It’s a Court of Different Opinion

Although Philadelphia Coach Larry Brown doesn’t think the Lakers are a team that can be rattled on the road, based on their 5-0 playoff record at Portland, Sacramento and San Antonio, his players have a different opinion entering tonight’s Game 3 at the First Union Center.

“I think the fans will be excited, like they’ve been all season,” point guard Eric Snow said. “The excitement’s going to be there. You’ll be able to tell the difference.”

Philadelphia is 7-3 at home during the playoffs.

“With our crowd behind us, we feel real confident,” backup center Matt Geiger said.

Former President Clinton is expected to attend tonight’s game, but he will not sit in Philadelphia owner Pat Croce’s luxury box.

“I didn’t want him in my box,” Croce told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I’ve got friends and family with me, people who have been through the last five years.”

According to Croce, Clinton wanted to sit courtside but will instead have to settle with Comcast President Brian Roberts’ box, near center court.

If the 76ers, who did not practice Saturday, are to bounce back tonight, they will have to shoot better from the free-throw line than they did in Game 2, when they missed 10 of 16 in the fourth quarter.

“If we only made our free throws,” Brown said after Friday night’s 98-89 loss.

Making free throws is something Philadelphia had done with ease up until the fourth quarter of Game 2. Over the first seven quarters of the series, the 76ers made 32 of 35 from the line.

With each game, Brown’s hold on his team grows. The 76ers love his passion and most of the players believe if he could still play, Brown would be on the court banging with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.

“He’s our rock,” swingman Aaron McKie said. “We come to the huddle, he gets a little excited at times and when we’re down he’ll say, ‘Guys, pick your heads up!’ Everybody’s sitting looking at him. ‘Pick your heads up! We’re still in it! Let’s play, let’s play!’ We’re looking at him like, ‘We’re all right. We’ve been here before. We’ve been here before.’

“But he’s gotten the guys to buy into what he’s selling. I think that’s very important to a coach. He’s able to relate to us as players. He allows us to give him some of our input and I think that’s very important for a team.

“So we’re able to have those communication lines open. And when we come to huddles or timeouts, we’re able to talk a little bit while he’s able to talk. That helps. Just having confidence in him and him having confidence in us makes for a good team.”