Posted on: Tuesday, May 15, 2001

Playoffs reveal Air apparents

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer

Remember when people were imploring Michael Jordan to run, not walk, back to the NBA because nobody wanted the game to be left to the mercy of the youngsters?

When Jordan's 99.9 percent likelihood of not returning seemed to portend continued lean times for star power?

Of course you do because that was maybe three weeks ago. Or, just before the playoffs began.

What has taken place since then has been a swift and remarkable coming of age. We've been treated to a changing of the guard every bit as official as if, like Buckingham Palace, it took place on the doorstep of David Stern's office.

Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter and Allen Iverson, 20-somethings all, have gone from generation next to generation wow in one amazing leap.

As John Stockton and Karl Malone fade, and Jordan and Charles Barkley decide whether to go through with their comebacks, the landscape is changing in the NBA. As it went from Dr. J to Magic to Michael, it again is ushering in a new era.

If Carter hasn't been lighting up Iverson's Philadelphia 76ers with 50 points then chances are it has been Iverson doing likewise to Carter's Raptors with 54. Or Bryant's 48 coolly burying the Sacramento Kings.

But it isn't just the points they've put up, though those have certainly been eye-opening. They put up big numbers back in November and January, too.

But these, coming as they have in the crucible of the postseason, where seasons ride in the balance, have been altogether different. The glare and din of the playoffs, where championships are won and reputations made, is where the stars have traditionally shone brightest.

And so it has been for these three, the vanguard of the post-Jordan generation that includes Ray Allen, Baron Davis and more. The one that, just months ago, looked to be a few years distant in its ability to take over the stage.

For in succeeding weeks we've witnessed their timely maturation and ascension. They've gone from just shooting the ball and asking questions later to knowing what to do with it and when. They've come to ask for it when the games are on the line and, more often than not, are doing the job.

Witness Bryant in what, thanks to him, became the finale of the Sacramento series. With Shaquille O'Neal on the bench and in foul trouble and everybody inside ARCO Arena knowing where the Lakers would have to go for points, Bryant still took over the game.

Not only that, we are told he took over in the locker room at halftime. "His maturity in this series really showed," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who only a matter of months ago was questioning Bryant's devotion to the team.

As Toronto coach Lenny Wilkins recently observed, "Maybe it is their time."

And, now that it is, they're making the most of it.