8801270347
DETROIT FREE PRESS
880617
Friday, June 17, 1988
METRO FINAL CHASER
1A
Photo CRAIG PORTER
MITCH ALBOM
Copyright (c) 1988, Detroit Free Press
ONE WIN AWAY
A.D. TEACHES PISTONS TO PLAY
WITH FIRE IN 104-94 VICTORY
There is wind. There is fire. There are hurricanes and tidal waves. And
then there is Adrian Dantley when he gets hungry for a championship.
Ooooh, Teacher. Do that again. Did you see it? How could you miss it? The
Pistons -- hold your breath, this is sweet -- are now one win away from a
world championship, and when they went to bed Thursday night, they may have
thanked their lucky stars that the man they nicknamed "Teacher" has, like
most teachers, no sense of humor.
"Have you ever seen Adrian so intense?" someone asked his best friend, Joe
Dumars, after Dantley led the Pistons to a grueling, heart-thumping 104-94
victory over the Lakers Thursday to snatch a 3-2 lead in this NBA final.
"Nuh-uh," Dumars said, shaking his head. "He's driven now. We talk on the
phone every day and he keeps saying the same thing: 'I want it bad. I want it
bad.' "
How bad? This bad. He played every minute in the first half, he spun, he
twisted, he offered his body as a human sacrifice in trade for a free throw --
and he almost single-handedly yanked the momentum to his sluggish teammates
until, finally, it caught fire, the Pistons lit up, and the biggest game in
this season full of big games was suddenly in their pocket.
"ADRIAN DANNNNN-TLEY!" sang the announcer after a spinning lay-up.
"ADRIAN DANNNNN-TLEY!" after a corner jumper.
"ADRIAN DANNNNN-TLEY! . . . ADRIAN DANTLEY! . . . "
"Have you ever been in a groove like that?" someone asked him about his
dazzling second quarter in which he scored 10 points.
"Yeah," he said, "every year in Utah."
Hey. He made a joke.
It was the first of the night. Until then, Dantley was not only the
teacher, he was the vice-principal. Normally a silent player, Dantley yelled
at John Salley ("Get your head into the game!"), he yelled at Rickey Mahorn
("Wake up!"), he even yelled at Isiah Thomas ("Pass the bleepin' ball!").
This was not ego. This was not greed. On the contrary, this was hunger,
guts, this was a man who has waited 12 years for this chance, and he was not
going to let it slip away. And good thing. Concentration has been a problem
for these Pistons during this long playoff run. And they came out Thursday as
if they had missed the alarm clock. Within minutes they trailed the Lakers
12-0, then 15-2. The Silverdome fell silent.
But check out Dantley. He glared. He stared. He talked.
He talked?
"One time we were siting on the bench," said Dumars, "and he was talking so
much, I felt like saying, 'Yo, Adrian, cool out.' "
Cool out? Adrian? You won't hear that often. But you won't see this
often, either. The Pistons followed Dantley's lead, in the second half they
were all business -- defense, offense, attitude -- and lookie here. They are
inside the NBA palace now. They are banging on the throne-room door.
Who would have thought it? Who would have foreseen Dennis Rodman grabbing
critical rebounds and Salley slapping away Lakers basketballs and Thomas and
Bill Laimbeer and Dumars marching off with the delicious sound of 41,732 fans
ringing in their ears.
One away now.
This was a great game, the final scene of the movie, all the drama of 10
years of Silverdome basketball coming to a climax in one raucous, sweaty
night of action. It was Kareem Abdul- Jabbar showing his tenacity, not his
age, and James Edwards showing that a career's wait for a ring makes a man do
anything; it was Vinnie Johnson sticking those relief pitcher baskets, and
Mychal Thompson saying, "Hey. LA has a bench, too."
It was punch for punch, blow for blow, neither team wanting to make that
journey to California with a a 3-2 deficit in the baggage compartment.
The Lakers, at times, showed the grit of champions. But the Piston showed
the fangs of a challenger. And when it ended, and the mob stormed the court
-- a souvenir celebration on the final night of basketball at the Silverdome
-- a franchise that began in this building with puny crowds and no-name
players was ending in this: a plane ticket and a championship dream that is
very much alive.
One away now.
Credit Thomas, who was playing with a sore back and a brand new baby he had
barely seen. Credit Laimbeer, who rejected a Magic Johnson drive in the final
two minutes to set the crowd on fire. Credit Dumars, who more than anyone
besides Dantley, responded the way he had to to win this game, sinking jumper
after jumper after jumper.
And credit Dantley, who finished with 25 points on 7-for-10 shooting.
Before the game started, he was unhappy with the mood in the Pistons locker
room. Convinced the Lakers were silent and all business down the hall (they
were) he hollered at several teammates for not having the proper
concentration.
"A.D. was the teacher and the captain tonight," said Salley, the object of
several of his tirades. "He kept telling me I hadn't shown anything in this
series yet. I was playing mad just to prove that he was wrong."
Well. Isn't that what teaching is all about? Dantley taught by words, and
he taught by example. In that second quarter, he simply stuck a fuse under his
sneakers and lit up. ("He was on a roll like I have not seen in his two years
here," coach Chuck Daly would say.) He spun in, he spun around, he danced
into the corner and let go jumper after jumper. Swish. Swish. You could feel
it coming in the arc of the ball. Magic.
And when the game was finally over, and the fans were dancing on the
court, and the Pistons were doing interview after interview, and preparing for
their trip to Los Angeles, where they need win only one out of two to capture
the NBA crown -- well, there was No. 45, back to his usual business-like self.
No celebrating until this is over. Until they fit him for a ring. If it takes
lay-ups, if it takes jump shots, if it takes a rare but necessary verbal
assault to get his teammates going . . . well, whatever.
"Have you ever yelled at your children as much as you yelled at your
teammates tonight?" he was asked.
"Not yet," he said.
Look out, kids.
One away now.
CUTLINE
Pistons forward Adrian Dantley pumps his fists Thursday night as Laker Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar looks on.
SPT;DPISTONS;BASKETBALL; GAME;Pistons