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Portland Trail Blazers: 2000 Western Conference Finals 20th Anniversary

By Garrett Bugay

Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant (C) is cover by Portland Trail Blazers' Damon Stoudamire (R) and Scottie Pippen (L) during the first quarter of Game six on the Western Conference Finals in Portland 02 June, 2000. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO/Hector MATA (Photo by HECTOR MATA / AFP) (Photo by HECTOR MATA/AFP via Getty Images)
Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant (C) is cover by Portland Trail Blazers' Damon Stoudamire (R) and Scottie Pippen (L) during the first quarter of Game six on the Western Conference Finals in Portland 02 June, 2000. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO/Hector MATA (Photo by HECTOR MATA / AFP) (Photo by HECTOR MATA/AFP via Getty Images) /
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It’s the 20th anniversary of one of the best playoff series of all time, the 2000 Conference Finals between the LA Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers

The Los Angeles Lakers were led by two superstars in regular season M-V-P Shaquille O’Neal, and 22-year-old Kobe Bryant, while the Portland Trail Blazers, despite lacking the top tier talent, had three All-Star caliber players in Scottie Pippen, Rasheed Wallace, and Steve Smith, as well as a deep bench. The team’s were both top five in offensive and defensive rating that season, further illustrating that their records were no fluke.

There are plenty of fascinating storylines in this series, most notably Scottie Pippen versus Phil Jackson. The duo were instrumental in the Chicago Bulls winning sic NBA championships during the 90’s, and only one of them would be victorious and have a shot at getting number seven. The franchises were intimately familiar with one another and had developed a bit of a rivalry after meeting in the postseason four times in the previous nine years.

The teams split the 4 regular season contests, with the Blazers holding Shaq to just 20.5 points per game, well below his average of 29.7 for the season. Arvydas Sabonis, as he got older and after suffering multiple achilles tears, had put on a good amount of weight, which hurt his foot-speed, but helped in this specific matchup against “The Big Aristotle.”

Game 1: Portland Trail Blazers @ Los Angeles Lakers

Right from the opening tip, you can immediately see the positive impact of Sabonis. He doesn’t get bowled over by Shaq as much as your typical center, which afforded the Blazers the time to send doubles and force the Lakers role players to hit shots. His offensive versatility made things easier on his teammates. His ability to pass and knock down outside shots forced Shaq out of the paint (the illegal defense rule helped with this as well). O’Neal averaged 3 blocks per game during the season, but managed just 1.9 during the series.

Head coach Mike Dunleavy opted to put the five-foot-eleven Damon Stoudemire on Kobe Bryant. In part to perhaps convince the young star to shoot more, hence keeping the ball out of Shaq’s hands. Stoudemire also had great quickness, which limited Bryant’s ability to get into the paint and create second chance opportunities. The fact that Kobe could get his jump-shot off whenever he wanted was something the Blazers were willing to live with.

Putting Stoudemire on the Laker’s best perimeter threat meant that Scottie could guard Ron Harper, who never had much gravity due to his lack of a three-point shot. He converted on just 28.9 percent of his threes for his career, per Basketball Reference. This allowed Pippen to muck up a lot of the Laker’s actions by ignoring Harper, getting into the passing lanes, taking charges, and doubling the likes of Shaq and Kobe when necessary. His knowledge of the triangle offense (which Jackson ran with the Bulls) was on full display.

The big advantage Portland had in this series was at the power forward position. Los Angeles simply didn’t have anyone that could deal with Rasheed Wallace on the block. The Lakers started A.C. Green, who lacked the size, strength, and wingspan to affect Rasheed’s post moves. Wallace just backed him down, and shot right over the top, with absolutely no fear of his attempt getting blocked.

The Blazers went to Wallace early and often in the first quarter throughout the series, and got off to sizeable leads in most of the games. Robert Horry was the best power forward on the Lakers roster, but came off the bench. He fared slightly better defending Wallace, but it was still a favorable matchup.

While the three-point shot was not as much of a factor 20 years ago, it played a major role in the back-and-forth nature of this series. The Lakers were able to take advantage of the Blazers’ double teams by confidently taking and making outside shots. They hit 9-19 from downtown en route to a 109-94 victory in the opening game. Brian Shaw and Robert Horry combined to hit 5 of 8 off the bench. Portland as a team shot just 7-21.