He knows Rik Smits. He has guarded Rik Smits. And Luc Longley is sure he is no Rik Smits.
Not yet, anyway.
“My offense needs to be a little more consistent,” the Bulls center said before his Game 2 matchup against the Pacers center. “I don’t think I’m quite there yet, but I’m working on it.”
In the first two games of the series, Longley has seen how far he has come–and how far he needs to go. He outplayed Smits in the first game of the Eastern Conference finals Sunday, scoring 12 points and pulling down eight rebounds, compared with nine and seven for Smits. But Smits scored 17 points and had eight rebounds Tuesday, compared with six and three for Longley.
But Longley isn’t supposed to score.
“He’s a focus of their offense; I’m not (the focus of the Bulls’),” Longley said. “I’m not trying to get more shots. I’m trying to win a championship.”
Even though he had a subpar game, Longley was instrumental in two plays in the final minute that helped seal the victory. First, he set a brick-wall pick on Reggie Miller, forcing the slower Antonio Davis to pick up Michael Jordan. Jordan faked out Davis and pulled up for a jump shot to extend the Bulls’ lead to 102-95.
Nine seconds later, Longley stole a pass intended for Smits and the Pacers never threatened again.
The Bulls’ biggest starter did the little things. Along with Bill Wennington, he has helped frustrate Smits in the first two games. If Smits scores a total of 26 points in the next two games, as he did in the first two, the Pacers are in trouble.
“He has a big body and he uses his body very well,” Smits said.
While Scottie Pippen’s blanketing of Mark Jackson has been the Bulls’ defensive key, even when the Pacers set up their offense they have had trouble feeding their center.
“Pip’s defense is making the difference, but I would like to think it’s a little of what the big fellows are doing also,” Longley said.
Longley has emerged from one-third of the Bulls’ “three-headed monster” at center to a valued defensive presence.
“Luc has the ability to front (Smits), get him in a different area,” Bulls coach Phil Jackson said.
That just comes down to effort, even when the game action dictates a rest.
“I play defense on him before he gets the ball,” Longley said. “You have to mix it up, keep him guessing.”
When Longley has the ball, Smits doesn’t have to do much guessing, because Longley’s moves are limited. Longley said he is comfortable with his jump shot, but the closer he gets to the basket, the smaller it seems to get.
“(The problem) is more my post game,” Longley said before the game. “He has a better array of postups to use.”
Barely an hour after he said that, Longley proved his point. The first time he touched the ball Tuesday, he made a nice move to the basket, then blew the layup.
Unlike Longley, Smits got a chance to settle into the offense, which is predicated on his scoring. By contrast, as long as Jordan and Pippen are Bulls, Longley never will be known as Hot Hand Luc.
That’s fine with him. When Longley played college basketball at New Mexico, he didn’t even think he would be in the NBA, let alone a starter on a championship team. He isn’t about to complain now just because he is the fourth or fifth starter on a championship team.
“When I was in college, I didn’t think I would make it to the NBA,” Longley said. “I didn’t consider myself an NBA prospect until my junior year. I try to always be learning. I think you learn from every game you play.”
