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Show i TTIhe Dait9 1 JPaijammffls I by Itandy Hanskat Give me some style By the time you read this column the NBA championship series will be history, after Tuesday night's final game. But since I am writing this Monday morning, following Sunday's terrific game, I've just got to say my piece. No matter if they won or lost in the end, the Lakers are the better team. Why? It's a case of style. The Lakers are the most fun to watch of any team in the NBA that fact is indisputable. Magic Johson epitomizes Laker style. He is the best playmaker in the league, and is tantalizing to watch, be it a blind pass to a streaking teammate on the fast break or a 30-foot jump shot from outside. He runs the Los Angeles fast break, which has the power to make fans of people who say they hate basketball. Then there is James Worthy, only in his second year, but already one of the dominating players in the league. His spectacular slams are worth the price of admission in any game (particularly in Game 4 where he thoroughly abused and confused Larry Bird). And there is Kareem, Cooper, McAdoo, Wilkes (whose unorthodox shooting style makes him someone to keep your eye on), and on Sunday, Byron Scott. Scott came off the bench like a man possessed to lead the Lakers to victory. Los Angeles calls its game "Showtime" and there is not a rival in the league. Beyond the players, the scene at the Forum in Englewood, California has a life of its own. The Utah Jazz could use a few cheerleaders like the Laker Girls, instead of bringing in junior high school girls to cheer at the home games. And where is a guy like Dancin' Barry when you need him at the Salt Palace? He's in LA., of course. And who else but the Lakers would have Jack Nicholson at courtside game after game, sporting a blazing yellow sport coat and a pair of stylish shades? Style attracts style. By contrast, what do the Celtics have? Boredom. Even their best player Larry Bird has no pizzazz. Granted, he's one of the best forwards ever, but would you rather watch him or Magic? I don't really like or dislike Bird, but I do know two players on the Boston team who would have been better off if they had been victims of the Boston Massacre Kevin McHale and Danny Ainge. First, McHale. If any one player in the NBA is ugly it is McHale. He could' ve played Frankenstein without makeup. When you look up the word "ugly" in the dictionary you see McHale's picture. And as if that wasn't enough, he's got a big mouth. He symbolizes the Boston style of play using excessive force to overcome a lack of talent. His forearm to the neck of Kurt Rambis in Game 4 was typical Celtic basketball. Then you come to Ainge the Milkman. In a game dominated by black players, it is amazing that a shrimpy white guy with aggressive tendencies towards blacks is still alive. In virtually every game where I've seen Ainge get any playing time he has tried to start a fight with a black opponent. Sunday it was James Worthy. Worthy was making a move to the basket when Ainge, caught defensively flatfooted, jumped in the air only to come down with both arms on Worthy's back and shoulders. It was the same with Magic Johnson in Game 4 Ainge going for some kind of cheap shot to hide his lack of talent above average. I wish someone like Worthy would put it on Ainge one day, and then I'd like to see one of those milk commercials. After showing clips of Ainge's sorry play, the camera could zoom in on a close-up of his face, which is black and blue and puffy, with the voiceover saying "Danny Ainge has it." Do you think he's ever had a glass of chocolate milk? Another thing I've disliked about the series, other than the Celtics winning two games they shouldn't have, is Tommy Heinsohn's bias towards the Celtics. In every game there are numerous replays showing Boston players like McHale grabbing onto Lakers who are trying to blaze away on the fast break. But Heinsohn doesn't criticize such maneuvers, he instead says they are part of the game. ; And he defends the Boston violence. In Game 6 Worthy gave Boston's Cedric Maxwell a taste of the Celtics' own medicine as Maxwell went up for an easy layup. Heinsohn compared the push from behind to McHale's forearm in Game 4. He said Worthy's push from behind, which three replays showed to be not overly hard, was far worse than McHale's punch at Rambis' head. Heinsohn should leave his Eastern bias at home next year when the Lakers will likely be in the finals again. ..'J The Lakers should have won Tuesday night's game. They've got style, they've got class, they've got a fast break which rivals any aspect of any sport for excitement, and they were up against a team with only one outstanding player. Hopefully the team with the most talent prevailed, not the one with the most cheap shot artists. : |