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
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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.
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