Guards Take Over in NBA Playoffs

BOSTON —  Guards, normally the smallest men on the court, are standing tall in the 1987 NBA playoffs.

From Dale Ellis in Seattle to Dennis Johnson in Boston the men of the backcourt are enjoying a more important post-season role. After the Houston Rockets reached the NBA finals last year with their 7-foot Twin Towers of Ralph Sampson and Akeem Olajuwon, it appeared the league would look skyward and place a greater emphasis on posting up with big men.

But Ellis, Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons and Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers are gaining recognition for the players who push the ball up court. No longer are they on the floor merely to pass it in to a big man.

Ellis, the former reserve of the Dallas Mavericks, carried the SuperSonics over his former team in the opening round and helped lift them over the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals. Through the first two rounds of the playoffs he was averaging 28.9 points a game.

Thomas averaged 27 points, 7.8 assists and 3.4 steals in a 4-1 Eastern Conference series triumph over Atlanta. Both Thomas and Ellis have hit game-winning baskets for their teams in the playoffs.

“You are not going to advance in the playoffs without outstanding play from your guards,” said Pistons Coach Chuck Daly, who has one of the best in the league in Thomas. “Everybody talks about size; there is no question, it is a game of size. Those are your premier players, your quarterbacks in terms of style, but guards are absolutely essential for the subtle things they do. They make or break you.”

Says Celtics president Red Auerbach: “Their hands are on the ball more than anybody else, they determine the pace, the policy of the play.”

And consider that two of the top performances in the playoffs in the first two rounds were by guard “Sleepy” Floyd of Golden State and Thomas. Floyd scored 29 of his 51 points in the fourth quarter of the Warriors’ only victory over the Lakers. The 29 points topped Thomas’ then-record 25 points in the third quarter against the Hawks days earlier.

Vinnie Johnson, the Pistons reserve guard, offered this theory on why backcourt players are having more of an impact in the post-season:

“I think the situation has presented itself for guards to do more because of the double-teaming and the trapping (on defense). You have to hit the open shot, you have to take it to the hole and make something happen. If your big guys are being double-teamed inside you have to do something, you can’t just stand around and try to force the ball in.

“The guards are the quickest guys out there, we are the guys who are more mobile and who can do more. We can split the double-team and can drive, we can lose our man.”

As styles evolve, guards are most able to adapt and create change. Thomas loves to drive and take on the 7-footers in the lane. Let Robert Parish come out and try to guard Thomas and Detroit would have two points as fast as it took the Pistons guard to reach the basket.

Boston Coach K.C. Jones says that plays are now being created, utilizing guards.

“For one, isolation is a big deal,” said Jones. “You isolate so you get their shotblocker out of the way and now you’ve got the smaller men playing the game.”

The defending champion Celtics nearly were eliminated in the second round by Milwaukee as guards Sidney Moncrief and John Lucas combined to rally the Bucks. Moncrief scored career-playoff highs of 33 and 34 points in the fifth and sixth games to help Milwaukee tie the series 3-3.

One guard who traditionally raises his game in the playoffs, and this year is no exception, is Dennis Johnson of the Celtics. Johnson has increased his regular-season averages of 13.4 points in 37.1 minutes to 21.3 points in 44 minutes through the first two rounds of the playoffs.

“You go through 82 games in the season and you get to 72 and you know you have 10 more left,” said Johnson. “In the playoffs you are never really sure. I put out just as hard as I possibly can during the season, but in the playoffs I get that little bit extra, because you don’t know what will happen.”

Of course, the epitome of the position is the Lakers’ Johnson, who is having a quiet time as the Lakers breeze through the playoffs.

“Johnson is kind of unique,” says Daly. “He is not a normal guard. There are not too many 6-foot-9 guys that play like him coming down the pike.”

Johnson earned added respect for the backcourt when he was named the league’s Most Valuable Player for 1986-87, becoming the first guard since Bob Cousy in 1964 to win the award.