Columnist Dean Juipe: Great game puts Sixers in new light

Dean Juipe

Friday, June 8, 2001 | 10:28 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.

The drawback in not only commentating on past events but predicting the outcome of future ones is that occasionally and inevitably you will be wrong.

So disregard my earlier forecast of a Lakers sweep.

The battle is on and it turns out the 76ers may be up to the task. The NBA playoffs, once seemingly a lock for Los Angeles over Philadelphia, have taken a quick and intriguing twist, the result of the Sixers' 107-101 overtime victory in a fantastically played Game 1 Wednesday night in L.A.

Game 2 is tonight and the only sure thing is that the betting line in Las Vegas sports books remains inordinately skewered on account of too much L.A. money. No way the Sixers deserved to be 13-point underdogs in the opener, and no way should they be getting 12 points tonight, as they are around town.

The "real" number, which is to say the number of points the Lakers actually deserve to be favored by, was around seven for Game 1 and probably shouldn't be more than five for Game 2. Those 12 and 13 points the Sixers are getting in the books simply reflects the tremendous volume of interest and cash that has come in on the Lakers due to their reputation and proximity to Las Vegas.

As the opener proved, Philadelphia has some advantages the bettors continue to overlook.

For starters, what was perceived to be a negative seems to have turned into a positive. The Sixers, pundits like myself believed, had played too many tough games in a relatively short period of time and the general consensus was that they would be worn down by the time the well-rested Lakers got to them.

Yet based on Philadelphia's exuberance in the opener, there's something to be said for playing a string of demanding games while your upcoming opponent enjoys a holiday. After they got their bearings midway through the first quarter, the Sixers -- via Allen Iverson -- took the game right to the Lakers.

Iverson had a startling evening, evading coverage and contorting his body to launch a number of shots that were indefensible. He also hit the open jumper, often from beyond the line, and every time he did the Lakers had to shake their heads in wonder.

He was as close to unstoppable as any 6-footer has ever been. Add in Dikembe Mutombo's stalwart defense in the middle and the fact the Sixers' supporting cast outplayed its L.A. counterparts, and the outcome came down to a few precious shots that went Philadelphia's way.

It was a great, great game, and one everyone was still talking about Thursday.

Amazingly -- given the earlier notion that the Lakers would waltz through the playoff finals -- there's even some conversation on a completely different front, that it will be Philadelphia that not only wins the series but perhaps goes without a loss.

If that were to happen, it would be among the most astounding upsets in the history of sports. And, given the stakes, it would be exciting to see.

But, really now, maybe the Lakers just needed a "wake-up" call, and, if that's the case, the Sixers have gotten their attention.

Given their terrific and stimulating play the other night, now they have everyone's attention.