Perkins Ready for Third Try

Sam Perkins never reached the NBA finals with the Dallas Mavericks, the team he broke in with in 1984.

But the other three teams Perkins, 38, has played for in his 16 seasons--the Lakers, Seattle and now Indiana--have made one appearance in the championship round.

The 6-foot-9 power forward is remembered in L.A. for his three-point shot that beat Chicago in the first game of the 1991 finals. Unfortunately for the Lakers, they lost the next four games and the Michael Jordan dynasty began.

Perkins ran into the Bulls again in the 1996 finals with Seattle. The SuperSonics lost that series, 4-2.

“It’s an overwhelming feeling to get back,” Perkins said before the Pacers’ practice Tuesday at Staples Center. “When you lose, you know the opportunity was the chance of a lifetime, so you wanted to get back by all means necessary. The [1990-91] team was broken up. I went back in 1996 and that was a thrill too. So I guess every four or five years I get to go to the finals.”

Perkins, who plans to retire after this season, said of his three teams that went to the finals: “They were all underdogs. But we had good quality guys and good coaches. And even right now we have a solid team that survived in the East and came out with our heads up.”

He expects to draw Shaquille O’Neal on defense at times.

“We have to go out there and contain [O’Neal],” Perkins said. “As you can tell, no one has really stopped him. And I don’t think no one will. So we’ll have to, within our strategy and from what we’ve learned from the playoffs, do something. Whatever the coaches tell me to do is what I’ll do.”

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What would the finals be without a Clipper connection?

The Lakers’ Ron Harper and the Pacers’ Mark Jackson toiled as teammates with the Clippers in the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons. And, like many former Clippers, they’ve had solid careers since leaving.

“It was a great experience for a year,” Jackson said. “The year under Larry Brown was great; we had a playoff-caliber team. Other than that it was tough.

“Ron and I have a great relationship. We enjoy one another. I have a lot of respect for him. And we had some success together. I expect to guard him. I don’t know what their game plan is. But obviously I’m proud of the success he’s had, and he’s done a great job.”

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Derrick McKey used to hold the dubious honor of playing the most playoff games without reaching the NBA finals. Not any more. McKey will make his first appearance in the finals tonight and his main job will be as the Pacers’ No. 1 defensive stopper.

“I told a friend of mine recently that I would attempt to guard anyone in this league, but there’s only one person I could concede to and that’s Shaq,” McKey said. “I don’t have a chance against that kid. But I will do whatever I have to do to help our team win.”