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Clippers' Vaught glad to return to limelight
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Loy Vaught's phone rang long and loud four years ago with family and friends calling to congratulate him because the Los Angeles Clippers made the playoffs.
Those calls stopped after the team lost in the first round, and the phone didn't ring with good wishes again until this season.
The Clippers (36-46) clinched the eighth seed in the Western Conference and will play top-seeded Utah (64-18) in a first-round series beginning Thursday at Salt Lake City.
Vaught, now in his seventh season in Los Angeles, is the only holdover from the previous playoff team. He's also the only player averaging double figures in points (14.9) and rebounds (10) this season.
"It means a lot because I remember where we started from," he said. "We had a team full of guys from the European league and CBA players and on-the-bubble NBA players. And we were struggling to win 11 games.
"Then coach (Bill) Fitch came in and the front office and got some
good players," he said. "Over time we've become pretty competitive,
Vaught was a third-year player when the team lost in the first round four years ago.
The trio made noise off the court, complaining bitterly about the Clippers and demanding to be traded. Eventually, all of them got their wishes.
and we're a dangerous team now."
"They weren't very interested in staying here, so I think the way their mentality was at that time was a lot of the reason why we couldn't win very much." Vaught recalled.
"I couldn't understand it because I saw these good, talented players who weren't winning," he said. "I learned a lot of lessons early on that your heart has to be in it."
Vaught's heart was always into winning as a high school player and later at Michigan, where he was surrounded by future NBA players Glen Rice, Terry Mills and Rumeal Robinson.
In 1989, when Vaught was a
junior, the Wolverines won the NCAA tournament. He thought basketball would always be about victories and championships.
Then he got drafted by the Clippers and discovered what it was like to lose all the time.
"It's tough because your basketball persona is something that you want to be proud of, and it's hard to do that when you're on a team that's the butt of a lot of jokes," Vaught said.
Vaught's hardworking style caught the eye of the Lakers' Robert Horry, who was at Alabama when he first noticed Vaught playing for Michigan.
"I remember one time we were trying to get a power forward in Houston, it was about two or three years ago," Horry said. "I tried to lobby for him. The Clippers wouldn't let him go."
Informed of Horry's compliment, Vaught offers a shy smile because the kind words come from a rival Laker whom he doesn't know well.
"I'm glad that he recognizes the kind of a guy that does some dirty work," he said. "I want the respect of my peers and coaches more than anything.
Bulls confident despite injuries
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls didn't get 70 victories and didn't win 40 times at home. What the defending NBA champions did do was finish the regular season with three losses in four games.
After being almost unbeatable for two years, are the Bulls vulnerable?
"I'm pretty sure people are going to read a lot into that," guard Michael Jordan said. "But when we're full strength, I think that everyone knows how well we can play together."
"Anybody who thinks they're in
But will they be at full strength?
Until they open the playoffs Friday against the Washington Bullets, they won't know if league rebounding leader Dennis Rodman and top reserve Toni Kukoc have recovered from injuries.
trouble is making a huge mistake," New Y o r k Knicks coach Jeff Van Gandy said Saturday after
his team defeated the Bulls 103-101 in the season finale for both teams. "Certainly, you expect to see them in the conference finals."
The Bulls have much more lofty goals — like winning their fifth title in seven years.
“It's money time, to defend what is ours,” said Rodman, who missed the last 13 games with a knee injury.
Asked what team would be the biggest threat in the playoffs, Jordan said: "Ourselves. If we go out
and play our game, I'm not worried about anybody else."
The Bulls are 27-4 with their regular starting lineup of Jordan, Rodman, Luc Longley, Scottie Pippen and Ron Harper.
And Kukoc is often the X-factor — a streak-shooting, 6-foot-11 forward who handles the ball like a guard and can carry the team for short stretches while Jordan and Pippen rest. He has missed most of the last six weeks with a foot injury that still bothers him.
"I have to play in the playoffs," Kukoc said. "I know it's going to get some (pain), but I just have to play with it."
The Bulls had few injury problems last season when they were 72-10, cruising past the 69-win record of the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers before rolling through the playoffs with a 15-3 mark.
NBA playoff matchups announced
The Associated Press
The NBA announced the playoff schedule.
Thursday
Charlotte at New York, 7 p.m.
Orlando at Miami, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Houston, 9:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Utah, 10:30 p.m.
Friday
Detroit at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Washington at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Seattle, 9:30 p.m.
Portland at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
Saturday
Minnesota at Houston, 1 p.m.
Charlotte at New York, 3:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Utah, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday
Orlando at Miami, 12:30 p.m.
Portland at L.A. Lakers, 3 p.m.
Washington at Chicago, 5:30 p.m.
Detroit at Atlanta, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Seattle, 10:30 p.m.
Monday
New York at Charlotte, 8 p.m.
Utah at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
April 29
Miami at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Detroit, 8 p.m.
Houston at Minnesota, 9:30 p.m.
Seattle at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.
April 30
Chicago at Washington, 8 p.m.
LA. Lakers at Portland, 10:30 p.m.
Hawk at LA. CAVALier, TBD if no
Utah at LA. Clippers, TBD, if necessary
essary May 1
Houston at Minnesota, TBD, if necessary
Miami at Orlando, TBD, if necessary New York at Charlotte, TBD, if necessary
Seattle at Phoenix, TBD, if necessary
Mav2
Atlanta at Detroit, TBD, if necessary Chicago at Washington, TBD, if necessary
L. A. Lakers at Portland, TBD, if necessary
Minnesota at Houston, TBD, if necessary
Phoenix at Seattle, TBD, if necessary May 4
Charlotte at New York, TBD, if necessary
Detroit at Atlanta, TBD, if necessary L.A. Clippers at Utah, TBD, if necessary
Portland at LA. Lakers, TBD, if necessary
Washington at Chicago, TBD, if necessary
Orlando at Miami, TBD, if necessary
NBA playoffs may not be just another running of the Bulls
The Associated Press
By Chris Sheridan
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the Chicago Bulls are the team to beat in the NBA playoffs. They're the defending champs, they won 69 regular-season games, they have Michael Jordan, etc., etc., etc.
But who else is out there? Who is the favorite to come out of the West? Who are the sleeper teams? Who are the overrated teams? Which players are going to raise their levels of play? Which coaches have a few tricks up their sleeves?
Those are the questions that will matter most in the first few weeks of the marathon postseason, and the answers will determine whether there's anybody good enough to take away the title that Jordan and the Bulls have won in four of the last six seasons.
"Other teams are a little more formidable and experienced this year," Miami coach Pat Riley said yesterday. "Combined with the questions about the Bulls' health, the possibility is there that they could be had in a game or two. They're a little more vulnerable, but I don't think that's a news bulletin."
The other four series begin Friday with Detroit at Atlanta, Washington at Chicago, Phoenix at Seattle and Portland at the Los Angeles Lakers.
"They're still too good, too experienced and know how to play to win," Riley said. "Nothing will bother them in the plaavoffs."
An interesting twist to the first round is the success that the lower-seeded teams have had against their higher-seeded opponents during the regular season.
The best-of-five first round begins Thursday night with four games: Charlotte at New York, Orlando at Miami, Minnesota at Houston and the Los Angeles Clippers at Utah.
In the West, the fifth-seeded Trail Blazers beat the fourth-seeded Lakers in three of four games, including the regular season finale Sunday, and seventh-
The No. 3 and No. 4 teams in the East both lost their season series 3-1 to their first-round opponents as Charlotte defeated New York and Detroit defeated Atlanta.
seeded Phoenix split its season series with Seattle, winning the final two games in late March.
It makes for an interesting first round — one in which at least six of the eight series figure to be very competitive.
A look at each of the best-of-five matchups:
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
Well, wait a minute. Washington lost the season series 2-1, but its losses were by one and four points. And the Bulls couldn't stop Rod Strickland or Gheorghie Muresan in a 110-102 loss April 3. Dennis Rodman and Toni Kukoc will be back for Chicago, which hasn't had its best line together and healthy for some time.
CHICAGOVS.WASHINGTON
The Bullets didn't qualify for this spot until they beat Cleveland on the final day of the season, and they figure to be happy taking a three-game beating, right?
Chicago is the better team, but the Bulls won't be able to sleepwalk past a team that matches up well with them.
When we last saw these two teams in the playoffs, both were looking horrid in sweeps against the Bulls last season. Both teams have made big changes since then, and each team has a drastically different personality from a year ago. The Heat will have to contend with the lack of playoff experience among three of its starters: Jamal Mashburn, P.J. Brown and Voshon Lenard. And Tim Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning will have to outplay their counterparts, Penny Hardaway and Rony Seikaly.
MIAMI vs. ORLANDO:
Orlando has a history of playoff folds. The Magic has been swept from the playoffs in three straight seasons.
NEW YORK vs. CHARLOTTE:
Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy admits that the Hornets are the toughest first-round matchup the Knicks could have drawn. Patrick Ewing will have to contend with being guarded by former teammate Anthony Mason, and the Knicks will have to figure out a way to stop Glen Rice, who scored 40 and 34 in the teams' final two meetings. Larry Johnson, whom Charlotte sent to the Knicks last summer in the trade for
Mason, was badly outplayed in three of the four games during the season series.
The Knicks have played well against tough competition and poorly against lesser teams. They've made it out of the first round in five straight years.
ATLANTA vs.
DETROIT:
Probably the least sexy of all the first-round matchups, this one features two teams that went in opposite directions during the final month of the season. The Hawks won 13 of their final 17 games; the Pistons dropped 14 of 25 after being the surprise success story of the first four months. Grant Hill nearly had a triple-double in all four regular-season games between the teams, and the Hawks will have to stop him in the fourth quarter when the Pistons run clearouts for Hill every time down the court.
The biggest weakness for Detroit is the lack of a good center, and Atlanta's Dikembe Mutombo could be the difference in this series.
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
The Jazz played the best basketball in the NBA after the All-Star break, winning 31 of its final 35 games to clinch the home-court advantage through the conference playoffs. Utah has a history of playoff failures, but the Jazz have never gone into the postseason with the best record in the West. They are tremendously tough to beat at home, having lost there only three times during the regular season. The Clippers, meanwhile, are the worst of the playoff teams. Utah won three of the four games in the season series by 13, 17 and five points, its only loss coming in December during its one slump of the season.
SEATTLE vs. PHOENIX:
The only surprise here would be if the Clippers managed to keep one of the games close.
Of all the first-round pairings, is this the one that seems to have
the most potential for an upset. Seattle has been a team on the brink of disarray during the second half of the season as Shawn Kemp's chronic lateness and uninspired play have dragged the Sonics down. They built their 57-25 record mostly on the strength of dominating lesser teams and have had trouble with the better ones. The Suns often use a unique, four-guard lineup with two speedy point guards, Kevin Johnson and Jason Kidd, who can break down Seattle's trapping defense.
Kemp is the x-factor here. The Suns will have trouble guarding him and will try to get him in foul trouble. That assumes, of course, that he finally is ready to break out of his prolonged funk. HOUSTON vs. MINNESOA:
The Rockets couldn't have asked for a better patsy. They swept the season series 4-0, and three of the games were blowouts. The Timberwolves had no answer for Hakeem Olajuwon, who scored 39 against them twice. Minnesota also had a problem matching up with Clyde Drexler, who scored 37 and 34 in two of the games. None of the Wolves' main contributors have any playoff experience, and they had only three wins against playoff teams after the All-Star break.
The biggest threat to Houston may be overconfidence.
LA. LAKERS vs. PORTLAND:
The Trail Blazers won the season series by capturing the season finale Sunday when Shaquille O'Neal missed from the free throw line with 1.2 seconds left.
That major flaw in his game remains a huge factor despite Shaq's change of address. Portland has the added advantage of having 7-foot-3 Arrydas Sabonis, who has the bulk to match O'Neal. Sabonis also is an outside scoring threat, so he will draw O'Neal away from the basket and open up the lane when the Blazers have the ball. Portland gave the Lakers fits in their four regular season games, and there's no reason to expect things to change now.
Los Angeles may be the most talented team in the West, but it remains to be seen whether they will play well together in the play-offs.