happier to get front-office posts.
Unless Tim Hardaway or the Heat change their minds, that might have been Hardaway's final game for Miami on Sunday. Hardaway wants to be rewarded with a three-year deal for all he has done for the franchise, while Miami is against anything other than a one-year deal.
As much as the Heat needs to start revamping this offseason, they won't be getting any cap relief until July 2001, at the earliest, unless they can start unloading Duane Causwell and Voshon Lenard and other dead wood.
The Suns are looking to add a young power player/banger/rebounder in the offseason. Keep in mind, they tried to make a deal for Antonio Davis last year and still like Toronto's big man. If the Pistons know that Grant
Hill is a goner, and they're looking to do a sign-and-trade, they've agreed to keep Phoenix in mind.
New Vancouver exec Dick Versace is expected to coach his team one day, but perhaps not this coming season.
Shaq was hoping Miami would advance to meet the Lakers in the Finals, just so that he could go up against Alonzo Mourning, who beat Shaq out for Defensive Player of the Year by an amazing 41 votes. "He can't stop me," Shaq said. "Alonzo is a great defensive player and has
always been one. But he's never been able to stop me."
Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com. | |
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