INDIANAPOLIS – Imagine Charles Oakley on a team. Imagine the things he can do. Bang, bruise, rebound, screw offensive players into the court. Nice piece to have on your side, huh? Now imagine two of him.
“That’s what we have,” insisted Pacers point guard Mark Jackson, referring to Indiana’s bruisers, Dale Davis and Antonio Davis. “People appreciate what Charles Oakley brought to a basketball team and we have two of them, two who are more athletic. Oak is a phenomenal basketball player and an asset to a team. Now put two oaks on a team.”
And just like Oakley, these two guys rarely get the spotlight, rarely get the appreciation they truly deserve. If it is indeed true that rebounds equal rings, than the Pacers can get their jewelry only if these guys perform. Oh, and please, get it right: They are not brothers, they are not even related. Dale is the starter at power forward, Antonio is the one off the bench at reserve center.
“People get it wrong all the time. They think we’re related: ‘Are you really brothers?’ That comes from playing a similar type game because we don’t look alike,” offered Dale. “But people say we’re similar.”
Dale averaged 8.8 points, a career high, but 7.5 rebounds, his lowest since his rookie season this year. Antonio, unquestionably one of the league’s premier bench guys and one of the most underrated performers (see, there’s a lot of Oakley in these guys), posted career bests in 9.2 points and 6.8 rebounds. But these guys are not about numbers.
“We just try to go out and play aggressive basketball, blocking shots or getting a key rebound, whatever the case may be in order to help our team,” Antonio said. “All we’re doing is trying to get the job done. We’re not here to score a lot of points. When we’re on the court, we have to do what we do best and I think it comes naturally for us to block shots and rebound and play very aggressive defense.”
And blast penetrators and flex muscles and hustle, a la Oak. With the likes of Reggie Miller for end-game heroics, these two redwoods (Antonio is 6-9, Dale 6-11) only get outside attention is they screw up or say something to draw attention. Sort of like Antonio did when he admitted he jumped up and down after hearing the Knicks traded Oakley.
“It was not a knock on [Marcus] Camby,” A.D. insisted. “I said I was happy that I didn’t have to play Oak. I didn’t say I was happy I had to play Camby because he’s playing well.
“He’s long. He’s blocking shots and he’s playing with a lot of spark.”