No Layups. Pressure and Body Them. Keep Ball Out of Paint. One Shot.
Pat Riley, famed motivator and $45,000-a-speech raconteur, scrawled those messages on the board. For his Miami Heat to beat the Bulls, all of the above would have to occur on every given night.
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Across the way, Phil Jackson, as usual, was dropping more cosmic directions.
“Henceforth, we seek not good fortune. We, ourselves are good fortune.”
Different teams, different styles, different marching orders.
So began playoff fever Friday evening at the United Center and throughout Chicago, a city so dizzy over basketball that even corresponding baseball games are postponed for lack of interest, although officially, the White Sox did not perform at Comiskey Park because of inclement weather.
Perhaps to show they also have a sense of imagination, the Bulls added black socks to their usual post-season footwear, black shoes. Brad Sellers, wherever he is, didn’t contribute a whole lot to the Bulls’ legacy, but black shoes was his idea.
The notion of black socks, according to team equipment manager John Ligmanowski, began a couple months ago, at Michael Jordan’s behest. When you clinch your division by Christmas, you think about changing socks.
For the rest of this series, a best of five falls, the Bulls don’t have to change much, unless they want to try black belts too. They survived an anxious first half Friday night before drubbing Miami 102 to 85. It was ugly, but what did you expect after the stirring violinist, Rachel Barton? Ballet and finger bowls?
Only a hockey player could have enjoyed Friday night at the United Center and Chris Chelios, who was there, thought it was terrific. If Alonzo Mourning were alive, he might have liked it too.
Everybody’s got a Top 10 list on how to beat the Bulls these days, and everybody mentions strong resistance in the middle. Mourning, Miami’s speaker of the house, was supposed to handle the heavy lifting, but so far, he’s more bark than bite. He took two fouls and sat down inside the opening three minutes, hardly enough time for him to clear his throat.
The other sure way to spoil a 72-10 machine is with an explosive guard, all the better to confound the Bulls’ defense. Well, Tim Hardaway was unbelievable for a while–26 points for 24 minutes. He was also alone. Whatever happens in this series, it’s healthy for the economy. Earlier this week, Scottie Pippen spilled his guts to USA Today, our national conscience, and attributed that unaccountable defeat at Miami in February to the fact that the Bulls were out to all hours the night before the game.
South Florida is ready and awaiting the Bulls’ return next week for at least one and perhaps two beach parties, if necessary.
The Heat players presumably won’t do as much binge spending here, because Riley believes in long practices. The key for Chicago restaurateurs, however, is to keep Riley awake and mobile afterward. The man collects $300 per diem. A noted author, Riley’s next best seller might be, “How To Eat on $300 A Day Without Exceeding the Calorie Cap.”
Ah, but Riley exploded Friday night. The Heat committed 27 turnovers. Mourning fouled out and departed in a funk, to be followed closely by Riley, who was ejected with about four minutes remaining.
Technically speaking, the Miamis were artistic failures. As prohibitive underdogs, they had every reason to be loose. They had nothing to lose except their cool, which they did. For a man who coaches toughness, Riley got mostly thumbs and elbows. The Heat could be in trouble, unless they are awarded points for riding time.