Sports

VAN GUNDY: I AIN’T DEAD YET CONTROVERSY HAS JEFF ALL FIRED UP

KNICK NOTES

INDIANAPOLIS – Jeff Van Gundy has kept his cool throughout the playoffs. As he came off the floor after Sunday’s win, however, Van Gundy told an ESPN reporter, “I’m not going anywhere, yet.” That was in obvious reference to the Phil Jackson-Dave Checketts rumors. After the Game 5 win in Miami, Van Gundy also was defiant as he walked off the floor in triumph.

One reporter asked Van Gundy yesterday, “Larry Bird said he’s tired of hearing about Patrick Ewing hurting, he played 40 minutes [Sunday] night … is it exaggerated how much Patrick is hurting?”

In disgust, Van Gundy turned away from the reporter and said, “Next question.” Later, after Van Gundy said he was “amazed” at Ewing’s ability to play through pain he added, “But [Rik] Smits’ broken toe is real, right?”

Chris Childs said this of Ewing’s will to play despite injuries: “You’d have to shoot him with a stun gun to get him out of the game. You’d have to admire that about a player of his caliber.”

When someone asked Van Gundy if he was amused by the fact that Indiana is 0-1 and that nobody was calling for Bird’s head and that there is a different environment concerning the Pacers, Van Gundy said, “Once you get used to New York you get used to it. That’s just how it is. It’s never going to change, you know, no matter what.”

Van Gundy has made similar comments in recent days about the rigors of coaching in New York. Perhaps he is trying to send a message to Phil Jackson about the difficulties of coaching in the Big Apple. *Van Gundy said the Knicks’ ability to pull down critical rebounds Sunday was the difference in the game. “The biggest thing was we came up with the three critical rebounds [down the stretch], Larry [Johnson] got two and Childs got one. Whereas in the past against them, when we lost heartbreaking games, those shots go off and they get second opportunities. We found a way to rebound the ball.”

… The biggest improvement the Knicks have to make tonight is not complain about the officiating at the expense of transition defense, Van Gundy added. “We’ve got to eliminate that,” he said. “You can’t give a great team like Indiana nine points in transition, all a result of not getting back because we’re sitting there questioning a call. You wait until there’s a break in the action if you have something to say to the referee, that’s your time to say it. You don’t say it during the flow of the game.” *The Knicks only got 21 minutes from Marcus Camby and Chris Dudley in Game 1. Camby picked up five fouls in 17 minutes, but managed seven points in that time as he got his first real taste of playing Antonio Davis and Dale Davis. “I learned some things,” Camby said of playing that big front line. *Mark Jackson saw how seemingly harmless statements can be interpreted back in a certain Eastern town. Talk of raising a title banner became a guarantee of victory. So he knew exactly what he was saying yesterday in emphasizing that the Pacers will beat the Knicks if Indy play its brand of ball.

“The bottom line is when we play our type of basketball, we’re not going to be beat,” said Jackson, who holds a large part of the Pacers’ fortunes in the Eastern Finals which continue with Game 2 here tonight. “Take that however you want and run with it, you New York guys, but when we play our type basketball we’re going to be in good shape.” *The Knicks seemingly have adopted an “anybody but Reggie” defensive approach where they just don’t want Reggie Miller delivering the daggers. Miller said his teammates should be insulted.

“If I’m the other guys, I take it personal because we wouldn’t have gotten this far if it weren’t for the contributions of everyone else on the ballclub. It just wasn’t me,” Miller said. “If they’re going to go out and not let me get the last shot and limit my touches and make everyone else beat them, if I’m the other four guys on the court or coming off the bench I take it personal.”