Blazers at home on the road

Portland has parlayed its experience and stifling defense to win three of the past four at Los Angeles.

By DARRELL FRY

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 4, 2000

LOS ANGELES -- This is what the Lakers worked hard for all season, to have the right to play at home when the circumstances mattered the most.

They have it tonight, the home court in their Game 7 Western Conference final showdown against Portland. But it's highly debatable if it's actually going to be a real advantage.

That's because the Blazers have won three of the past four games played on the Lakers' home floor this season and the last two straight.

Portland split its two regular-season meetings at the Staples Center, losing the first one and winning the second one. And, after losing Game 1 of this best-of-seven series here, the Blazers stole Games 2 and 5 at the Staples Center, the latter keeping them alive after they fell behind 3-1 in the series.

"We don't play with the same sense of urgency here that we do on the road," Lakers guard Derek Fisher said. "In this series, we didn't play with the same fire in Game 2 that we did in Game 1. Then we won two games up there and came back here and didn't play as if this was the last game of our season. Now it is. You win or you go home."

Part of the problem is the Lakers haven't shot well at home against one of the league's best defensive teams. Los Angeles shot 42.1 percent from the field, including 28.3 percent from three-point range, in five home games against Portland this season.

That has killed the Lakers in this series. They scored just 77 points in the Game 2 loss here and only 88 in the Game 5 defeat here.

"We've only shot well once here in three games. We've got to come out and shoot a lot better," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Outside of that, I think Portland has experience and they've shown that experience."

The Lakers' poor shooting at home has bothered Jackson so much that he had his team practice at the Staples Center on Saturday instead of at the new multi-million dollar practice facility in nearby El Segundo.

"We wanted to get a balance on this court," Jackson said, "and feel good about it."

Scoring more obviously starts with Shaquille O'Neal. When Portland center Arvydas Sabonis isn't in foul trouble, the Blazers have done a masterful job of defending O'Neal, who was held to 17 points on 7-for-17 shooting Friday in Portland's 103-93 win in Game 6.

In winning the past two games of this series, the Blazers have smothered O'Neal in the post, quickly throwing a second or third defender at him the instant he touches the ball. That has forced him to pass or jack up bad shots.

O'Neal didn't seem overly frustrated Saturday, and said the Lakers will make adjustments to get him the ball more often. "I just have to play the same type of ball that I've been playing," he said. "I had a lot of no calls (Friday). Hopefully we'll get some of those this time. And we just have to play smart, move the ball around and take high-percentage shots."

If the Lakers are a bit rattled after blowing a 3-1 lead, they aren't showing it. Jackson said he no idea what to expect from his team tonight, but he said players will be ready just as they were when they fought off elimination against Sacramento in a deciding Game 5 at home in the first round.

"We're all anxious. There's no doubt about that," Jackson said. "We all knew this would turn out to be a seven-game series at the beginning. And I think the NBA and NBC got exactly what they wanted."

If the Blazers are to get what they want -- a trip to the NBA Finals -- they'll have to beat the Lakers for a third straight time, something no team has done this season, a stat the Lakers take great pride in.

"There's a lot of meaning to it. It says a lot about our team," Jackson said. "As I told the team last night, it's tough to beat a team three times in a row on their home court. Well, guess what? Portland has got to beat us three times in a row on our home court. And it's going to be a damn tough game for them to do it."

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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