Playoffs 2000:Buzz: Back in L.A., who has the pressure?

Buzz: Back in L.A., who has the pressure?
By Greg Collins
ESPN.com

LOS ANGELES -- What's that they say about it's not how you start, but how you finish?

For the Pacers, the way they start the game might be the key to keep them from being finished in these NBA Finals.

THE L.A. STORY

Quote of the Day
"I expect him to flop around and bait the refs with his usual antics."
-- Rick Fox, when asked what he expects out of Reggie Miller in Game 6.

Fox

Pacers storyline of the day
Not much new was said Sunday that the Pacers hadn't already discussed back in Indiana -- they need to stop Shaq, come out fast on offense to put pressure on L.A. and just play loose because they have nothing to lose. Several players attended the Oscar De La Hoya-Shane Mosley fight at the Staples Center on Saturday, which was probably a welcomed distraction after the fishbowl the Pacers had been living in the past 10 days.

Lakers storyline of the day
Sleeping in their own beds helped the Lakers put aside memories of the 120-87 loss in Game 5. Some said they felt frustrated by the poor performance, but that just might give the Lakers the focus they've lacked in close-out games so far in these playoffs. They know the title won't just be handed to them -- they still need to go out and earn it.

Number of the Day
Seconds the Lakers held the lead in their two losses in Indiana, which came thanks to one free throw Glen Rice made to open Game 5.

Matter of respect
Rick Fox, the enforcer? That's not exactly the role the player/actor envisioned for himself this season.

But that's what has been needed of the veteran forward. The Lakers don't have many players who take a physical attitude into games. Shaquille O'Neal does, but that's just because of his sheer size. You can't say the same for guys like A.C. Green or Robert Horry.

So it's left to Fox to stand up for his teammates.

"In a lot of cases, when challenged, if you don't put your foot down, then guys are going to walk over your team," Fox said. "They are going to have less respect for you and in the past, that has been the case with us.

"Once tested, in a lot of cases, someone has to stand up. That's been me at times. I don't want to see Shaq getting tossed out of the game. I don't want to see Kobe addressing issues of respect for our ballclub. I'm sure that they would like to see those guys get tossed out. If I get tossed out, that's 15 minutes of play that we might miss. It's a lot different with those guys."

So what do you think?
Now that the Finals are back in L.A., do the Pacers have a chance to push it to Game 7? Or will the Lakers shake off their problems in elimination games to claim a title most felt was an inevitability? Tell us what you think heading into Game 6 of the NBA Finals by clicking here.

Down 3-2 heading into Monday night's Game 6 at the Staples Center, the Pacers say all the pressure is on the Lakers -- a confidence born from three solid games played at the familiar Conseco Fieldhouse. Now the Pacers must battle for their lives in a building where they have yet to record a victory in three tries this season.

"We have the momentum because we won the last game, but they have control because they have three games," Indiana forward Jalen Rose said.

The Pacers have won at least one road game in each playoff series this year -- other than the Finals. The two Finals victories they've notched against the Lakers have come in games when they raced out to early leads, and those leads have come from Indiana working through its offensive sets efficiently.

That offense starts with Mark Jackson getting the ball into the right people's hands. In the Pacers' three home games, Jackson recorded 15 of his 20 assists in the first quarters. He'll need to play a more complete game Monday because Travis Best remains slowed by a shoulder injury. Best did not practice Sunday, saying it will be a game-time decision if he plays Monday.

But Jackson's numbers speak to a larger truth, that the Pacers are a better team when everyone is involved in the offense. That ball movement resulted in shooting numbers bordering on the spectacular:

Indiana shot 55.1 percent in the last three opening quarters, in each of which the Pacers have built double-digit leads.

Of their 38 first-quarter field goals, the Pacers have assisted on 20 of the shots.

At Conseco, the Pacers outscored L.A. 95-66 in first quarters.

"We need to create a rhythm and flow early," Reggie Miller said.

Miller has scored 28 first-quarter points over the last three games, something Lakers forward Rick Fox said helps set up the offense for the rest of the Pacers.

But shooting well in the comforts of Conseco is one thing. Doing the same thing on the road, in their second elimination game in a row, is a taller task.

"When you're down 3-1, you've got to have three seventh games," Pacer coach Larry Bird said. "This is our seventh game again, and we responded well the other night."

Counting regular-season losses to the Lakers and Clippers this season, Indiana is 0-4 at Staples. In those games, Indiana has shot 40.7 percent -- more than five percent worse than their season average of 45.9.

That's good news for the Lakers, whose inability to close out a series reared its ugly head again in Game 5. Nearly all of the Lakers' troubles in elimination games stems from reduced intensity on defense. A.C. Green noted that the key to Indiana's torrid 15-for-20 shooting in Game 5 was the fact the Pacers didn't have to look beyond their first option each time down the court.

When asked before Game 5 about how the Lakers would match up against the Chicago Bulls of the late 1990s, former Bull Ron Harper turned immediately to the defensive differences. He called L.A. a good defensive team, but Chicago was a "great" defensive team.

Harper hit on the same subject Sunday.

"All season long we've been a good defensive team," he said. "And then once in awhile we're not so good. We stink every now and then, but now that's done."

Loose Lakers
Any anxiety the Lakers might have had coming off their embarrassing 33-point loss Friday in Game 5 looked to have dissipated by Sunday. With the assembled media at the Lakers' practice facility forced to wait 45 minutes for interviews, a few reporters and cameramen picked up basketballs and started shooting.

"Anyone not wearing a Laker uniform who's shooting, get off the floor now," bellowed Robert Horry when the Lakers finally started trickling out of their locker room.

But the Lakers forward couldn't keep a straight face in front of the 200 or so startled reporters. He cracked up, and the gym erupted into laughter.

A crush of cameras had set up in the corner where they had been told Shaquille O'Neal would talk. But when O'Neal came out, he went the other direction -- forcing roughly 50 media members to get their daily exercise by sprinting to his new location.

When Kobe Bryant finally came out, he juked his way through the horde to find a sweet spot in the bleachers against the wall.

Phil Jackson summed up the Lakers' goals succinctly: "We need to be aggressive and combatative, while not losing emotional control.

"No one wants a seventh game," Jackson added.

Well, probably the Pacers do.