Whine control: Of course, whining has been fashionable for both teams during this series. After the Bulls won the first two games in Chicago, Indiana coach Larry Bird complained about the officiating. When the Pacers won the next two games, it was Bulls coach Phil Jackson doing the complaining.
Before Game 5, both teams toned it down.
“I don’t want to participate in the complaining,” Bulls center Luc Longley said. “I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to keep it rolling.”
Rodman figures the Pacers will start griping again.
“We’re not really whining,” Rodman said. “We don’t (care) about that. It’s all about playing basketball. They’re the ones who are whining.”
Bench marks: Bench play figured to be a key in this series, and Indiana’s bench outscored the Bulls’ in each of the first four games. But Jackson said too much is made of the productivity of Indiana’s bench, which was minus the suspended Jalen Rose for Game 5.
“Benches are great, but if your starters are great, it doesn’t matter about benches,” Jackson said. “You can take five starters and be very pleased with how they’ve performed. Our bench just has to play when it has an opportunity. They’ve never been a heavy-minute bench.”
Falling apart: In both losses in Indianapolis, the Bulls squandered second-half leads, including a 12-point advantage in Game 4. In the first two games, victories at the United Center, the Bulls fell behind in the first quarter.
“It’s unlike us,” Longley said. “We’ve done a good job of holding leads in the past. It’s almost as unsettling as the first-quarter deficits we seem to get ourselves in. Those are two things that don’t bode well for us. Those are things we’d like to change and address. We’re playing against a very potent and disciplined team.”
Harp’s hat: As he did last season, Ron Harper has taken to wearing a floppy hat on off days and at most practices, one that wouldn’t look out of place on Gilligan’s Island.
“This is my relaxing hat,” Harper said. “I’m pretty good at relaxing.”
