Their Best Offense Is a Letdown

The Indiana Pacers, desperate to win tonight’s Game 5, have this recent history on their side if nothing else:

The Lakers already have blown five potential clinching games in three previous playoff series.

They’ve blown them in four cities--Sacramento twice, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Portland--to three teams.

They’ve blown them by an average of nearly 12 points.

In those series, the Lakers played better when desperate than when in control.

It’s not much. But the Pacers don’t have much.

“We saw the difficulties they had against Portland,” forward Austin Croshere said of a series that went seven games.

Croshere said the Pacers actually are emboldened by the Lakers’ inconsistent closing instincts, and that the Pacers had a preview in Game 3 of this series. With a 2-0 edge, the Lakers were 100-91 losers.

“Absolutely,” Croshere said. “There was a little bit of a letdown on their part in Game 3. They’re susceptible to that in Game 5.

“Hopefully, we can get some confidence going into L.A., and you never know what will happen.”

Forward Jalen Rose claimed he watched the Laker series against Portland, and also that the Lakers have gone largely untested in the playoffs, seemingly an incongruous conclusion.

“I was following that series closely and I saw the way Portland fought back,” Rose said. “It’s something we know [about the Lakers]. We’re students of the game. I’ve seen them struggle. You’re a confident team when you’re up, 3-1.” Veteran Mark Jackson was less inclined to cling to the Lakers’ apparent vulnerability.

“No,” he said sternly. “It means more to me that we’re a tougher out. We’re not going to lay down.”

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Jackson was in that kind of mood. Amid all the talk about the Pacers keeping the Lakers from celebrating in Indianapolis’ pretty new building--Rose: “We can’t have that. We can’t have that.”--Jackson sneered at such sentiment.

“To me, that’s a garbage statement,” Jackson said. “I don’t want them to clinch in L.A. either. Forget about pride. That’s ignorance.”

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The Pacers were in no mood to talk about the possibility of Game 5 being Larry Bird’s final game as coach and it wasn’t a surprise that Bird was the main person in denial.

“I don’t think it’s going to be our last game,” Bird said. “We take it one at a time like we did at the start, we feel we’re going to win a ball game. I know [the Pacer players] are down, but we have to snap back. This is the finals. You don’t worry about what’s going to happen next, you don’t give up, you just go out and try to win a ballgame.”

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No one can blame Indiana center Rik Smits for thinking about retirement after he played so badly over the first three games of the series. But after scoring 24 points in Game 4, Smits’ outlook has changed somewhat.

“That’s the way it’s been all season, after some certain games, I’m ready to retire and then there other games when I feel like I can go another year or two. That’s why I will make up my mind in the off-season.”

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Kobe Bryant may have stepped up in overtime to lead the Lakers to a dramatic Game 4 victory, but the Pacers still do not fear him like they do Shaquille O’Neal.

“We have to stop Shaq, that’s where it all starts,” Rose said. “Obviously, Kobe played a great game, but you can live with his 25 or 30 [points]. It’s a lot different when you have another guy who is getting 35 [points] and 20 [rebounds].”

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Pacer guard Travis Best came up with a possible reason for his airball at the end of regulation Wednesday.

“It’s my left shoulder,” he said. “I can barely move it.”

Best said he twisted the shoulder earlier in the fourth quarter while tackling O’Neal on a layup. He is listed as probable for Game 5.