Because of television scheduling–and perhaps a reluctance to go up against Thursday night’s “Seinfeld” finale on NBC–the Knicks-Pacers game was moved to 6 p.m. Wednesday and the Bulls-Hornets game was pushed back to 8:30 p.m.
The later starting time usually is reserved for Western Conference games, but Utah and the Los Angeles Lakers closed out their Western semifinal series with San Antonio and Seattle on Tuesday.
That left Game 5 of New York-Indiana as the early game, followed by the Bulls and Hornets.
“We’re not pleased with the game being that late,” Bulls coach Phil Jackson said. “It seems like it would be a lot simpler if you played the West teams in the late game and the East teams in the early game. It makes too much sense. But obviously there’s a conflict in scheduling with the West teams going (Tuesday). . . . As a consequence, we have to play the late game here and that does put us in a difficult time slot.”
Keeping pace: When the Pacers knocked off the Knicks to advance to the Eastern Conference final, the Bulls grew more determined to end their series and ensure themselves the same amount of rest as Indiana–three days.
But Jackson said that wasn’t a top priority.
“Indiana closing out their series, not closing out our series and extending ourselves to a position where we’re vulnerable, all those things are important,” Jackson said. “But it’s not that serious.”
Scouting report: The Bulls were 2-2 against the Pacers this season.
“They’re a very deep team,” backup center Bill Wennington said. “They play 10 or 12 guys every game. They can match things up differently. They can start off big with Rik Smits or they can go small with Antonio Davis. Obviously, they have some great shooters in Reggie Miller and Chris Mullin. That poses a lot of problems for us.”
Pacing himself: Dennis Rodman celebrated his 37th birthday with 21 rebounds and eight points Wednesday night. He also played strong defense on Anthony Mason throughout the series.
This is shaping up as perhaps Rodman’s strongest postseason with the Bulls. Jackson believes Rodman always focuses more in the playoffs.
“He’s got a great ability to find a time to play and to have the game be an activity in his life, to get himself ready for games, particularly when it’s not back-to-backs or it’s not consecutive games,” Jackson said. “Even though he’s like a teenager, he’s got a body that needs a day or two of recuperation. When he’s got that, he can bring a lot of energy to a game.”
Sure shots: The Bulls’ struggles from the field at the United Center continued: 41.4 percent shooting in Game 1, 36.5 percent in Game 2 and 43.4 percent in Game 5. By contrast, they topped 50 percent in both their road victories over the weekend, and also shot better than 50 percent in their lone road victory in the first round against New Jersey.
“I think we just had a lot more intensity in Charlotte,” said Steve Kerr, who was 2 for 6 in Charlotte, but bounced back to go 5 for 9 for 15 points in Game 5. “I think we shoot poorly sometimes when we just don’t have that fire and don’t play hard enough. We just kind of relax. When you relax, you don’t shoot as well.”
Speaking of shooting: Glen Rice finally had a breakout game, hitting 13 of 21 shots for a team-high 30 points. But he scored just two in the fourth quarter. Rice, after shooting 46 percent during the regular season and 43 percent on three-pointers, was just 32 for 81 (39.5 percent) through the first four games of this series.
Listen up: Kerr was concerned that the Bulls didn’t seem as focused as they should have been during Wednesday morning’s shootaround. Turns out he was right to be concerned.
Charlotte hit 14 of 21 shots in the first quarter and led by as many as nine points.
“I did tell a couple of the guys that I thought we’d be down 10 or 12 points in the first quarter just because we have a tendency to ease up at home,” Kerr said. “Teams come in here and seem to play a little more loosely. At home, teams are tight because they’re almost supposed to do well.
“Here, (the Hornets) know they’re supposed to lose, so they come out and play with a lot of freedom. Sure enough, they hit all their shots and got a nine- or 10-point lead.”
Vote of confidence: Jackson said Indiana’s Larry Bird deservedly received the NBA Coach of the Year Award in his first season with the Pacers.
“They’ve had a real resurgence in Indiana, a great turnaround,” he said. “They have to be very happy with what’s happened. I think he’s unified a state which loves high school basketball. The pro game they’ve never really taken to, but now their national hero, the endangered Bird, has come back to coach their team. I think it’s really made them Pacer fans. It’s really unified the team.”
Buffed: The question is asked, and the answer is an easy one: Is Michael Buffer, he of “Let’s Get Ready To Rumble” fame, the most annoying man in sports?
Kerr, who ignored Buffer before the Bulls’ Game 3 victory in New Jersey and their Game 4 victory in Charlotte, laughed when asked. Especially because the Bulls always seem to win when the opposing team trots out Buffer.
“We’re so used to him,” Kerr said. “He’s been around the block a couple of times. He shows up all over the place–Utah, Seattle, Charlotte. It’s time for some marketing people to get a new act, I think.”
