Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 25, 1997)
Bulls, Sonics will prove late season slumps were just flukes he NBA playoffs are final -L. ning Thursday night. Tonight, the ball goes in the air for the other four matchups. With the exception of the New York-Charlotte series that began last night, I think the NBA saved the best for last. You’ve got the Lakers and the Blazers, and nobody knows what will happen in that one. Then there’s the Suns with their run ’n gun style taking on the defending Western Confer ence Champion Seattle in a series many believe could offer the only real upset of the first round. In the East, Michael Jordan will be on the court, and that’s all you need to create some interest. Are the Bulls really beatable, or were they just toying with the rest of the league by losing three of their final four games? I guess we’ll all find out soon, but I wouldn’t bet against them to repeat as champi ons. Now, let’s take a look at the four first-round series that get under ly underway, with four first-round series begin way tonight. Seattle (57-25) vs. Phoenix (40 42) Danny Ainge did a terrific job since taking over the Suns when they were 0-8. While they lost the next five games to fall to 0-13, the Suns went 40-29 the rest of the way and have a legitimate shot at pulling off the first-round upset. Phoenix's three-guard (sometimes four) lineup of Jason Kidd, Kevin Johnson and Rex Chapman, could pose problems from three-point range. However, the Sonics seemed to have pulled out of a late-sea son slump and should have too many weapons for the Suns to overcome. Look for Shawn Kemp to redeem himself after a poor second-half of the season and once again emerge as the super star he is, dominating Phoenix’s little guys inside. Sonics in four. L.A. Lakers (56-26) vs. Port land (49-33) This is easily the most intrigu ing of all first-round matchups. The two teams are about as even as they can be. While Portland won the regular season series 3-1, each game was decided by less than four points. This series should be no different. It will be physical and sometimes down right nasty, with Shaquille O’Neal and Arvydas Sabonis banging their 300-plus OPINION pound bodies inside. If ever a se ries could real ly go either Way , mis is it. HlBK One missed Qmu| shot, one un ™ timely turnover or one defen sive breakdown could mean the difference between a win and a loss. The Lakers and Blazers are about even at every position. Al though Shaq has the edge inside against Sabonis and Chris Dud ley, the Blazers have a slight ad vantage in the backcourt, provid ed Isaiah Rider shows up at the arena. The difference in this series will be the intangibles. Whomev er has the most heart, desire and will to win, not to mention the best execution down the stretch, will prevail. blazers in five. Chicago (69-13) vs. Washington (44-38) If the Bullets were in the West, they’d be a No. 6 seed and. wrapped up a playoff spot a cou ple of weeks ago, so they are no pushover. For most teams. However, the Bulls are no ordi nary team. Expect Jordan and the gang to be ticked about losing three of their last four, being de nied 70 wins and having to listen to the press label them the vul nera-Bulls. And a ticked off Jor dan is not a good thing. The Bulls may not be as good as last year, but they are still better than any other team in the NBA and will have no problem with the talented but underachieving Bullets. Bulls in three. Atlanta (56-26) vs. Detroit (54 28) These are two teams going in the opposite directions, with the Hawks winning four of their last six and the Pistons losing six of their past eight. Dikembe Mutombo and Mookie Blaylock lead a great Atlanta de fense while Christian Laettner and Steve Smith can provide the offense. While the Pistons may be the better team down the road, Grant Hill is their only real con sistent threat right now and he might not be enough against a bal anced Atlanta team. The Pistons overachieved dur ing the first half of the season, but showed their lack of experience and youth after the All-Star break. Meanwhile, head coach Lenny Wilkins had the Hawks playing consistent ball all along and they seem to be peaking at just the right time. Hawks in four. Alex Pond is a sports reporter for the Emerald. His views do not necessarily represent those of the newspaper. Alex can be reached at bigal@gladstone.uoregon.edu Football: Maas a serious candidate ■ Continued from Page 11 whatever I’m still going come out here, finish it hard and make sure that I will eventually be the number one guy.” Maas is a serious candidate for the position be cause he knows the system after spending last sea son as the backup to Tony Graziani and Ryan Perry Smith. Feeley hasn’t had any game experience at the col legiate level after redshirting last season. The Ducks defense caused problems for the of fense in the team’s final scrimmage last week. Turnovers by the offense led to three touchdowns and a safety for the defense. Outside linebacker Peter Sirmon, who made the transition from the inside linebacker spot, said the defense plans to keep everything basic on Saturday. “We’re expecting a solid performance and no men tal miscues on what we’ve been taught,” Sirmon said. “We just want to do our assignment right every time and if we do that well be fine. ” This year’s defense is without comerbacks Kenny Wheaton, LaMont Woods and linebackers Reggie Jor dan, Derrick Barnes and linemen Bryant Jackson and Mark Schmidt. Wheaton and Barnes have both signed with NFL teams. “We’re young but we’re not using that as an ex cuse,” Sirmon said. “Every time you lose a batch of se niors everyone’s worried, but every year a good team will pick up where the other ones left off and do a good job” Defensively the Ducks look to line up in a 4-4 set by pulling a safety up with the linebackers. But Sirmon said the defense is flexible enough to show looks at the 4-3 and 3-4 styles. “We’re really focusing on stopping the run early in the year, ” Sirmon said. Another question mark is at offensive line where the Ducks lost four linemen to graduation. Bellotti has brought in two junior college players this spring and will have five freshmen when fall practice begins. “The line is pretty good, they've just got to learn their assignments, said tailback Saladin McCullough. “Who to block and who not to block. ” McCullough and wide receiver Damon Griffin will not play in Saturday’s game due to injuries. Oregon heptathlete strong in final day ■ HEPTATHLON: Thomas has a second-day surge in the competition to claim runner-up honors By Ben Kwasney Sports Reporter Oregon’s Jennifer Thomas fin ished strong to take second-place in the final day of the heptathlon at the Drake Relays Thursday. Thomas scored 5,021 points in the two-day event and surged into second after being in sixth after the first day. Iowa City’s Martha Brennan won the competition with 5,177 points. Thomas and Brennan off sunglasses Bring in this coupon for $5.00 off sunglasses $35.00 or more. Expires May 1,1997. I LAZAR'S I i 57 W. Broadway BEHIND U.S. BANK [l 687-0159>Hj were tight going into the final event, the 800-meter run. Bren nan won the 800-meter in a time of 2 minutes, 24.98 seconds. Thomas finished sixth with a time of 2:31.77. “I did not know u-ntil the 800 that Martha and I were that dose,” Thomas said. Thomas posted season bests in the 200-meter dash and long jump. She won the long jump with a leap of 19-7 and finished sixth in the 200-meter in 26.15. Thomas’ 100-meter hurdles time of 14.89 was just off her season best. Her throw of 133-2 in the javelin was the top mark for all competitors. The high jump plagued Thomas, as she was only able to clear 4-11 3/4. Thomas has a 5-6 clearance in the high jump this season. “I did really terrible in the high jump and it really hurt me,” Thomas said. This was Thomas’ third hep tathlon of the season. Her season best is 5,184 points, which is an NCAA provisional mark, but it will most likely not be enough to qualify. Thomas is finished at Drake and will next compete at the All Comers meet May 3 at Hayward Field. Relief Pitcher ■Tavern 4‘><> 1.. 4<llh (4(lili A Donald) 4S5-4404 FREE POOL! M-F lOam-4pm Best Selection of Micros In Town Pool, Darts, Ping Pong, Foos Ball, Big Screen & Satellite-Direct Sports —1 versreen i yewear _J 369 Oakway Center 485-8602 Hours: M-F 9-5 Sat-Sun Closed complete eyeglasses Includes frames, lenses, also prescription sunglasses choose from 1500 frames Come in For FREE Frame Adjustment Bring in this ad to receive $20 off frames and lensesy n JADE PALACE CANTONESE & SZECHUAN CUISINE Professional Wok Cooking —— • Regular menu also served • Lunch Special = $2.95 • Dinner Special = $4.95 • Lunch Buffet = $5.25 1 f All You Can Eat & Drink Dinner Buffet $7.50 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. » Tues. - Thurs. & Sun. 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. * Fri. & Sat. Friday Dinner Buffet: Spies Hot Chicken, Sauteed Fish, Mar Far Chicken, Vegetable Chow Mein, Sauteed Mushroom, Curry Chicken. Rice Noodles, B-B-Q Chicken, Appetizer, Soup. Dessert & More - total 17 items • 344-9523 • Closed Monday W//1 all terra You'll be surprised by the affordability of the high tech, light weight dual suspencion GT LTS-3 PAULS TAME THE TRAIL BICYCLE WAY OF LIFE 2480 AI4ir 342-6155 | 152 W. 5th 344-4105 L J The Oregon Daily Emerald IOW A V A I L A 1 WORLDWIDE* f§ /W * *mam IS NOW AVAILABLE http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~ode
