ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, June 5, 1996 TAG: 9606050059
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHICAGO
SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES
Save the talk about matchups and strategy for a moment. The NBA championship series boils down to one question: What realistic chance do the Seattle SuperSonics have against the Chicago Bulls, who put together a 72-10 regular season followed by an 11-1 run in the playoffs?
The Bulls have been reluctant to utter the ``S'' word. But most people are asking if Chicago will sweep, not if the Bulls will win. Seattle enters the best-of-seven series, which begins tonight at the United Center, as one of the heaviest underdogs in NBA Finals history.
Two questions will be answered early in this series: Do the SuperSonics truly believe they can win? And, how do they plan to do it?
But if Chicago wins the first two games at home, the Bulls may pack a broom for the trip to Seattle.
``Yeah, I think we can win this series,'' said George Karl, Seattle's unorthodox and successful coach, who will scream, use psychology, laugh and sometimes even cry during the course of a series. ``I'm a little taken aback by some of the talk I'm hearing. Do I think they have a great team? Yes, they have a great team. But we can beat them.''
No matter what the outcome, this series will revolve around some of the game's greatest open-court players. All the elite centers have been sent home. Seattle ganged up on Hakeem Olajuwon and snuffed out the Houston Rockets.
Shaquille O'Neal was so frustrated after the Bulls swept Orlando, he threw a chair in the locker room. The Utah Jazz did a number on David Robinson. And good friends Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning can spend the summer together at Georgetown, sharing stories about how they were beaten by the Bulls.
Chicago and Seattle were the best teams in the league all season, two teams without a dominant center who relied on ferocious, swarming defense, quickness and multi-talented players who created matchup problems for any opponent.
How do you contain Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen? How do you anticipate what Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp might do when half the time they are improvising?
Nobody answered those questions well enough to keep Chicago and Seattle from reaching the Finals. So this will be a confrontation between two teams that believe that strength at center is not a prerequisite for winning championships.
``I've always believed that,'' said Jordan, who won his fourth most valuable player award this season and re-established himself as the game's dominant player. ``It has been a while since a dominant center has won a championship. The game is going to more versatile players, the guys who are interchangeable and who can play different positions.
``I know you'll say Olajuwon's a dominant center. But Olajuwon's a small forward playing center. The last time a dominant center won was when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson won, and even on that team I believe that Magic, James Worthy and all the interchangeable parts made the difference. I've always believed that this game has evolved to where the most versatile players are the most dominant players in this game.''
The Sonics bristle at the suggestion that they have come this far only to be easily swept away. They won 64 games during the regular season, including a victory over Chicago. They won an emotional seven-game Western Conference championship series against Utah.
After being upset in the first round the previous two seasons, the Sonics were called chokers, immature, fragile, selfish and worse. But they had enough resiliency to regroup and reach the Finals, and they see no reason why they should crack now.
The Bulls ``lost 10 games, didn't they?'' said Hersey Hawkins, Seattle's shooting guard. ``New York beat them. That shows they're not invincible. We think we're just as talented as they are.''
But the Sonics have little margin for error. Their first problem is Jordan, everyone's No.1 problem when facing the Bulls. At least Seattle has enough defensive talent to give Jordan different looks. Jordan will be guarded by at least four different players: Payton, Hawkins, Nate McMillan and Vincent Askew. But McMillan may miss tonight's game because of a nerve problem in his back.
McMillan said Tuesday he might try to come back Friday, but he wasn't sure. He hasn't practiced or been able to run since the Sonics beat Utah on Sunday to win the Western Conference title. On the team flight to Chicago on Tuesday, he stood most of the way.
Payton, who has incredibly quick hands and a long wing span as a 6-foot-4 guard, was named the league's best defensive player this season. But Karl is not foolish enough to put Payton on Jordan exclusively.
Jordan has the ability to demoralize anyone with his scoring, and defending against Jordan all game would make Payton prone to foul trouble. Look for Seattle to double-team Jordan a lot, rotate defenders on him and hope they can disrupt his rhythm. If it works, Seattle has a chance. If not, Jordan will dominate.
Payton, whose mouth is as quick as his hands, said the idea of using Hawkins to guard Jordan at the start of the game might be smart.
``I have nothing to prove to anybody,'' said Payton, alluding to his winning the defensive player of the year award. ``I've got the trophy at my house. It's not between me and Michael Jordan. I'm not going to put myself up for a challenge like that.
``You've got to do a lot of different things against him. You can't just keep one person on him, because once he gets on a groove, he'll start going off.''
Aside from Jordan's performance, turnovers and rebounding will be major areas to watch in this series. Chicago has outrebounded its playoff opponents by an average of 10 per game. Dennis Rodman is the main reason for that edge. And Rodman and Kemp will spend so much time banging bodies that Kemp may get some of Rodman's hair dye in his eyes.
Every team that has faced the Bulls during the playoffs has wilted under Chicago's defensive pressure. Opponents have committed 51 more turnovers than Chicago during the playoffs, miscues Jordan, Pippen and their teammates have turned into easy baskets. Payton, prone to turnovers, is the key player for Seattle. If Payton makes bad decisions with the ball, Seattle is doomed.
LENGTH: Long : 110 lines KEYWORDS: BASKETBALLby CNB