Though It's Very Early, Suns Grope for Answers

By MARK HEISLER

May 8, 2000 12 AM PT

In case anyone was wondering how long a shot the Phoenix Suns are in this series . . .

Not much went right for them Sunday. The Lakers beat them by 28 points. Shaquille O’Neal got 37 on their supposedly improved defense, but missed six of his first seven shots or he might really have done some damage.

Meanwhile, the Suns, led by the tandem they call “Backcourt 2000,” scored 77. Penny Hardaway played well but given the pale imitation of Jason Kidd who showed up, it was more like Backcourt 1000.

Hounded by Kobe Bryant, rusty and feeling for twinges in his surgically-repaired left ankle, Kidd missed five of six shots and finished with three points, seven assists and five turnovers.

Any resemblance to the performer who usually plays Kidd was coincidental after he thought he felt a twinge while pushing off the ankle as he made a layup on the Suns’ second possession. It turned out to be OK and Coach Scott Skiles let him go 39 minutes, trying to get him back in game shape.

That’s how desperate the Suns’ plight is. They’re facing the NBA’s winningest team, which is 5-0 against them this season. They’re guarding O’Neal with willowy Cliff Robinson and Corie Blount. Meanwhile, their franchise player, who just got back after sitting out almost six weeks, is trying to get in shape in the early games of the series, just in case it goes five, six or seven.

“Ah, you know,” sighed Kidd afterward, “I felt good going out and I thought I reinjured it [his ankle] with the first layup. I started favoring it and you can’t start favoring it. But it turns out, there’s nothing wrong so . . .

“I just got to gain more confidence. This is only my second game so I’m going to be a little rusty, a little uncertain. But we were down at the half by five and we thought it was in our hands and we let it slip away.”

Or, looking at it another way, the Lakers toyed with them for a quarter, then pounded them into the ground like tent pegs, taking advantage of Skiles’ soon-to-be-controversial decision to play O’Neal with one defender, even if his defenders were Luc Longley, who can’t keep up with O’Neal, and Robinson and Blount, both of whom give away at least 75 pounds.

Nevertheless, hope springs eternal, or it did before the game, anyway, when the Suns even dared to mew a little about their underdog status.

“Well, nobody’s giving us a chance so I guess we are the underdogs,” Kidd said. “So, the biggest thing is for us to go out and play. The game still has to be played. You know, there’s no pressure on us. The pressure’s on them to win. If we just come out relaxed and play the way we’ve been playing defense, anything can happen. That’s what makes this game so fun.”

Well, this particular game didn’t turn out to be that much fun. If they weren’t overburdened by the weight of expectations, the Suns did feel the pressure of O’Neal’s 330 pounds, inexorably squashing the life out of them.

Meanwhile, the dashing, penetrating, go-for-broke Kidd played conservatively, trying little against Bryant after feeling the twinge and then turning the ball over three times before the game was five minutes old.

“He doesn’t have to do too much against me,” Kidd said of Bryant. “I’m rusty. I’m trying to get back in the swing of things . . .

“It was more that I was pushing off, exploding [on the layup on which he feared he’d reinjured his ankle.] The biggest thing is, I haven’t done that. In a game you forget about everything but I just felt a little bit hesitant after that. But I kept playing. I tried to help the team win . . .

“We’ll have it checked out when we get back [the Suns flew home after the game] and go from there. The big thing is, I’ve got to gain confidence every day and that was a big confidence booster for me, exploding off that foot. I’ve just got to keep lifting weights, get stronger.

“And again, I’ve been gone for 5 1/2 weeks. People said it looked like I didn’t miss a beat but I definitely feel a lot different out there on the court.”

It didn’t actually look like a big confidence booster, nor did the Suns sound quite as hopeful after as they did before.

“They’re the best team in the league and they’ve won a lot of games at home,” Kidd said. “But come Wednesday, we’ve got to be ready to play.”

No one will be picking them in that one, either, but that’s what makes the game fun, although some matchups are a lot more fun than others.

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They’re on Board

A sometimes overlooked key to Laker success in the playoffs has been rebounding. Totals in their six playoff games:

VS. SACRAMENTO

* Game 1--Lakers 54 (25 offensive), Kings 37 (15), Lakers win, 117-107

* Game 2--Lakers 48 (14), Kings 40 (7), Lakers win, 113-89

* Game 3--Lakers 48 (18), Kings 46 (16), Lakers lose, 99-91

* Game 4--Lakers 51 (14), Kings 48 (11), Lakers lose, 101-88

* Game 5--Lakers 54 (19), Kings 35 (10), Lakers win, 113-86