Richard Hamilton talks like he moves, quickly and continuously.
His energy is infectious, unless you’re the defender assigned to chase him. That task has fallen on many Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals, which continue here Tuesday night with Detroit needing one victory for its first trip to the NBA Finals since beating the Bulls in 1990.
But the brunt of the work has fallen to Reggie Miller, who sees enough of himself in Hamilton to have called him “Mini-Me” earlier in the series.
“He hit a lot of shots,” Miller said after Hamilton had scored most of his career playoff-high 33 points against him in the Pistons’ huge Game 5 road victory Sunday night. “We didn’t have an answer for him.”
When Hamilton entered the league after starring at Connecticut, few pegged him for elite status. His midrange jumper stood out, but his willowy frame did too–for the wrong reasons.
At 6 feet 7 inches and 193 pounds, he would be vulnerable to physical defenders, wouldn’t he? Hamilton wasn’t thought to be able to withstand the rigors of the next level, because he existed almost solely on the perimeter in college.
Then two ex-Bulls got hold of him in Washington.
Doug Collins, who took over as coach of the Wizards in Hamilton’s third season, helped teach him the value of constantly moving without the ball, a trait Collins knew a bit about as a player. And Michael Jordan harped on Hamilton until he became tougher and tougher at both ends of the court.
Of course, the core has to be there for the coarseness to flourish.
“People look at me and say, `OK, I’m going to out-tough him and hit him,'” Hamilton said. “But I have inner strength. It’s not always what’s on the outside. It’s what on the inside.
“My dad always said that if you stay alcohol- and drug-free, you could run forever. I have been for [26] years. I have a chef. I eat the right foods. I try to get my rest. I have so much energy, so I just try to keep moving.”
Hamilton is averaging 24.2 points in this series, up 3.4 from his regular-season average. He’s shooting 47.5 percent, 2 percent better than his regular-season percentage. Neither jump surprises Indiana’s Rick Carlisle, who coached Hamilton in the conference finals last season.
“He was a big-time clutch playoff player for us last year and he’s showing that again this year,” Carlisle said. “He’s relentless in how he approaches the job of scoring. He’s not a guy who gets discouraged if he misses a few. He just plays his game.
“It’s a systematic approach. Great players don’t mind missing eight out of 11 shots or 10 out of 12. When that final shot presents itself, they’re going to be ready and optimistic. Rip and Miller are very similar in that regard.”
Hamilton hasn’t turned in nearly the number of clutch playoff performances that Miller has. If Detroit wins and there is, in some regard, a passing of the torch, it’s easy to understand why when you hear Hamilton speak in his quick cadence.
“I love the playoffs,” he said. “I’ve loved the postseason since college [when UConn won the 1999 NCAA title]. I never got the opportunity to play in Washington. But I was just watching, licking my chops. Once I got here, in a good situation, I just try to excel at it.”
Jermaine O’Neal and Jamaal Tinsley are banged up for Indiana, didn’t practice Monday and will be game-time decisions. Ron Artest also skipped practice with a migraine headache. And Carlisle said he wouldn’t talk about his lineup.
Hamilton won’t pay attention to any of that. He’ll be too busy running around, chasing his defender off yet another screen, shooting his way into the game’s elite.
Eastern Conference
#3 DETROIT LEADS #1 INDIANA 3-2
Game 1: INDIANA 78-74
Game 2: Detroit 72-67
Game 3: DETROIT 85-78
Game 4: Indiana 83-68
Game 5: Detroit 83-65
Tuesday: at Detroit, 7
Thursday: at Indiana, 7-*
*-if necessary
home team in caps
