Section A·Page 12
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, May 2, 2001
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Spurs fans giddy about playoffs
The Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO — Black-and-white flags are flapping in the wind from atop cars zipping through San Antonio.
Dozens of fans lined up at the Alamodome before daybreak to wait for the ticket office to open and buy seats to the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Even the men in blue are going crazy for the men in black and white, according to David Robinson, who chatted with a police officer after returning from Minnesota following San Antonio's clinching of the opening-round series on Monday night.
"He was so excited about what's going on with the Spurs," Robinson said, laughing. "It's just been a buzz."
With the help of Robinson's 21 points and 14 rebounds, the Spurs
beat Minnesota 97-84 Monday night to win the best-of-five series in four games. They will face Utah or Dallas in the Western Conference semifinals beginning Saturday in San Antonio.
The Spurs, who won the NBA title two years ago, once again are climbing up the playoff chart after seeing last year's season end in the first round.
This year, Robinson and Duncan are complemented by athletic and often high-scoring Derek Anderson and Danny Ferry, one of the most accurate 3-point shooters in the league.
"I think our team is beginning to come together and believe in ourselves," Robinson said Tuesday as the Spurs announced plans to donate $1 million to the Carver Academy, a private, religious school being founded by Robinson.
"The way we responded in Minnesota was tremendous," he said. "To win on the road, that takes a lot of toughness."
Adjustments to the team — even forced ones—may end up paying off, he said. For example, Ferry and Terry Porter now are starting in place of Sean Elliott and Avery Johnson because of injuries earlier in the season.
"One thing about that championship team was that we had 12 guys who were always ready to play." Robinson said. "You could always
That has only added to the Spurs' depth and versatility
get some help off the bench.
Ferry and reserve Antonio Daniels each hit four 3-pointers in the final game against the Timberwolves.
And then there's Robinson, who answered consecutive 3-pointers by Anthony Peeler with two clutch baskets to give the Spurs a 79-73 lead.
"This bench, I think, is even deeper than that one. That's the thing I'm most encouraged about... You bring in guys like Avery and Sean and Malik (Rose) off the bench, wow, what can you say."
"You try to neutralize them, but it all happens in two minutes," Minnesota forward Kevin Garnett said. "They get a dunk and a 3-pointer. They make plays. They are more dominant than we are. I guess that's what makes them the No. 1 seed."
"It told our guys they had nothing to hang their heads about," Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said. "Robinson was just exceptional tonight."
Carter's poor play irritating teammates
The Associated Press
TORONTO — Another dose of "Anti-Vinsanity" struck the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday as Charles Oakley criticized teammate Vince Carter for trying to deflect attention away from himself and onto the team as a whole.
"All the plays go through Vince. The focus on Vince has been there all year. You can't shy away from it now," Oakley said. "This is the time you have to step up and be a man about it, you know?
Vince, Vince, Vince."
you know.
"When they made the
When they made it Dream Team, he went, all 12 of us didn't go. When they do commercials, we don't go. He goes," Oakley said.
Carter is shooting a shade under 31 percent in the series and averaging just 18.3 points — almost a 10-point drop off from his scoring average during the regular season.
The best-of-five series resumes tonight with the Knicks leading 2-1, and Carter continues to insist that all blame and all praise be shared collectively, not individually.
"It's still a team game," Carter said. "I'm not going to win a playoff game by myself, and I'm not going to win a playoff series by myself. so I'm not going to let anybody sit here and say it's all about
Before the first playoff game against the Knicks, Carter said he had "nothing to prove." It was somewhat of a mouthful for a player who shot 30 percent from the field and was swept out of the first-round a year earlier.
After a poor performance in Game 1, he refused to answer any questions about himself. After Toronto's loss in Game 3, he pulled the same stunt during postgame interviews.
The criticism of Carter has been building steadily throughout this series, and it even reared its head yesterday in this Carter-friendly, hockeymad city that often seems more concerned with whether Carter will leave as a free agent in 2003 that whether the Raptors will win this series.
"I think it's fair if he doesn't play well to say it, but at the same time I'm going to encourage him and try to get him ready," Raptors coach Lenny Wilkens said. "He is a little sensitive, but there's nothing wrong with that."
Somewhere during the past 16 months, Carter became uncomfortable being a one-man show the way he was at All-Star Weekend in 2000. It was there that he won the slam-dunk contest with so much showmanship and flair that he was quickly billed as the NBA's next rising superstar.
Carter didn't enter this year's dunk contest because he said he wanted to be known as more than a dunker.
Yesterday, he said he wanted to be known as more than a scorer.
Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy has pointed out that Carter shouldn't be judged solely by his 45 missed shots in 65 attempts, including eight of nine misses from 3-point range.
"Anytime a great player struggles you give some credit to the defense and some credit to him missing shots he would normally make. That being said, I don't judge a guy's play just by his shooting percentage. Twenty points, nine rebounds, four assists, 11 free throws — most people would say that's pretty good." Van Gundy said.
Oakley criticized Cater publicly after he shot 50-for-22 in Game 1, and Knicks 12th man Rick Brunson even offered a peek inside what the Knicks — or at least one of them — really think.
"Vince Carter — No heart! Me, I've got heart," the constantly trash-talking Brunson yelled in New York's locker room prior to Game 2 before being scolded by teammate Othella Harrington for making such inflammatory remarks in front of reporters.
Questions about Carter's shortcomings in this series have been answered by Carter with little more than shrugs and dismissive one-liners about how it's all about the team. If Carter could score as well as he can shrug, the Raptors might already be awaiting the outcome of the Pacers-76ers series to see who their next opponent will be.
"I've never won a game by myself, I've helped," Carter said. "I've put points together to help us win, but I haven't scored all 80 or 90 points. So I don't see it as a one-person show."
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