Subj : Hmmm To : All From : Ed Grinnell Date : Mon May 29 2000 04:07 am * Crossposted in NBA_ECHO * Crossposted in SPORTS I recently saw an NBA reporter's column and he was ridiculing Scottie Pippin for his statement that the Trailblazers were better than the three-peat Bulls. Well, to be honest, talent-wise, he's correct. I dare you to go player by player and find the Bulls as the better team. The Bulls would win 2 starting lineup matchups and that's Jordan vs Steve Smith and Harper vs Stoudamire. Portland would win the matchup of Sabonis vs Longley and Wallace vs Rodman. There would be a tie between the Pippens but only because the older Pippen isn't as good offensively but has become wilier defensively. A matchup of Kukoc vs Grant would go to Kukoc but after that, the Blazers would take the rest of the bench matchups. This is all based on talent matchup. Talent-wise, the Blazers are far better than the Bulls but talent doesn't win championships. The Blazers need to get themselves under control because they tend to self-destruct and lose the game than the other team wins it. The Bulls were a much more poised team and it was their opponents who were losing the games as much as the Bulls were winning them. THAT is the biggest difference between the Bulls and the Blazers. Oh and Phil Jackson. Like it or not, he WAS and IS a great coach and he's definitely better than Dunleavy. **** Ron Garretson continues to prove why he is the worst referee in the game. "Pwease stop staring at me, Mr. Wallace or I'm going to cwy (Sniff!)". Jesus, this guy would have been in tears back in the '60s because this was the kind of tactics that a lot of players used. They didn't go crying about it nor did they T 'em up - they just ignored 'em. I think that it's time that the NBA got rid of him but they're probably powerless to do so. **** Once again the Heat are booted and once again people are missing the point about Riley and this team. A lot of criticism is thrown his way but people need to stop and think about how GREAT a job that the guy has done. He has had only two GREAT players during his tenure - Mourning and Hardaway and a lot of castoffs or underachievers (I would list Dan Marjele as a decent player before he was acquired. He wasn't a castoff like so many others). Look at all the players that he gotten to play great during his time with the Heat (and the Knicks and Lakers) and how they were underachieving with their old teams before he acquired them or with their new teams when they left to profit from their new found fame. I think that this team would have been radically different and maybe a step closer to the championship if they had been allowed to keep Howard. **** People got onto me years ago when I kept insisting that O'Neal really needed to work on his whole game AND more importantly, work on his free throws. People just don't realize how crucial free throws are in the playoffs because they assume that they will be overcome just as easily as they were in the regular. The problem is that during the regular season, the LA Clippers or Golden State Warriors can be beaten with or without O'Neal and his missed free throws won't hurt as much. When you get to the playoffs, however; the best defensive teams are there and points take on a premium. During his career, when he didn't win a championship, Chamberlain's teams were 12-11 in games decided by 3 points or less and 18-29 in games that were decided by 4-9 points. In contrast, the championship teams were 15-9 in games decided by 3 points or less and 36-24 in games decided by 4-9 points (When they won, they were 3-0 in games decided by 3 points or less and 6-4 in games decided by 4-9 points). Going into this year's playoffs, O'Neal's teams are 6-7 in games decided by 3 points or less and 10-12 in games decided by 4-9 points. Missed free throws could turn a close game into a romp and a romp into a close game. When the writers kept saying that Hack-A-Shaq didn't work in the first game, they were wrong. The only thing that happened was the Portland was unable to convert those opportunities. Had they done so, Shaq may have tightened up and it would have been a different game. As it was, they didn't and he eventually hit a streak to put the game out of reach and he gained a confidence that might not have been there had the Blazers took advantage of the strategy. **** More kudos to Jeff Van Gundy. If this guy isn't recognized as one of the best coaches for what he's done then I don't know how anyone can get recognition. He's taken a team that has been on the brink of death due to injuries or stupid mistakes by the players and has kept them in the playoffs. I can't help but admire the job that the guy has done (Though, I still think he whines too much). --- TrekEd 1.00 * Origin: Orlando will be no problem - M.J. (1:170/1701) .