[外電] SCOTT'S OFFENSE AT HOME IN WEST
原文出自 nola.com
http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/109906895268240.xml
SCOTT'S OFFENSE AT HOME IN WEST
Sunday, October 31, 2004
By John Reid
Staff writer
During his four seasons in New Jersey, Byron Scott was one of
the few coaches in the Eastern Conference who did not build
his offense around a halfcourt game.
Scott preferred an up-tempo style to take advantage of his
players' quickness. In the post he wanted constant movement
rather than relying on brute strength.
It was a successful formula as Scott guided the Nets to two
consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003.
"I don't like standing with the ball, that's boring to me,"
said Scott, hired as the Hornets' coach in May. "I played
the running style for my entire career, it's fun and
attractive to the players."
Unlike in New Jersey, this season Scott will play many
conference games against opponents who also prefer a faster
tempo.
It's his welcome back to the Western Conference, where he
played for the Los Angeles Lakers in the "Showtime" 1980s
and won three championships under former coach Pat Riley.
Things are much different now. There are more dominant teams
and plenty of superstar talent in the West.
In Minnesota, there's last season's MVP Kevin Garnett, Latrell
Sprewell and Sam Cassel. Houston has Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.
Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili lead powerful San
Antonio. Sacramento has a trio of stars in Chris Webber, Mike
Bibby and Peja Stojakovic. Carmelo Anthony enters his second
season in Denver, where he's been joined by free-agent signee
Kenyon Martin.
Three of the league's top four scorers last season were in the
Western Conference. Garnett's 13.9 rebounding average led the
league and Duncan was second at 12.4.
"Being in the West, period, is a challenge," Portland Trail
Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said.
Cheeks should know. Last season, the Trail Blazers missed the
playoffs for the first time since 1982 as they finished 41-41.
The Hornets finished with an identical record and earned a
fifth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Only the Indiana Pacers and defending champions Detroit Pistons
won more than 50 games in the Eastern Conference. Five of the
top eight seeds in the West had 50 or more wins.
But with Detroit winning the NBA championship against the Lakers
last season, some think the balance of power is beginning to
shift back to the Eastern Conference. The East was the dominant
conference in the 1990s when the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan
won six championships.
Not everyone is convinced about the East gaining ground. Five of
the past six NBA champions have been Western Conference teams.
"I think the West still is more talented than the East," Boston
Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "It used to be that the West was
a fast-break, open-court, no-defense conference and the East was
the slug-it-out conference.
"I think that's still the case except for San Antonio. I think
San Antonio is the only team built to play West Coast or East
Coast basketball and that's probably why, besides Detroit,
they're the favorite."
A break that Scott will catch is not having to face former
Lakers' 7-foot-1, 315-pound center Shaquille O'Neal as a
conference opponent. O'Neal, whose inside presence causes
problems for all teams, now plays in the Eastern Conference
with the Miami Heat after an offseason trade from the Lakers.
It gives Hornets center Jamaal Magloire a better shot at
becoming one of the top centers in the conference with Yao.
"I see only one big body in the West and that's Yao Ming,"
Scott said. "Shaq is gone, so other than Tim Duncan, I don't
think there are a lot of big bodies that Jamaal is going have
to deal with."
Most of Scott's greatest concerns will be in his division.
The Southwest Division includes San Antonio, Dallas and Memphis,
which all won 50 games or more games last season.
Houston, a divisional opponent, won 45 games and also made the
playoffs. In fact, all five teams made the playoffs, with the
Hornets making it in their final season in the East.
"It just makes it that much tougher in the West," Sacramento
Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "I think the East has gotten
better, but the West with the addition of New Orleans, just
makes it that much tougher. You're going have to play at a
high level."
Only the Golden State Warriors (37-45), Seattle SuperSonics
(37-45), Phoenix Suns (29-53) and Los Angeles Clippers (28-59)
had losing records in the conference. Last season, the Hornets
competed in the East's Central Division, where four teams had
losing records. There were nine teams in the Eastern Conference
with losing records.
With so much pressure to compete, Western Conference teams are
active in the offseason. The Suns signed free agents Steve Nash
and Quentin Richardson. The Clippers obtained former Nets guard
Kerry Kittles in a trade.
Denver, which won 43 games last season, strengthened its roster
by signing Martin to provide additional help for Anthony.
"Teams are more offensive minded in the West, run and gun trying
to run the score up," Hornets forward George Lynch said.
"A team like the Mavericks are going to try and outscore you,
Denver is going to try and score a lot of points, so are the
Lakers. So it's just that mentality, where it's the opposite
way of thinking in the East. But really you just have to go out
and play basketball. I think you have to play hard on both ends."
Scott has spent most of the preseason pushing the Hornets'
players to their limit. Some of the veterans have said it was
the toughest training camp they have experienced. Scott runs
them after missed free throws.
"Everybody is picking us to be last in the division and probably
not making the playoffs," Scott said. "But we have a bunch of
veterans who are very proud guys. It's a challenge, but you've
got to like that. I think we have a bunch of guys who enjoy
challenges that we're going to be faced with."
. . . . . . .
John Reid can be reached at jreid@timespicayune.com
or (504) 826-3405.
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