Ill Wind Threatens Sonics
Charles Barkley took one angry look at the final statistics, shook his head, crumpled the paper, fired it onto the floor and scorched the Houston Rockets locker room with a volley of curses.
“Five by golly turnovers. I can’t gosh darn believe it. Five silly turnovers,” Barkley said.
Or words to that effect.
You might have thought Houston had lost the first game of this Western Conference semifinal series with the Sonics.
They didn’t.
The Rockets won 112-102.
You might have thought Barkley had humiliated himself on national TV.
He didn’t.
Barkley had 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
“We played terrific tonight. I was happy with every aspect of our game, except mine,” said Barkley, who ran wind sprints on the court for 10 minutes after the game. “I live on a different planet. I look at my game different. I expect more out of myself.
“I came out here tonight and I wasn’t in great shape and that’s terrible. I’m supposed to be one of the leaders on this team. I felt out of shape the whole game, like my legs weren’t working. I couldn’t sit down at halftime because Shawn Kemp had his foot so far up my butt. I don’t think I ever caught my second wind..”
Two days after surviving the Phoenix Suns, the Sonics have hit another squall line. Two days after winning a five-game series, they are in trouble again.
So much for Seattle’s momentum. The rested team beat the tested team. Rust won.
“The Sonics looked like they had just played a tough series,” Houston guard Mario Elie said.
The focus the Sonics cherish is gone again, as slippery as a thought. The energy that seemed to build throughout the Phoenix series was lost in the whirlwind of Rockets treys.
Elie hit five and Matt Maloney hit four. Clyde Drexler made three and Barkley made two. Houston shot 53.8 percent from behind the arc.
Eighteen minutes into the game the Rockets led 55-35. Ten minutes into the third quarter they led 92-66. It was a rout and an omen.
The Rockets were so good outside that they survived with lukewarm inside games from Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Close your eyes and imagine what will happen when Olajuwon gets involved and Barkley gets in shape.
“Obviously I was rusty,” Barkley said. “I was glad we had the week off, but we really didn’t have a practice. We went two-a-days, but it really wasn’t no practice. That’s my fault. I was a terrible leader in practice by not getting on us to work harder and it showed in my game tonight.
“I was out there doing too much fishing. I caught a lot of fish. I had a fish in one hand and a beer in the other. I got confused some times and was trying to drink the fish and bite the beer can.”
It’s easy to joke when you’ve beaten your most nagging playoff nemesis without using all the weapons you possess.
“To beat them you’ve got to take care of the ball,” Barkley said. “They feed off your turnovers. Come on. They’re a very simple system. They’re great defensively. Very athletic. But they give up 3’s.”
The first game is a poor barometer of a best-of-7 series. Teams make adjustments. A tired team gets rest. A rusty team gets work.
Hersey Hawkins, who had only four shots in the first three quarters, will get a chance to re-introduce himself to his Sonics teammates.
There were ominous signs for the Sonics in this first game. This isn’t last year. These Rockets are deeper than the team Seattle swept last May.
The Rockets were prepared for Seattle’s double-teams. Elie, Maloney and Drexler had wide-open looks at the basket. And if they finally blow cold, the Rockets still can punish the Sonics inside. Think of the Phoenix Suns with muscle, and you’ve got the Houston Rockets.
The only defensive adjustment the Sonics can make is to play the Rockets’ big men straight up. That’s not going to happen.
These aren’t the Suns. And this isn’t April anymore.