Playoffs 2000:Harper, Pippen to renew acquaintances

Harper, Pippen to renew acquaintances
Associated Press

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Ron Harper had a little chat with an old buddy the other day, a guy named Michael Jordan.

Harper wouldn't say much about the conversation, but when asked if Jordan imparted any advice, he replied, "Keep going out and just play basketball is all he said."

Harper and the Los Angeles Lakers will do just that starting Saturday at Staples Center against the Portland Trail Blazers and another longtime pal, Scottie Pippen, in the Western Conference finals.

"I love Pip, this is the time he raises up what he does best," Harper said.

Harper should know. Jordan and Pippen were the main cogs on six championship teams in Chicago during the 1990s, and Harper was one of several role players on the final three.

Like those Bulls, the Lakers have Phil Jackson as their coach and two superstars -- Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant -- to lead them. Whether that will be enough against the Blazers will shake out over the next two weeks.

"This series may go seven games," Harper said. "We've got our hands full, I think. They've got a team full of superstars, we've got two stars. What our role guys have to do is play our roles, do what we have to do to win."

Calling the Blazers a team of superstars is an exaggeration since they had only one All-Star, Rasheed Wallace, who was chosen as a reserve. O'Neal and Bryant, meanwhile, both started for the West.

However, Pippen, Wallace, Arvydas Sabonis and Steve Smith are all averaging in double figures in the playoffs, and Damon Stoudamire, Brian Grant, Detlef Schrempf, Greg Anthony and Bonzi Wells have all produced big games for the Blazers this season.

Harper predicted the Lakers would beat Sacramento in the fifth and deciding game of their first-round series two weeks ago, and made the same forecast before Los Angeles eliminated Phoenix on Tuesday night in the second round.

He was right on both counts as the Lakers played their best in rolling to onesided wins.

And now, the Blazers?

"I ain't predicting nothing," Harper said with a smile. "I ain't putting no wood on the fire."

The Lakers have homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs by virtue of their 67-15 regular-season record -- best in the NBA. The Blazers had the league's second-best record -- 59-23.

Nevertheless, Bryant said the Blazers have better players than the Lakers, and others have annointed Portland the favorite.

"Nobody's falling for that," Portland coach Mike Dunleavy said. "They won 67 games, they're going to have two first-team All-NBA players on there in Shaq and Kobe. So they're supposed to be doing what they're doing and what they've done. Everybody knows that."

The last time the Lakers reached the NBA Finals, nine years ago, Dunleavy was their coach. And the opponent? Jackson and the Bulls, who won their first championship that year.

O'Neal and Bryant combined to average more than 52 points during the season and have increased that rate an additional two points in the playoffs.

"One thing about Kobe and Shaq is that they're always going to get their numbers," Stoudamire said. "But it's just how effective they are in getting them. If a guy has 30, but he's getting 30 in the paint and has eight or nine assists to go with it, he's hurting you in more ways than one. But if Shaq gets 30 points on 27 shots and 15 free throws, we know we did our job."

Glen Rice, a proven scorer throughout his career, averaged 15.9 points during the regular season -- his lowest since his rookie season 10 years earlier -- but is down to 13.9 in the playoffs. Usually a deadly outside shooter, he has made only 38.7 percent of his shots in the postseason.

"I haven't seen anyone give Glen breathing room in the playoffs," Jackson said. "I look for him to have a big series."

Rice figures to see a lot of Pippen, known for being tough on defense.

"It's all right, I'm a handful, too," Rice said. "Me and Scottie have had our battles throughout our careers."

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be played Monday night at Staples Center before the series shifts to Portland for the third and fourth games.

The Lakers have a 23-1 record at home since losing to Portland 95-91 nearly four months ago.

"You win some, you lose some, some are rained out," O'Neal said with a smile when asked about that game. "We match up with them pretty well. They have talented players, but we just have to worry about us. We'll be ready."