THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505070189
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
In Chicago on Thursday night, the Charlotte Hornets were left with the distinct impression that they weren't welcome and wouldn't be missed.
They were correct on both counts.
``The NBA got what it wanted,'' a disappointed Alonzo Mourning shouted to assembled reporters at the United Center after the Hornets were eliminated from the playoffs, three games to one. ``We know everyone wants to see the Orlando Magic and the Chicago Bulls.''
Everyone, argued Mourning and his teammates, including the men with the whistles. Before lining up their offseason tee times, the Hornets teed off on the officiating.
``I'm sure Michael and Shaq will draw some nice ratings,'' said Hersey Hawkins, who complained that Jordan pulled his arm on the game's final shot. ``He got away with one.''
In any case, few people behind the cameras or in front of their television sets are mourning the demise of Mourning's bugs.
Now that Orlando has closed down the Celtics and Boston Garden, everybody gets to see Michael vs. Shaq, the Bulls against the Magic. This series is the only excuse for watching basketball in May.
Against Chicago, Shaquille O'Neal once again is expected to be a towering inferno except at the free-throw line, where he becomes a giant liability.
O'Neal attempting free throws is a hideous sight. His flat, artless shots have almost no backspin.
When Shaq is at the foul line, he possesses the touch of a kid trying to knock over milk bottles at a carnival.
O'Neal can expect to be hammered early and often by the Bulls' three-headed center. Luc Longley, Will Perdue and Bill Wennington offer little in the way of basketball talent, but they do have 18 fouls to give.
Hacking Shaq to the line is the right strategy, but it doesn't do much for the flow of the game. Therein lies one of the problems with the NBA playoffs.
The intensity of postseason play is unmistakable; it comes through on the TV screen. Unfortunately, the hard play does not translate into seamless action.
For all the great individual talent showcased during the NBA playoffs, many, if not most, games eventually get bogged down in a graceless halfcourt grind.
Playoff basketball is not often pretty. Fast-breaks are almost nonexistent. Spectacular plays are fewer, though they often mean more. The playoffs are usually dominated by defense and punctuated by bodies hitting the floor.
The New York Knicks specialize in this sort of muscle-ball, but the Nautilus school of hoops creeps into almost every game, no matter who is on the court.
There is nothing a fan can do about this except to revel in those moments when Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Anfernee Hardaway, David Robinson, Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller make plays that lure our attention away from the body blocks and hammerlocks.
But the playoffs also offer something else this year - mystery. As the season rolls on toward Father's Day, almost any of the teams still alive could be playing in the finals. The NBA is that balanced in both the East and West.
Now that Shaq's Magic has squeezed through a round, it might return to regular-season form. Orlando remains very young, however, at some key positions, most notably point guard, where Penny Hardaway's inexperience can be a problem.
It's easy to envision Jordan leading Chicago over Orlando for a Eastern final shot at either New York or Indiana.
Out West, the San Antonio Spurs look to be the pick. But, for the time being, the series between the Bulls and Magic dwarfs everything else.
The NBA got what it wanted. And so did we.
Sorry, 'Zo. by CNB