The post-Laker letdown continued in Blazerland last week
with home losses to Detroit and New York and an injury
to starting center Arvydas Sabonis.
After spraining his ankle during the game with the Pistons,
Sabonis will likely miss the remainder of the regular
season. Fortunately, the injury won't keep him from participating
in the playoffs, a time when his 7-foot-3-inch, 292-pound
frame will be essential to the Trail Blazers' run towards
a championship.
Before his injury, Sabonis was having his best year as
a Blazer, averaging 12 points and 8 rebounds a game. Even
so, the Lithuanian native has often been the weak link
in the starting lineup.
Part of Sabonis' problem has been mobility. His knees
are shot, and ankle tenderness will definitely hamper
his effectiveness for a few games. But Sabonis' biggest
challenge has often been a lack of mental, not physical,
toughness--a liability many attribute to his birthplace.
Players from Europe typically wimp out when the going
gets rough. That's not to say that they do not belong
in the league; their increased skill level over the years
has earned them the right to play. Once known primarily
for shooting the lights out behind the three-point line,
they now slash to the basket and occasionally bust a move
worthy of ESPN's Sports Center.
"They've come a long way," says Steve Johnson, a former
NBA player. "It used to be that they were all just mechanical.
Now you got some European players that got a little freak
in their game."
Still, European stars seem to lack something when facing
their American counterparts on the court. Some hoop heads
contend that they are intimidated by the aggressive style
of American play. Remember Vlade Divac's folding up in
the '91 championship series against the Bulls, despite
being chastised by Magic Johnson? Or how the Knicks constantly
pulled the punk out of Toni Kukoc before MJ's return ?
In many ways, it is a culture clash. Many of the NBA's
players began balling where the rawest form of basketball
is played. Some of the fiercest battles take place on
fenced-in asphalt courts or in sweltering school gyms,
with nothing more at stake than neighborhood notoriety.
And just as entertaining as the moves on the court is
the psychological contest manifested through trash talking.
NBA players verbally assault European foes to gain an
advantage over them.
"Brothers from the projects talk mad shit, it's part
of the game," former dunk champion Dee Brown said following
the Toronto Raptors' March 6 blowout of the Blazers. "Europeans
get shook when brothers are in their face with 'You non-English-speaking
mutha.'"
Even bigger European players often favor a finesse game.
They have an excellent perimeter game, shoot jumpers with
deadly accuracy, handle the ball nicely and drop assists
like a point guard.
But because they're reluctant to mix it up in the post,
American ballers have little respect for them. "European
big men are sammy-soft to the core,"says Derek Foster,
a former All-American guard for Lewis & Clark College
now playing professionally in Germany.
Though Sabonis is touted as the greatest European player
of all time and is a favorite of Trail Blazer fans, he
too has demonstrated a tendency to play passively when
the heat is on.
When he has a clear physical dominance over opponents
such as Luc Longley of the Phoenix Suns, Terry Mills of
the Pistons and the Sacramento Kings' Divac, Sabonis works
them in the paint on both the offensive and defensive
ends of the floor. But when matched up against more intimidating
foes such as Alonzo Mourning, David Robinson and Shaquille
O'Neal, Sabonis' weaknesses emerge.
With the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers
as possible playoff opponents, the Blazers will be faced
with a dilemma. With the speed of Jermaine O'Neal and
Rasheed Wallace offsetting the quickness of Robinson,
Sabonis' massive presence should be making life difficult
for Shaq in the key.
Yet, despite his 16-point, 11-rebound effort in the last
outing against the Lakers, Sabonis cowered before Shaq
during crunch time. Without a doubt, his precision passes
to teammates cutting to the hole and his ability to hit
the long-range jumper make him a valuable asset on the
court. But with the Lakers looking like the team to win
the West, Sabonis is going to have to take it to Shaq
instead of playing scared.
Playground lesson No. 1 is this: Either you come strong
or you don't come at all. The question is, can the lesson
be learned at such a late date? Charles Oakley, who went
hard at Sabonis earlier this month, has his doubts. "If
you've never been tough," he says,"you're not gonna get
tough."
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Willamette Week | originally
published April 5,
2000
