While Doug Collins worries about how the Bulls react to the loss last week to the Celtics, and Hubie Brown worries about their chances against the Knicks, Bill Walton figures the NBA champion wins “regardless of the seeding.”
The three pro basketball analysts came up with different assessments of the playoffs that get into high gear this weekend. The Bulls, without Michael Jordan, seek a fourth straight title. Which, Walton figures, isn’t that much of a hardship.
“The Bulls have played the best basketball this season,” says Walton, who will work Sunday’s game for NBC with play-by-play Tom Hammond. “They may not have played it this last weekend. But their 10-game winning streak was very impressive.”
Especially so without Jordan, adds Walton.
“The Bulls have been the first team to make the successful transition from the superstar era,” says Walton, referring to the retirements of Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. “That’s remarkable, because you’d think they’d be the last team, that they’d be the team most hurt. Now they haven’t been able to do it throughout the season. The key for them will be to get that back.”
They also will have to bounce back from back-to-back losses last weekend to the Celtics and Knicks, says Collins, the former Bulls coach who’s now an analyst for Turner Sports.
“That game they lost to Boston on Friday really took a lot out of them,” says Collins. “They had the opportunity to insure themselves home-court advantage throughout (the playoffs). The Bulls have not played well in New York this year, and that’s going to be a major factor.”
Brown, another Turner Sports analyst who will work Friday night’s TNT telecast from the Stadium, agrees with Walton that “the talent is there” on the Bulls. “They should get by Cleveland because Cleveland is really hurting up front. Then it’s going to come down to that New York series and how well they adjust. New York has been able to dominate them and not allow them to score. Not only not allow them to score in the series this year, but also force them to take poor-percentage shots.”
That would almost make the Bulls fans of the Nets, at least for a few days.
“If New Jersey could upset New York,” adds Collins, “the Bulls could handle New Jersey much easier than New York. And if they could get to the Eastern Conference finals, anything could happen.”
But Walton says that’s the easy way.
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“They’ve got an incredibly hard road,” he says. “But it’s never easy to win the championship. Generally, the NBA champion will win it regardless of the seeding position. Because you’ve got to go through everybody anyway. You can’t position yourself to dodge somebody. You’re just better off taking on all comers. Line ’em up, knock ’em down and then have the championship parade.”
More hoops: Turner Sports has added former ESPN broadcaster Tim Brando to its NBA playoff play-by-play lineup. . . . SportsChannel expands its Bulls postgame show to an hour to include live coverage of both coaches’ press conferences, with reporter Mike Goldberg joining host Steve Kashul and analyst Norm Van Lier.
Bearing down: While the Bears’ appearances on cable usually are picked up by the same local over-the-air station, per NFL rules, this year two stations will split the team’s two cablecasts. The Bears get a Sunday night appearance on TNT Sept. 25 at the Jets and a Thursday night slot on ESPN Dec. 1 at the Vikings. WBBM-Ch. 2 will carry the TNT game, while WLS-Ch. 7 airs the Dec. 1 contest. . . . The Bears also will make two appearances on ABC’s “Monday Night Football”-Sept. 12 at the Eagles, Oct. 31 vs. Green Bay at Soldier Field. “With free agency, it’s hard to tell how the teams will shake down,” said an ABC spokesman Thursday, “but we’re very pleased with our schedule.” Four teams-the 49ers, Cowboys, Giants and Oilers-are on three times each, including the 49ers-Raiders matchup on the Sept. 5 opener. . . . The Bears open the regular season on WFLD-Ch. 32 Sept. 4 against the Bucs.
Get it right: Chicago Cable dropped the proverbial puck again Thursday night when it failed to pick up ESPN’s telecast of the Sharks-Red Wings game, preferring to show a scrambled signal of the Hawks-Leafs contest. Attempts to reach Chicago Cable personel were, naturally, fruitless.
Programming notes: WSCR-AM’s George Ofman appears on WBEZ-FM’s “Morning Edition” Friday with a report on the Bulls’ quest for a fourth straight NBA title. . . . On the eve of the Kentucky Derby, Sports Illustrated’s Sonja Steptoe takes a look at the unsung heroes of horse racing, the grooms, on Saturday’s “ABC’s Wide World of Sports.” . . . WAUR-AM not only is carrying the complete NASCAR race schedule but also is airing Ned Jarrett’s “World of Racing” at 8:10 a.m. and “NASCAR Today” at 4:40 p.m. weekdays as well.