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Crying foul In the playoffs, every team thinks it's getting a raw dealPosted: Thursday May 23, 2002 12:36 PM
Following Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, neither head coach was happy with the officiating. The Lakers' Phil Jackson thought the refs singled out Shaquille O'Neal, and the Kings' Rick Adelman said Sacramento got some bad calls. The truth is, during the playoffs, every team thinks it's getting the worst calls in every game. You want to get every call. And the coaches are also looking ahead to the next game, trying to send a message to the officials. To that end, every team in these playoffs has complained about the refs -- except Charlotte. The Hornets got the worst calls of anyone, and head coach Paul Silas didn't complain at all. He deserves a lot of credit for that, especially for holding his tongue when Baron Davis was called for his sixth foul at the end of the decisive Game 5 against the Nets. But Silas is the exception. Typically, it's just a part of the mind games of the playoffs, and Shaq is particularly good at it. Half the time you don't know if he's kidding around or not. But what was most impressive about Shaq in Game 2 was his quickness. He was as quick and active as he's been all year. If he can continue that, Sacramento has to be concerned. To counteract Shaq, the Kings must maintain an up-tempo game. They have to keep the game moving as fast as they can as long as they can, because the Lakers don't want to run. They're a great defensive team, and if they can make it a half-court game, they don't have to use their bench, which isn't nearly as strong as Sacramento's. So it's imperative that the Kings force the issue, even at the expense of some turnovers.
Nets still not getting respect they deserveEven though they've made it to the Eastern Conference finals, the Nets are still the most underrated team in the NBA. In the backcourt, they have my MVP, Jason Kidd, and Kerry Kittles. They have two excellent starting forwards, Keith Van Horn and Kenyon Martin. They have a three-headed center in Todd MacCulluch, Aaron Williams and Jason Collins, who all can play. And they have Luscious Harris and Richard Jefferson coming off the bench. They're nine men deep, which is a huge advantage in the playoffs. And they create matchup problems for Boston. This is the first series the Celtics have had to worry about a post-up player. In their past two series, there was no post-up player that concerned them at all, so their defense had to change a bit. Also, Boston has relied on Kenny Anderson to be a third scorer throughout the playoffs, but he has a tough matchup with Kidd because, in addition to everything else, Kidd is a great defender. They're going to need Eric Williams or Tony Delk to step up and help out offensively. But following a disappointing effort in Game 1, the Celtics made some great adjustments that got them back into this series in a hurry. In the first game, the Celtics' tendency to take quick 3-pointers really hurt them. When they missed a 3-pointer, the ball usually fell into Kidd's hands, and it was two points down at the other end. That's exactly the way New Jersey wants to play. In Game 2, the Celtics shut that run-and-gun offense down. They're not a great rebounding team, especially without Vitaly Potapenko, who's out with a knee injury. But they became a five-man rebounding team and slowed the tempo, and it really paid off.
Kevin Loughery is a former NBA player and head coach. His column appears weekly on CNNSI.com
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