Wanna talk finals?

[Amy Beauregard <amyeb88@yahoo.com>]

I can't help but think that Larry did not help himself
by: leaving a red-hot Smits on the bench. Yes, his
feet hurt and yes he was in foul trouble, but that was
he was waiting 13 years for! Get out and play. He was
scoring at will and bothering Shaq. Dale Davis, while
playing admirably, is helpless against Shaq, who then
is free to roam on D. Not having Smits in the late
stages was crucial, to me. Although Perkins did hit
the key 3, imo it wouldn't have come down to that if
Smits was there in his stead. Also, not getting some
one (or two) else on Kobe. He was killing them in the
4th.

Speaking of foul trouble, Jackson had no problem
leaving Kobe in for the duration with his 5 fouls.
Doug Collins was incredulous saying he was shocked and
what a daring move that was. Horsefeathers! Jackson
knows that no way is Kobe going to be thrown out. The
most blatant foul and non-call (that cost the
game,imo) of the evening was the bump on Travis Best
late that threw off his shot that subsequently missed
and Kobe took down for a score at the other end. Very
distressing that officials are not going both ways.
Did you see the look on Shaq's face when he fouled out
("Hey, that's not in the script!")? I think he had
about 9 or 10 fouls last night. He had several over
the backs that were again not called.

As an aside, I can't stand Doug Collins. Didn't like
him as a player (of course, 76ers), didn't think he
was good as a coach (couldn't make it out of the East
with Jordan, and to a much lesser extent with Hill)
and now he bothers me as announcer. While he is
annoying to listen to, he sounds very knowledgable
after a play is made, but rarely makes points
beforehand. Saying leaving Kobe in was a shocker, to
me was a no brainer. Letting Smits rot on the bench in
the most important game in Pacer history at home was
the shocker.

Congrats to the 2000 NBA Champs...the Fakers. They
should have been eliminated by the Kings and Blazers,
could have been stunned into a series changing
development last night, but they will win. They will
go down, however, as the most anemic 67 game winner
ever, if that is any consolation.

...Let's hope we do not go into next season with the
same team as last year and a #11 pick. Let's see
something, anything, but I do think Antoine should get
one last chance to prove himself.

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