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PHILADELPHIA
VS.
TORONTO
MILWAUKEE
VS.
CHARLOTTE
SAN ANTONIO
VS.
DALLAS
L.A. LAKERS
VS.
SACRAMENTO
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Oakley's wish comes true as Sgt. Carter arrives
By Mitch Lawrence
Special to ESPN.com
Vince Carter keeps this up, and Charles Oakley will quickly
become expendable.
|  | | Carter enjoyed his weekend, including putting the Sixers down a game. |
Oakley spent more time in his teammate's ear in the Raptors series
against the Knicks than he did on the glass. He chided Carter for
calling himself "one of the catalysts." He challenged Carter to step
up "and be a man." He did everything but pull a sneak attack on him in
a morning shootaround.
Oakley even got into a running spat with Carter's mom, Michelle.
Hey, whatever works, right?
Just ask the Sixers. Carter and his supporting cast -- my words,
obviously, not his -- stole Game 1 of the conference semis Sunday in
Philly and now own the homecourt edge against the No.1-seeded team in
the East. They did it less than 48 hours after they sent the Knicks home
for their earliest summer since before Pat Riley came to town, with
Carter making all the big plays late and finishing with 35 points and
seven assists.
"Right now Vince is our fine wine," said Chris Childs. "He's just
getting better and better with age."
The fermentation process has taken all of one week. Vince'll tell you
it's because of Alvin Williams, Childs, Antonio Davis, the Oak
man and, after being exhumed from mothballs against Philly,
Dell Curry.
Let's be honest, though. The Raptors would have fled en masse across the
U.S. border five days ago if Vince Carter didn't start pulling his
considerable weight.
In the final two games against New York and the opener at First Union
Center, he took over late. Which was always Oakley's point.
|
“ |
Right now Vince is
our fine wine. He's just getting better and better with age. ” |
|
|
— Chris Childs on Carter |
"Charles is just trying to motivate him," Lenny Wilkens said at one
point during Oakley's torrent of criticism. "His heart's in the right
place."
So was Oak's brain. Carter didn't want to be the man. Oakley made him
aware that Tracy McGrady had left town a long time ago and that there
was nobody else to turn to.
After Oakley blistered Carter before Game 4 of the Knicks series, he
looked at some familiar faces from his New York playing days. "What'd
you think about what I said about Vince?" Oak asked, in a whisper.
"Think I was too hard on him?"
Of course not, came the chorus. But in a way, Oakley should have never
needed to skewer Carter in the papers on something Carter is supposed to
know. The Raptors go nowhere unless Carter tells his teammates, "Get
aboard, fellas." But first, he's got to be willing to shoulder the
load.
He finally did it against the Knicks in Game 4. Then two nights later,
in the biggest victory in Raptors history, he made two monster plays in
the final minutes to close the Garden for the season. One came when he
stuck in a layup of an offensive rebound after his own miss, putting the
Raptors up by four. The other came when he came up with a loose ball and
found Williams, who stuck a dagger in the Knicks with a jumper to end
the game.
"We've grown as a team, and most importantly we've gained an
understanding of what it takes to win against great teams,? Carter said
after Sunday's win in Philly, when he tipped in his own missed with 12.8
seconds left and made two critical foul shots seven seconds later to
seal the win.
Actually, he's quickly gained an understanding, too. He's recognizing
the double teams and getting the ball to teammates. But he's also come
to learn that when it's "down in the guts" -- to use Oakley's phrase for
crunch time -- he's the one who needs to step forward and take charge.
All the great players do.
| |  | |
| Iverson |
| |  | |
| Oakley |
"He got into a little rhythm against the Knicks and it carried over,"
Allen Iverson said.
Now it's gotten to the point where Charles Oakley can occupy himself
with attacking the glass ... and Tyrone Hill.
Spurs suffer big setback
Introducing the 2001 Western Conference champions, your Los
Angeles Lakers.
| |  | |
| Howard |
| |  | |
| Anderson |
When the Spurs lost Derek Anderson for three to six weeks with a
separated shoulder, the Lakers all but locked up their second
consecutive title.
It's the first time that Juwan Howard has ever made an impact in the
playoffs, one the Spurs will long remember.
Anderson struggled against the Timberwolves in the first round. But as
the Spurs' top athlete and best wing player, he was expected to match up
with Kobe Bryant in what was shaping up as the NBA Finals. Except for
perhaps McGrady, no free agent had a bigger impact with his new team.
Then Howard decked Anderson at the end of the first half of Game 1 of
the San Antonio-Dallas series. The Mavs are lucky that Gregg Popovich is
an old friend of Don Nelson. Otherwise, somebody might have separated
Steve Nash from his funky hairdo the next time he drove to the hole.
"Fortunately our bench has been pretty deep," David Robinson said. "Those guys are going to have to do what they've done all year, step it
up and play good basketball. But nobody replaces Derek. That's what's a
little frustrating for us."
It'll be more than a little when the Spurs have to take on L.A. The
repercussions of Howard's takedown could extend far to the East, too. If
the Sixers regroup and advance to the Finals, they'll get the homecourt
edge in a series vs. L.A.
The Spurs still should advance to meet the Lakers, but they're not
getting by L.A with Antonio Daniels and Steve Kerr and other backups
trying to fill the void.
"I'll just have to work on my windmill dunks this week," Kerr said.
That's a fantasy, of course -- just as San Antonio winning the title is
now.
Shaq does it all
If the Kings keep single-teaming Shaquille O'Neal like
this, Chris Webber is about 10 days from starting his search for a new
team. Rarely facing a double, Shaq got the ball where he wanted and did
what he wanted, whenever he wanted, as he scored the easiest points 44
of his life. If the Kings don't have the power players to keep Shaq from
getting into the paint and don't want to double-team him, they might
want to try pressuring the Laker making the entry passes. All year long
we've heard how they've finally put together a legitimate defense, with
the additions of Bobby Jackson and Doug Christie. Well, now would be a
good time to show it. Otherwise, Shaq will score at will.
He might just, anyway.
No Monster, that Mash
Now that's the Jamal Mashburn we remember.
The one who doesn't deliver in the fourth quarter.
Mashburn, who was practically run out of Miami for his fourth quarter
disappearing acts in playoffs past, looked like the Miami Mashburn in
the Hornets' Game 1 loss to the Bucks. His only basket of the final
period came with 28 seconds left and Charlotte down 101-90.
Here's a tip for Jamal: When you look over at George Karl Tuesday night
in Game 2, think, Pat Riley.
Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com.
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