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Show 10 The Sait Lake Tribune/Dese Thursday, May 6. NBA PLAYOFFS Advertising supplementproduced by the Newspaper Agency Corporation H TL Winning title as both piayer, coach is not easy “Myexperience in the Fi SHAH Ww Alayae Some of the atest NBA history never experienced names i th for my players} of exactly ultimatesuccess of winnit title. Dave Bing, Bob Lanier, Pete Maravich and Elgin Baylor amongthe Hall of Fam med a championst id play in ninere: games in 1971 72, but he was not on the Lakers’ playoff roster.) Meanwhile. coaches of stature such as Don Nelson, Cotton Fitzsimmon Gene Shue and John McLeod. with more than 3,000 total victories, also pever won a title we Conversely. a select: few hat sebucked the odds epleasure winning and doubled their championships a “both players and coaches Two men, Bill Russell and Buddy Jeannette lid it as player playoffs and a shot for t there, he says You always find that once you w impionship you don’t work and time a process the the 1998 NBA it is and how much 1 effort go into that Part of that process 1 ng with the demands of the medi ia So many things irround the playotts final eeneetallyy the Final says Tom Heinsohn. “There ts so much attention from the media, so 1" distractions. A team that has been through 1 before has an advan: tage ver a team that’s in it for the first time becausethey know what to expect The same goes for a couch there, whether as a pla wh ‘oache hile nine men played on title-winning team and later coached utle team: Of the teams qualifying championships in Los has helped mein New York in Miami to try to paint a Wa ich Former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson agrees that the off-court dis: tractiony created by such a huge Players who have won Chaeeas foeientoo Name Played for George Senesky “Buddy Jeannette Bill Sharman Tom Heinsohn “Bill Russell KC Jones Larry Costello Billy Cunningham Pat Riley Phil Jackson point that tends to be supported by the comments from players on a youhaven’t hadthat experience, you Seregardless of whether it won or lost, with a cham ®=Pionshiponthe line and the distrac throughit as a player, it helps youto can give you just that litte bit of an edge you need.” Invariably the team that can control its emotions will win. Milwaukee 4 coach, as he tries to prepare his S=dwn group of players for the Finals? declares Billy Cunningham, betore the question can becompleted. "Number one, just ager 3 Faas = Bucks. We would always play Kareem Abdul-Jabbar “I've seen someguys get intothat with one man andjust try to force Finals series as opposed to the regu lar season, where teams from oppo. I'm better than you are attitude’ and thenthey'rein trouble. Youcan’t get him out of his favorite positions: That’s the way we played him in the caught up in one-on-one stuff. Finals has an advantage because he rADOW CO Miami Heat couch Pat Riley you reinforce tht preparation with short-term goal Winor lose dough, participating in an NBAFinakis aspecial experi- ence. But for thse lucky few who havegrabbedtle golden ring as a player andas a @ach, it is especially sweet and meanngful “You don’t eve wantto go through your career as in NBAplayer not having ever exjeriencedgetting to theFinals,” saysRiley. “You will lay your headonthitpillow every night andyou are goag to wonder, “Why couldn't it have 1appened to me?” I've experiaced winning six times and there isn’t anything like it” Alex Sachare s a freelance writer basedin New Yerk. This storyorigi: nally appeared in the 1998 NBA Finals game programandis reprint- ed! by permission of the NBA nla Wl ® Custom Redwood Decking © Nowis the Time : to Plan and OnTH! (Cee) Build a Deck. + Garage — . a 7 ® Call Today for RB CARPENTRY Free Feinate + G PanelStee! Door Aluminum SoriFascla we 277-4649 + 25 Yea Shingles ° Vinyl Sidi + VinylWindow “Lirerime WARRANTY oa 801521-4505 Mon-fri9ssat.102 JIcenset + took to go through the playoffs and throughit player,” Cunningham says. “You're DECKS ETC. the experience as a player of what it then the Finals, mentally and physi cally, 1s so valuable Then, as ‘oach, you try to use that experience to help your players A coach who has experienced. the sgular season and in thefirst six games of the Finals. But in the sev why you are there. You haveto be careful not to feel satisfied that you Sewon atitle as a player help later on as prepare your players as a coach. That coaching Boston and weplayed the beso helpful. If you've been through theFinals. betore,” says Cunningham, “You tions that come from the ey owhave reached the Finals. There’s a ing number of media from around tendency to say, “Oh, isn’t this great ethe world who attend the Final ach that we zol to the Finals?” You have to guard SSyear can be a difficult combin ainst that and remember Sefor a team that has not yet been that you have one more step to take hrough the wringer You have to focus even harder = But, does the experience of having Cunningham raises an interesting Absolutely your emotions, whichare red rawby the end of the season. If you went therebetore. “L remember in 1974 when I was Ssholds anadvantage over a team mak realize that you have to deal with the seing its first appearance. Thepressure media. You can't lose your focus of eof a seven-game youhaveto makeadjustments, and a lot of guys who get there forthefirst timeare not familiar with howdif ferent it ts. Those adjustments can be site conferences meet just twice a yeur could beina lot of trouble to show up for the next one. You have to have theability to control critical and it helps to have been Phe need for stories, for media-gen erated news, is much greater in the Finals. But [ think the hardest thing ting tickets for your family if It isa widely held belief that a team that has been to the Finals before by having one good gameand forget from the media, to family, to Heinsohn cites the different type of strategy involvedin a best-of-seven see. who is newto it can get swept away fans. It’s easy to see how a team can go astray, Which is where a coach tions who has been throughthe wars can weAinge in 1984 and 1986 consent) preparing to get there, from the start oftraining camp, then ‘The psychology ofit all is differ ent.” hesays of the Finals. “A player seven-gameseries. After each game amazed they are at all the distrac We'll see 75 reporters or moreat 1986 and Phoenix's Danny were well on our way to doing what we wanted and we pretty much coasted to the title in that seventh game.” Heinsohn also notes that having “Strategy-wise, it’s a whole differ first. game is even played, how “As a coach, you have to under- standthat the preparation is not an overnight processandthat’s whereit helps to have gene through it as a beenthrough the Finals as a player ent typeof preparation neededfor a for the first time and whose coach has never been there Invariably you'll hear, before the he adds another element to the mix weand been throughthe rials of the Finals. time they madetheir adjustments we ent game,” hesays. “There's adiffer team that is appearing in the Finals media contingent can be a problem to a first-timeFinals participant, but practice on an off-day.” he notes double-team Kareem in order to show them something different They were surprised by it, and by the helps a coach. additions to this fist, and all three of Charlotte's Dave Coweny won titles with the Celtics in 1974 and 1976, Indiana's Larry Bird in 1981, 1984 °S6 Philadelphia 70, "73 New York 72.LA Lakers 74, ‘76 Boston '68-68 Boston 84, '86 Boston ‘71 Milwaukee '83 Philadelphia ‘82, '85,‘87-88 Lakers ‘91-93, '96-98 Chicago “Jeannette was a player/coach in 1947-48; Rus isSell during the 1967-68 and 1968-69 seasons. crown, three could have produced those coaches won rings while play “sing for the Boston Celtics knows you've get to control your emotions.” Cunningham algstresses the emoly as possible,so I decided we would tional edge that comes with having Coached for '47 Philadelphia 48 Baltimore 57, '59-61 Boston 57, '59-61 Boston 57, '59-66, '68-79 Boston '59-66 Boston '67 Philadelphia '67 Philadelphia 72 LA Lakers "73 New York enth game, which was played in Milwaukee, I wanted totry to take the crowdout of the game as quick- — 1993 PORSCHE RS AMERICA — er Hard to find Rallaye Sport Porsche. 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