Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, May 08, 1985, Page 6, Image 6

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    SPO RTTALK•
sx“ * • SPORT TALK
NBA Playoffs — 1985
Eastern Conference
I lie Philadelphia 76ers dosed out
itie Milwaukee Hecks 4 a p Sunday
night in Philadelphia and a ir now
awaiting ihc winner o f »he Boston-
Detroit series. Although the 76crs
swept the Bucks. Billy Cunningham’s
crew can use the rest. these two
squads played lout tough battles to
prepare lor the war itiai w ill ultimate­
ly decide the eastern representative.
Moses is still doing his thing in ­
side the painted area and leaving
Lastly but never least, the Doctor.
Julius is getting his prescription filled
right now, he's resting. A well rested
Doctor in his twilight years spells
trouble lor the next opponent. Right
now this is the best team in the play­
offs and my choice for the eastern
crown.
the rest o f the floor to his males.
11 k rebounds aren't coming in bush­
els for Moses as they have in the past
because o l the board action that
Chailes Barkley has laid down
Barkley just might be the player this
team needs to get past the Celts, if
the Celts survive. Maurice Cheeks and
Andrew Toney comprise the best
backcourt in the league at this point in
the season, and they are the keys to
defeating the 76ers. Stop both ol
them and you stop the team. ( khk I
luck!
Boston and Detroit
No matter who wins this series, the
winner is in trouble. If Boston pre­
vails, it's expected. I f Detroit wins,
it's "C an they pull it o ff? " The Lells
had loo much trouble eliminating
L ies eland and every team they play
will be inspired by that fact. That in­
vincible machine needs fine tuning
and adjustments but can't find the
time to get into the shop.
Vinntc Johnson may have just
caught on with the media hut the
players have known for some lime
that this dude can flat out fill it up.
le rry Tyler has made life miserable
for K C. Jones and company
throughout the scries while spelling
Kelly Irtpuka When Kelly gets into
form , that means double (rouble lo r
the green machine. Tripuka showed
plenty smarts when he bounced the
ball ol Robert Parish's leg to let the
three remaining seconds lick o lf in
game No. 4.
The strategy ol forcing Bird to play
defense has caused the Bird-man to
adjust his pace and that takes away
his late game heroics, at leas! thus tar.
Dennis Johnson will again lx- the key
for the t ellies if they are to win this
series. Ultimately D. J. will he called
u|xm to stop the Detroit guards from
scoring and penetrating, and he has
the credentials to do the job.
I ’m aware that I haven't mentioned
the name o f Istah Thomas in the Pis
tons' attack and it’ s intentional Istah
can turn the tide to Detroit tl he
breaks’ lixise to control the game
tempo mi let's sit back and enjoy
some giH*d old fashioned roundball.
Ihc senes is deadkx'ked at 2-2 at
this writing
Jerome Kersey gave Blazers a stay of execution in home victory
. a
(Photo Richard J Brown)
Western Conference
Denver and Utah
Thanks to Stu Inman and the Blazer
Iront office. the Nuggets have got a
team to challenge the I akers Denser
has taken then series 4-1 over the
Jazz with relative ease and won’t he
pushovers lor the I akers.
C alvin Natl and Alex English are
the heart o f this team hut the loss ol
fa t leset will put a severe crimp in
the Nuggets' attack Doug M ix 1 has
his team prepared lor the running that
the lakets will attempt to employ
hut the secret to the Nuggets is their
giHxl delenstve efforts.
When Utah lost the services o f
Mark I aton inside they were all hut
out o l ii against a penetrating, hall
moving unit like Denver Kareem will
slow down the Nuggets' inside game,
hut the Lakers w ill never intimidate
L a h m Natl and Alex English down
low. th e re ’s one sure het to make in
this senes, the 24-second c k x k will
never go o fl, no matter how many
games they play.
The scoreboard tells you what s on Kareem's mind as Blazer win
(Photo: Richard J Brownl
put series at 3-1.
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•
Well, it's over The Blazer season
was officially over Tuesday night in
tin- lo iu m I'm still convinced that
Jack Ramsey lost the scries to L .A ..
and if sou saw the games on the tube,
you're convinced, too. The personnel
to whip the Lakers watched from the
bench lack seemed to sutler from the
full court stress that he speaks on in
his commercial.
Los Angeles didn't suiter any in­
juries and that's as important as win­
ning when you teach May. Magic
Johnson personally look things into
Ins hands in the walk past the Blazers
and he must do the same when I A.
faces Denver.
I'm sure that the greatest difficulty
in defending a man 6-fooi-9 with the
eyes ol an eagle, must he the wonder­
ing o f where he wants to go with the
pill Magic is in a class hv himself.
He earns Ins paper
I lie Blazer obituary w ill come in a
later edition hut credit must he given
to them now for the effort that the
team displayed this season. With mi
many rixikics on the leant and to
have gotten as far as they did. the
squad, and Coach, should he com-
mended They could have gone far
ther, but they didn’ t. I A won the
series, 4-1.
4 .*
PAT BROWN
Blazer ball b o y Pat B ro w n
fin d s w o rk it's o w n rew ard
by Robert I olhiun
Amid all the playotl hoopfa there's
a part ol the Blazer organization
that’s often overkxiked those un­
sung young people that mop up the
sweat o f the stars, quench their thirst
and keep them supplied with towels
Pat Brown is one o f the crew ol
eight hall hoys and one hall girl at the
Coliseum lor every home game.
He works the visitors' flench, hand­
ing out cups o l water and galoraid to
visiting placets, and snatching up
their warm-ups ax he sprints down the
sideline.
Magic Johnson and I airy Berd
liase given him their autographs, hut
Pat’s heart is with the Blazers " I
hope they w in ," he said
Pat, 15, a ninth grader at Fowler
Junior High in ligard, said the most
exciting moment ol his lust year as a
Blazer hall hoy came during the
March 26th game with the I akers.
flic game went into overtime. " I
didn’ t think they were going to beat
'e m ," said Pat.
But Audie Norris' breathtaking
long shot with only a second remain­
ing clinched it for the Blazers
" I t was loud and crazy. I thought
the whole building was going to fall
d o w n ," he said
IS PORTWND OBSERMER
Bn. P M F '.O'
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$15 to» one
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Pat’ s uncle. Steve Jones, is the
Blazer commentator lot K O IN , and
the Brown family has been Blazer
Ians lo r a long time. Pat said lie want­
ed to be a ball boy when he was 12. He
wrote a letter to the Blazer office and
was accepted for the ’84-’85 season.
“ I've done all the jobs.” he said,
including working the Blazer bench,
helping the referees, cleaning the
kicker looms and mopping sweat o il
the fkxit in the Itee throw area.
Being out on the flix ir when the
Coliseum is packed is “ w eird." ac­
cording to Pal, who said he some­
times feels as if the crowd would like
him to make a mistake.
Clyde Drexlet and Steve ( olter
are the Blazers he feels closes' to,
said Pat. “ I talk to them the m ost."
Sam Bowie is “ real q u ie t," he said,
and Mychal Thompson “ cracks jokes
all the lime. I know him pretty well.”
Pat said he learned early that "you
don't want to talk to them loo much
alter thes lose,” hut alter winning,
"they go crazy" and "clo w n around
a ku . "
L oach Jack Ramsay "gets mad
when they lose hut after the game
he's pretty nice," he said.
Pat said lie wants to play basketball
and own Ins own computer company
when he finishes school Being a hall
hot means he doesti’ l have nine to
he on Ins scliiH'l team, he said
I lie hall view must he at the L oli-
seum two hours hefote each game and
they often don’ t get done until Id: 10
" I iust get something to eat and then
go to bed," he said
" I t teally hasn't interfered with his
hom ew ork," said Pat’s mother, Jac­
quelyn Brown “ It can't; that’s one
o f the stipulations o f being a hall
h o y." Her job is to give Pat rides to
and from the games.
" A lot id people think it's really
ease, hut you have to know what
you're doing and you have to stay
e ixil.” said Piit
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