Blazers happy to see center not act his age

Some quick thoughts on the Trail Blazers as the All-Star break 
approaches: 

A glance at the NBA standings reveals the disparity between 
East and West and the challenge for the Blazers in the second 
half. 

If the playoffs began today, the Blazers would be the West's 
No. 3 seed. Portland's first-round opponent would be either 
Minnesota or the Dallas Mavericks. Either team -- both are 13 
games over .500 -- would make a formidable first-round opponent, 
especially compared with counterparts in the East. Charlotte 
and Orlando are struggling to stay at .500. 

"That is just the way of the league right now," coach Mike 
Dunleavy said. "The Western Conference teams are a little bit 
better." 

More than a little. Right now, Seattle and Denver, two teams 
above .500, would miss the Western playoffs. Meanwhile, Indiana 
and Boston, two sub-.500 teams, are tied for the East's last 
spot. The West's No. 5 team is the Lakers; the East's No. 5 
club, the Raptors. 

"I think this year, more than any year, you might see some of 
the top teams get upset early in the playoffs," Blazers guard 
Damon Stoudamire said. 

In the second half, the Blazers' schedule features the Western 
Conference. The team will have more home games but tougher 
opponents. 

The Blazers have had a good first half. The team overcame 
injuries to Scottie Pippen, Arvydas Sabonis and Greg Anthony en 
route to a 34-15 record. Dunleavy gets high marks for showing 
the sort of flexibility that is rare among professional coaches. 
He listened to his players and took less of a role in calling 
plays. The team responded with its best basketball. 

Dunleavy says the key to the second half will be staying healthy. 
The team was playing great before Pippen got hurt. The veteran 
forward doesn't score as much as he once did but remains among 
the game's best players. This season, when Dunleavy plays Pippen 
at point guard, his ball-handling and court sense allows the 
team to run plays for Stoudamire. 

"I think it is important to get Scottie back because that gives 
Mike a comfort zone," Stoudamire said. "He feels comfortable with 
Scottie around, whether Scottie scores one point or 25 points. . 
. . It makes it easy on everybody since he's been there before." 

When Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Darius Kasparaitis discovered 
a Portland journalist in his locker room recently, he didn't want 
to talk hockey at all. Rather, he wanted to know about his 
boyhood hero, Sabonis. 

"They're not going to trade him, are they?" the hard-hitting 
Lithuanian asked. 

Kasparaitis saw Sabonis play in Lithuania when his countryman was 
18. 

"He was already a legend in Lithuania even that young," 
Kasparaitis said. "I remember we used to have these big bottles 
of vodka. People called them "Sabonis.' " 

Kasparaitis admits basketball rules Lithuania and that Sabonis is 
the king. "He is the No. 1 guy in Lithuania, and I'm No. 2." 

And how would he like to see the 7-foot-3 Sabonis on skates? 

"I don't know," he said. "It would be scary." 

Blazer coach Dunleavy will spend the All-Star weekend visiting 
his son Michael at Duke University. The elder Dunleavy will have 
the rare pleasure of seeing his son play when North Carolina State 
visits Duke. 

Father and son have talked about what will happen when Michael 
enters the NBA. The son would love to play for his dad but 
acknowledges it would be a thorny political situation. 

When asked how he will handle coaching against his son in the NBA, 
Dunleavy said with a laugh: "The question is you mean either set 
my son up to go for big numbers or double-team him and shut him 
down and get my (posterior) kicked at home by my wife. I don't 
know yet."