Croshere’s 16-Point Game Is Sure to Get Him Noticed

Indiana Pacer forward Austin Croshere was stuck and had no way out. With his feet in an ice bucket, Croshere sat in front of his locker, still in his uniform, when reporters crowded around him after the Lakers defeated the Pacers, 104-87, in Game 1 of the NBA finals Wednesday night at Staples Center.

Croshere, who attended Crossroads High in Santa Monica, had just scored 16 points on six-of-seven shooting but none of the first several questions put to him dealt with him or his homecoming.

Instead, Croshere was asked about Laker center Shaquille O’Neal’s dominant game or teammate Reggie Miller’s forgettable one.

But Croshere didn’t seem to mind. He answered each question the same until he was finally asked how it felt playing in the “Big Show” in front of family and friends.

“I think it really has helped because for the last two days I’ve just been around my family and I haven’t had too much time to think about the magnitude of the game and being in the NBA finals for the first time,” said the former Providence player.

The scouting report on the Pacers is pretty simple. They like to run an inside-out attack featuring Rik Smits, Jalen Rose and Miller as their go-to players. Deep in the report you’ll find Croshere, and the book on him is not too thick.

The Lakers figured if they slowed Smits, Rose and Miller, they would not have to worry about too many other Pacers. In Game 1, however, Croshere gave the Lakers something to think about as he scored at will all game.

“Obviously, we’re very happy with the way [Croshere] battled out there,” Pacer Coach Larry Bird said. “He’s capable of putting the ball on the floor, capable of scoring, and he can rebound. I thought he played very well tonight. He was very focused.”

Other than Croshere, Mark Jackson and Dale Davis (who combined to make 16 of 20 shots), Indiana did not have too many players shoot well.

“We just didn’t hit any shots tonight, especially early,” Davis said. “We had a couple of opportunities and went on some decent runs, but we couldn’t quite get over the hump. We know where we’re at right now and we know what we need to work on and what we need to do to regroup and turn this thing around.”

One tactic for the Pacers may be to share the ball with the entire team to take more pressure off their “Big Three.” Croshere, who had a breakthrough regular season and has come up with a couple of big scoring games in the playoffs, hopes his play earned the Lakers’ attention because, he said, it will only help the Pacers the rest of the series.

“I was taking advantage of the opportunities that were there . . . guys played off of me a little bit,” Croshere said of the room he was given by the Lakers. “I’m not a primary scoring option in our offense. So I don’t get double-teamed a lot. I was able to make some shots and get some offensive-rebound putbacks.

“If they make adjustments to try and stop me, that will make other guys even more open. I’ll take our chances with a double team on me and a single team on Reggie Miller. . . . I would like to continue as a scoring threat, but this team is not going to win without a huge contribution from Reggie.”

Despite their lopsided loss, the Pacers do not consider the Lakers unbeatable. With Miller an offensive no-show and Rose limited to only 12 points, the Pacers believe they couldn’t have played worse than they did in Game 1.

Considering that Smits, Rose and Miller combined to make only 11 of 40 shots, they may be right.

“It was just a tough night all around,” Rose said. “We weren’t nervous. [We missed some shots] but that doesn’t mean that we were nervous.

“But it’s just one game. We’re going to approach it like it is just one game. You don’t lose a series by losing one game but at the same time, we don’t want this to snowball.”

If it does, it will be a short series.