INDIANAPOLIS – Mr. Camby, meet Mr. Croshere.
Introductions are in order, as Marcus Camby last night rarely got close enough to Austin Croshere to know his whereabouts. A matchup that seemingly favored the Knicks went decisively to
the Pacers, with Croshere burning Camby and the Knicks in the latter’s 102-88 loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Camby is supposed to be a defensive stopper who eats up and spits out the likes of Croshere. No chance. Croshere led the Pacers with 22 points, and hit 4 of 5 from3-point range, almost all with Camby arriving too late to make his long wingspan an effective weapon. Ayear ago, Camby was a difference-maker as the Knicks eliminated the Pacers, but to make a similarly positive impact this time around, Camby will have to do a whole lot better with Croshere.
“Camby was our ‘X’ factor last year,” Reggie Miller said, “and [Croshere] has to do something for us this year.”
It has been a miserable postseason thus far for Camby, and it got worse when Croshere started quickly and ended with a torrid run, scoring 11 fourth-quarter points. The Knicks’ defense, racing back and forth futilely, never got it right all night, and when Indiana ran its pick-and-roll, Camby was too often caught helping out a teammate and then found it impossible to get back to Croshere in time to prevent another 3-point missle fromfinding its mark.
“That was a tough assignment,” Camby said. “We were losing hima lot, he had a lot of uncontested 3-point shots. We messed up our rotations a little bit and lost him.
“We study tape, we knowhe’s capable of having big nights. He hit a lot of uncontested 3s. We have to be more aware of him[tomorrow] and keep himdown. He didn’t surprise anybody, what was surprising was howwide open he was.”
Things went frombad to worse for Camby. The end of Indiana’s magnificent 35-point first-quarter attack came when Mark Jackson heaved a shot fromjust past mid-court in the final seconds. The shot fell short, but Croshere under the basket beat Camby to the ball, caught the errant shot and flipped it into the basket at the buzzer, leaving Camby and the Knicks wondering what hit them.
In last year’s series, Camby shocked the Pacers with his ability to crash the offensive boards, but he was little factor this time around. He scored just four points on 2-of-9 shooting and of his eight rebounds, only two were off the offensive glass.
“I was trying to get myself into it, do my thing, get myself pumped up, into the ballgame,” Camby said. “I tried to be more assertive.”
He can start next game by staying in the same vicinity of Croshere, the unlikely Pacers hero who took it to Camby.