Buzz: One game changes momentum, maybe
By Greg Collins
ESPN.com
INDIANAPOLIS -- Pivotal is the adjective most commonly attached to a Game 3 of any best-of-seven series. The change of venue and familiarity with the opponent can shift momentum -- or better yet, give a better idea of which team is going to survive.
THE INDY STORY
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Quote of the Day
"Because the only call you're gonna get is at the hospital to see if you're OK."
-- Ron Harper, on why no one ever tries to draw a charge against Shaquille O'Neal.
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Harper |
Pacers storyline of the day
Everything was roses the day after Indiana's Game 3 victory. With two more in Conseco, the Pacers know they're right back in the thick of things. The success they had double-teaming Shaq while maintaining perimeter pressure might have been the defensive breakthrough this team needed.
Lakers storyline of the day
A speed bump. A bad day. Letting one slip away. It's easy to downplay a loss when you're still up 2-1 and have the game's most dominant player anchoring your team. But a few warts -- namely inconsistent outside shooting and the defensive liability known as Glen Rice -- have appeared on the Lakers' previously glowing skin.
Number of the Day
Total number of rebounds grabbed by Laker starting forwards Glen Rice and A.C. Green in Game 3. |
2 |
Time to kill
With two days off before Game 4, several members of the Los Angeles media were asking Austin Croshere, a native Californian, what to do around town.
"There's the speedway," Croshere responded, referring to the home of the Indianapolis 500. "They like their racing here."
When someone pointed out that there is no racing going on, that didn't seem to faze him.
"They still seem to like it."
Trouble brewing?
Glen Rice wants more shots. Larry Bird wants Reggie Miller to save his energy rather than expend it with needless displays of emotion. Phil Jackson is hoping for 65 percent foul shooting from Shaq.
It's that time of the series, when the excitement of making the Finals has worn off and the focus returns to doing what's necessary to win games. Where trouble could arise is when players and coaches aren't focused on the same thing, with each believing they know what the key will be to winning.
This could be a long series, especially if the Lakers are without Bryant. Will these minor tremors expand into team-shattering quakes? Stay tuned.
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After the Lakers powered to victories in the first two games of the NBA Finals, most were ready to anoint Los Angeles as the supreme king of the basketball world.
Funny what one poor outing can do to change opinion.
After Monday's practice, many Pacers talked of how the momentum has shifted thanks to their 100-91 victory in Game 3 on Sunday in Conseco Fieldhouse. Improved play from every Indiana player, coupled with the Lakers being reduced to a one-man gang, had conventional wisdom swinging away from a L.A. cakewalk.
"Slowly but surely (the momentum is changing)," Indiana point guard Travis Best said. "We can't give up the next game and go down 3-1. We have to protect home court like the Lakers did."
Indiana now faces a 2-1 series deficit, with the next two games on the Pacers' home floor and the Lakers facing the possibility of another game without injured Kobe Bryant (or at least a less-than-full strength Bryant). Combining that one game under the Pacers' belt with the improvement they showed on defense gives the series a much less predictable outcome.
And before anyone tries to make excuses for the Lakers because they didn't have Kobe, think of this: The Lakers shot 50 percent from the floor, which is usually enough to beat any team in the league no matter where you are playing.
But take into consideration L.A.'s 16 turnovers and woeful foul shooting (8-for-19) and a clearer picture of this Finals matchup begins to take shape.
"We can expect a better effort from them in Game 4," Dale Davis said. "They'll play with more force."
Best said talk of the Lakers losing just because they didn't have Bryant bothered him.
"People are talking without really thinking -- they're just throwing things out," Best said. "We beat them here during the regular season with Kobe. He's a great player, but you have to give us credit. I don't think anyone can beat us here when we're playing well -- It doesn't matter who's out there -- we've taken Michael Jordan to Game 7. We're a good team at home, and we played well enough to earn the victory no matter who was out there. Naturally, it will be more of a dogfight if Kobe is out on the floor."
Indiana expected a confidence boost when the Finals moved to Conseco. Coupled with a big game by Reggie Miller and the first real success the Pacers have had double-teaming Shaquille O'Neal and you see an Indiana team with hardly any bruises left by the thumping Shaq and Co. administered in the first two games.
"They looked almost invincible when they came out in the first two games, but we knew we could win against this team," Indiana center Sam Perkins said. "We needed to come out and make a statement playing at home."
The 16-year veteran also knew that if Indiana had lost Game 3, the questions "would have been totally different right now."
So now a confident Pacer team gets another day of rest before trying to even the Finals at two games apiece in Wednesday's Game 4. That's not to say the Laker confidence is in the dumps -- this is a team that went through a similar rise and fall in the Western Conference finals against Portland.
Getting Kobe back is a start. But even if he's not 100 percent, the Lakers have absorbed a good shot from Indiana. Now the Lakers need to prove they're just as good in counterpunching as they are opening a series with the advantage.
The Lakers were aware of the emotion Indiana showed while racing to a double-digit lead in the first half of Game 3.
"They got ahead, so they started to act like frontrunners," Brian Shaw said. "We didn't play anywhere near where we're capable of playing. When they got ahead, they celebrated. When we closed the lead down, they tightened up. I know we can play a lot better -- when we do that, we'll be back in command.
"They didn't really have a whole lot to cheer about before that," he added.
Derek Fisher noted that if the Lakers can win Game 4, they can make the Pacers' chances of a comeback "virtually impossible."
The difficulty of winning more than one game in Los Angeles isn't lost on Pacers forward Austin Croshere.
"The thought of going back to L.A. and having to win two games with the way that they played there all season obviously is something we don't look forward to."
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