Brothers Share a Down Moment

Things are tough all over.

Coach Jeff Van Gundy, known for his pessimism, has a brother, Stan, coaching the Miami Heat, who is also known for his pessimism.

The brothers talk by phone frequently. Imagine all the laughs they must have.

Stan’s Heat leads the Hornets, 2-1, but lost Game 3 in New Orleans Saturday, so it was Jeff’s job to point out positive things, such as the fact the sun rose Sunday.

“He’s got that 0-3 mentality right now, that they never will win again, I’m sure, just like everybody does,” Jeff said.

“We can bring each other down. It could be a hell of a day and then, boy, I’ll tell you what ... we need that guy, Dr. Frank, or what’s his name?”

That’s Dr. Phil, the TV psychologist. The Van Gundys are also known for watching hours of videotaped basketball, and little else.

Looks like Stan’s turn to call this morning.

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Steve Francis on his new role as point guard and leader under Van Gundy, as opposed to his old role of scorer and point guard under Rudy Tomjanovich:

“At first, I was concerned with it but like Jeff told me, ‘Nobody cares about the percentages or the turnovers. All they want to see is did you win or lose.’ ”

Francis fills up a scorecard, as in this series in which he’s averaging 20 points, 8.3 rebounds and 11 assists, but he’s also high on the list of turnovers. This has led to speculation he and Van Gundy are an awkward fit, which Van Gundy denies.

“It wasn’t really about the number of his shot attempts ever,” Van Gundy said. “I think he’s cut down on the number of dribbles that he’s taken to get and create his shots and shots for others.

“He really should get a lot of credit for making a lot of plays that lead to others getting quality shots.

“I think one of the misnomers was that he wasn’t an unselfish player. He is an unselfish player....

“This being his first playoff series, hopefully this will make him hungrier and hungrier to continue to do the things that it takes to get back here and win big.”

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Bench update: In Games 1 and 2, the Laker reserves outscored the Rocket subs, 50-31, and Houston’s Maurice Taylor noted, “They just hit shots. Normally, they don’t do that.”

In Game 3, the Rocket bench outscored the Lakers, but only by 21-20. In Game 4, it was Rockets 11, Lakers six.