Game One of the 2000 NBA Finals: The NBA Finals Revival
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Indiana Pacers - Game 1
Location: Los Angeles
Date: June 7, 2000
#1 film at the U.S. Box Office: Gone In 60 Seconds
#1 Song in the Charts: Maria, Maria — Santana, featuring The Product G&B
Starting line-ups:
Indiana Pacers
Reggie Miller
Jalen Rose
Mark Jackson
Dale Davis
Rik Smits
Head Coach — Larry Bird
LA Lakers
Shaquille O’Neal
Kobe Bryant
Glen Rice
A.C. Green
Ron Harper
Head Coach — Phil Jackson
Okay, Game 1 of the NBA Finals 2000. Here we go!
Jim Gray kicks off by saying that half of the Indiana Pacers (bus #2) were stuck in L.A. traffic until an hour before tipoff! This includes Mark Jackson, Dale Davis, Jalen Rose, and even Larry Bird.
What?! That is ridiculous. Imagine this happening now?
The Pacer players apparently complained that they didn’t have the time to perform their usual pre-match rituals. I guess that would be splashing Reggie Miller with Rick ‘The Model’ Martel’s Arrogance mist and then hang drying Rik Smits’ patented knee-high black socks.
Also, this game, on League Pass, is only 70-minutes long. What in the name of Michael Jeffrey Jordan is that about?
I mean, I hear there are debates about shortening the game in modern seasons. Some say it’ll bring in more viewers. Others say it will demolish all the statistics, and we’d have to start from scratch. And by no means am I saying we should shorten the game… But, this was one swift viewing experience.
Also, I hate to bring the mood down so quickly. But it was incredible seeing young Kobe here. That man just beamed Superstar from the start, didn’t he? It's actually going to be pretty incredible watching his career over the next couple of decades on this series.
And, it also looks like he just squeaked past the legal age of drinking here in the 2000 finals. That’s good to know… We didn’t want to see any underage champagning from an NBA champion, now did we?
Alright, nearly 300 words in, and the ball isn’t even in play yet. Let’s do this!
As mentioned in the intro article, we won’t be breaking it down play-by-play. That sort of thing just isn’t my bag, BayBay (yeah, I went with a Man of Mystery reference… I mean, it is 2000 we’re talking about after all).
But right away, it was stunning to see how poor Reggie Miller was playing (1–16 in FGs). He didn’t get a point on the board until the third quarter when he went to the line. Considering, Reggie Miller was an infamous shooting guard, known for his devasting three-point shooting and his knack for hitting big shots in clutch time. This was a surprising result for the ‘Knick Killer’ in Game One.
Oh, one more thing about Reggie. The commentators said that he played so subdued because he plays best when he has a chip on his shoulder. He needed a reason to be upset…. I guess that means he was on the first bus that day. 🤷♀️
Shaq, on the other hand… Hold my Papa John’s! What a night! Diesel slammed down 43 points with 18 rebounds.
I mean, it’s not something words on a screen can really describe (don’t you hate when someone says that? I mean, you’re reading this for the entire purpose of having someone describe it to you. And here I go dropping the ball like Miller in Game 1 of the 2000 NBA Finals — I circled back! Yay!).
But seriously, we can sometimes forget Dr Shaq’s dominance, after all the Shaqtin’-a-Fool shenanigans and bickering sessions with Chuck. But This Man Was Unstoppable!
You gotta see Rik Smits’ face in this game. Hold on… I can just show you:
He looked totally unprepared for what was coming.
Oh, and speaking of Rik Smits, the 7'4 Dutchman, with his thirst-trap knee-highs, came out of the gate with two immediate point-blank turnaround misses (the first being an airball two feet from the hoop 😬). He eventually racked up 5 fouls early in the 3rd, so they benched him. Although, Larry did bring him back into the game, near the end, for his big Hulk-Up comeback.
But he ended up being more like Bushwhacker Luke in the 1992 Royal Rumble
It might sound like I’m dunking on the Dunking Dutchman. But at halftime, Jim Gray asked him what he should do differently to defend O’Neal. Rik’s response:
“There’s nothing we can do differently. It’s basically just pretty much impossible to stop this guy.” Way to set the tone of the series Smitsburgh!
But let’s sideline this one-sided sideshow for a moment. After a Laker-centric 1st quarter, the Pacers did catch up. And I will admit that the game was surprisingly close for a while. It took the efforts of players like Mark Jackson and Dawson’s Creeks’ very own Austin Croshere to keep up with Showtime (And Smits did end up with 12-points, so, let’s not get carried away here).
Late in the 3rd, the Pacers got on an 11–12 run. It looked like they might figure something out for a second. But then time stopped… Not, I literally mean it: the stop clock jammed with 14-seconds left in the 3rd.
But, in the end, though, the game got away from Indiana, and the final score was Lakers 104 — Pacers 87.
Overall, it felt like it was more lopsided than it was. The Pacers did catch up late in the third, after all. That being said, I do feel like the Lakers were just on another level. Or maybe it was just a bad case of L.A. traffic?
So now, lemme throw some comparisons about bball in 2000 and the modern game:
- They don’t show the score at all times. It’s weird. I’m so used to knowing exactly what’s going on at every moment. But at the same time, I didn’t miss it. They kinda knew when to show you.
- The level of stat-ification is so minor. It’s hilarious how the modern league tries so hard to jump through hoops these days to quantify and qualify the historical significance of every game possible. “If he makes this free throw, it will be the 200th game that he has taken a free throw.” I enjoy stats. But, sometimes, it can be a bit ridiculous, right?
- No social media either, right? But they were going digital in 2000. Costas was tasked with plugged some digital experience called SyncTV: “You can log on to NBA.com to follow today’s Lakers/Pacers game with SyncTV. The ultimate online companion to each NBA finals television broadcast. This unique component provides fans with real-time stats, polls, and the ability to interact with special guest hosts and fans online: NBA.com — SyncTV. Your cutting-edge way to follow the NBA finals 2000.” So cute, right?!
Am I missing anything else? Maybe I’ll add this as a new category: Random thoughts that I couldn’t really segway into:
- Larry Bird’s face was getting redder and redder as the game went on. I’ll keep an eye out for this as the series goes progresses.
- Minutes into the game, Shaq hits a free throw, and the crowd goes wild. The ball bounces five times before going in. So it was a bit dramatic, in fairness.
- Are Glen Rice and Kanye West related? You think I’m joking:
- And finally: at one point, Shaq got an assist with a pass to Brian Shaw. Costas says “Shaq has a nickname for everything. He’s calling a play like that The ShawShaq Redemption.” 😎
I don’t think I can find a better place to end this at. So we’ll leave it here. Next up is Game 2. And before I managed to get on my feet and turn the League Pass off, it automatically started playing the second in the series.
Here’s a little hint of what’s to come: early morning of Game 2, the fire alarm at the Pacer’s hotel goes off, forcing everyone to evacuate. How will this affect the game? Can this give Miller the edge that he was missing? Or will this flummoxing turn of events be detrimental to an already cantankerous Pacers team? We’ll find out… In Game 2, Baybay!
For a more stat-based breakdown of the game, click here to peep the Basket-Reference.
The track I listened to as I wrote this article is The Dark Knight Trilogy Medley from Hans Zimmer Live in Prague
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed it, lemme know with some 👏
