Hamilton rips page out of Miller's book
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- When Reggie Miller takes a close look at the way Richard Hamilton plays, he sees an uncanny resemblance to himself.
"He's mini-me," Miller said of the player who has been Detroit's main offensive weapon against Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals, which are tied, 1-1, with Game 3 tonight.
Miller and Hamilton may not look alike, but their styles are strikingly similar. Both are masters at getting open by coming off screens, and both are tireless workers with boundless energy and speed.
Both are great shooters, too, although Miller often makes his living behind the 3-point line whereas Hamilton's comfort zone is from 16 to 21 feet.
"Reggie's a legend. Probably one of the greatest two-guards ever to play this game, so it's always a privilege to be compared to somebody like him," Hamilton said. "He's a guy I've watched my whole life, trying to pick up little things off him, the way he moves off screens, the way he shoots the ball. He's been very beneficial for my career."
Hamilton scored 23 points in each of the first two games of a low-scoring series marked by intense defense from both teams.
And while neither team has shot better than 41 percent, Hamilton has been somewhat of an aberration by going a combined 18 for 34 from the field. Remove those numbers from the overall equation, and the rest of the Pistons are making only 26 percent of their attempts.
"He's relentless in how he approaches the job of scoring," said Indiana's Rick Carlisle, who coached Hamilton in Detroit the previous two seasons. "Rip and Reggie are very similar in that aspect."
Miller is not the primary offensive option he was earlier in his 17-year NBA career when he averaged at least 16 points in all but two seasons.
Indiana's offense now runs through All-Stars Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest, with Miller the No. 1 option only when a game-deciding shot is needed. That was the case in Game 1 when Miller's only basket, a 3-pointer, broke a late tie and led the Pacers to a 78-74 victory.
The Pistons use Hamilton the way the Pacers once used Miller, often having up to three other players set a variety of screens to create the split-second of daylight Hamilton needs to get his shot off.
In the fourth quarter of Detroit's 72-67 victory in Game 2, Hamilton scored 13 of the Pistons' final 15 points to help them tie the best-of-seven series.
Aside from his uncanny mid-
range shooting ability, the most striking similarity to Miller's game is Hamilton's tireless energy. Not only does he have to work his way around bigger, stronger bodies to get open on offense, but he often has to do the chasing on the other end to stay close to the player he's defending. Hamilton has managed to stick with Miller in this series, holding the 38-year-old to 30 percent shooting. The way Hamilton can keep going and going and going amazes Detroit coach Larry Brown.
"He's way up there, but I [coached] kind of a freak in that regard in Philly for six years," Brown said, making a reference to Allen Iverson. "But Rip is pretty incredible, as hard as he works without the ball and the effort he puts in on the defensive end, it's pretty amazing."
Also amazing was Rasheed Wallace's response yesterday when asked if he was done guaranteeing victories: "I don't know. That's something that y'all kept alive."
After his team was held to 11 points in the third quarter and 14 in the fourth of Game 2, Carlisle said his next challenge is to find a way for the Pacers to get better offensive opportunities. The Pacers missed 17-of-20 3-point attempts Monday night and shot only 21 percent overall in the second half.
O'Neal missed 12 of 18 shots, and Artest often appeared to be freelancing with the ball as he missed 16 of 21.
As a team, the Pacers shot a franchise playoff-low 28 percent and had twice as many turnovers (16) as assists (eight).
On the defensive end, Indiana will make an effort to push Hamilton a foot or two away from his comfort zone and try to make him beat them from 21 feet and out -- a distance where Hamilton's steady stroke becomes a bit more shaky.
With a career average of 29 percent from long range, Hamilton made only 18 3-pointers during the regular season. He has made nine, however, during the postseason -- an improvement Brown credits to Hamilton's Milleresque work ethic.
"Every day in practice, he calls it 3-ball and he looks over at me and teases me," said Brown, who coached Miller for four seasons in the mid-'90s. "Reggie always tried to work on things to improve his game, and Rip's no exception."
