THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 19, 1996 TAG: 9605190194
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
Eventually, the '80s Establishment will give way to the new wave of NBA player.
Has the time already arrived?
In the West, Seattle is a virtual lock to get past Utah's Karl Malone and John Stockton in the undercard of pro basketball's Final Four.
That leaves it up to Michael Jordan to win another championship for the old guard and hold off the charge of Generation X, led by Shaquille O'Neal.
It may be more than Jordan can handle.
If everything you knew about the Chicago Bulls you learned from watching their five games against the New York Knicks, the Orlando Magic would have to be your pick in the Eastern Conference finals that get under way today (3:30 p.m., WAVY).
Throughout the Knicks' series, the Bulls' poor play was attributed to the Knicks' desire, the Knicks' peculiar brand of aggression, and the bitter rivalry between New York and Chicago.
But the theory that the Knicks rose to the occasion is nonsense believable only to Spike Lee. The Bulls bore no resemblance to the team that won 72 regular-season games. Besides, nothing explains the dreary play of Scottie Pippen.
Against Orlando, Pippen needs to rediscover the inspiration. He must lighten the load on Jordan, now 33, or the Magic's young legs will leave the Bulls feeling very old.
Penny Hardaway presents many of the same problems for Chicago that the Magic face in Jordan. And Orlando forward Horace Grant, having a great postseason, is big and good enough to neutralize Dennis Rodman.
``I've had my shots,'' laughed Grant, talking about his preparation for mad dog Rodman. On the court, he's had them, too, hitting 69 percent of his field goal attempts in the Atlanta series.
But it's in the middle that the Bulls have no good answers for the Magic.
``With Shaq,'' Magic Johnson said the other day, ``the Magic have a real low-post game, and to beat the Bulls, you need that more than anything else.''
The Bulls don't have anyone who can stop O'Neal from bulling his way to the basket.
But in Luc Longley, Bill Wennington, James Edwards and John Salley, Chicago does have 24 fouls to give.
Fouling Shaq relentlessly is a dreary exercise that likely will drag out games and drag down O'Neal's already pitiful percentage from the free-throw line.
Don't blame the Bulls, though; O'Neal invites the strategy. In his final two games against Atlanta, he missed 22 of 32 free throws.
O'Neal at the line offers a choice of emotions. You can groan or you can laugh.
For all his raw talent, Shaq, at crucial times, is the sort of slacker the '80s Establishment player would never embrace.
He is a franchise player, but his team doesn't dare run the offense through him in the final seconds of a close contest for fear he'll lose the game at the line.
This makes O'Neal less valuable than he thinks, but a perfectly fine representative for the next generation of NBA icons who favor style over substance.
Before leaving the game again, Magic Johnson accused the new wave of being less than professional.
Patrick Ewing, who the Bulls sent packing once more, belongs to the old school, as well.
Charles Barkley is all but through, and, even at 30, Pippen is associated with a tradition and style alien to most of his younger colleagues.
The world of Michael is giving way to the reality of the Shaq Attack.
Major change is coming to pro basketball; it's only a matter of how soon.
A Magic championship would be certain to hasten the process. ILLUSTRATION: FILE COLOR PHOTOS
Orlando's Shaquille O'Neal is a franchise player whose team can't
trust him to shoot free throws with the game on the line.
It's up to Michael Jordan to win another championship for the old
guard, which may be more than even His Airness can handle.
by CNB