INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – It’s time for Reggie Miller to pull out a rocking chair, deal a deck of cards for a game of bridge and reminisce about the good old days.
The 37-year-old Miller now has a friend his own age on the Indiana Pacers: 36-year-old Tim Hardaway.
The addition of Hardaway gives Miller a thirtysomething teammate for the first time since the Pacers released Derrick McKey before last season.
“He lets Reggie have someone to talk to about current events when they were 18,” Brad Miller said, joking.
When Reggie Miller was 18 and Hardaway 17, present Pacers Jonathan Bender and Al Harrington were 2 and 3, respectively. Miller is enjoying the touch of gray – albeit with a shaved cranium – in the locker room.
“Thank God. Thank God,” Miller said. “To be among this youth is nice, but it’s always nice to talk with Timothy about the olden days.”
The Pacers didn’t add Hardaway for a basketball version of “Grumpy Old Men.” With starting point guard Jamaal Tinsley sidelined due to the death of his mother, and reserves Jamison Brewer and Erick Strickland battling injuries, the Pacers signed Hardaway for the remainder of the season to provide depth and a healthy body to the backcourt.
Hardaway’s knees are still creaky, but considerably fresher after a year away. He missed 40 games over the last three years with various foot and knee injuries. Surgery on his left knee knocked him out of the 1993-94 season.
Hardaway looked sharp Friday in his debut with the Pacers, scoring 14 points in 21 minutes. He was also credited with eight deflections and seven assists.
The start was encouraging, but Hardaway put the effort in perspective.
“Playing the Chicago Bulls wasn’t really a test,” he said.
He practiced the following day and reported no soreness or aches.
Against Phoenix on Sunday, he had three points in just 12 minutes. After the game, Hardaway sat in the locker room with his feet soaking in an ice bucket – just like Reggie.
That’s not the way he wants to emulate Miller.
“I just want to bring leadership on the court,” Hardaway said. “I want to make the right play at the right time and bring some confidence out there. I think that’s what I’m doing.”
Hardaway has played in 38 postseason games and owns a share of the single-game playoff record for steals with eight. Taking a year off and working as a television analyst has left has left Hardaway’s mind and body refreshed.
“The fresh mind is more important,” coach Isiah Thomas said. “What kills the older players is the monotony of the league. The travel, the practice, the game, the hotel. Being able to get away and get a fresh mind has a way of energizing your body.”
The Pacers are hoping the result is an energized playoff push.
After losing 15 of 19 games, Indiana, in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, has won two straight and showed signs of playing like the team that was 37-15, not the one plagued the last two months by injury, suspensions and off-court distractions.
The addition of Hardaway, a five-time All-Star once considered one of the premier guards in the league, should only help – although it might take a week or two.
“He’s going to make a lot of mistakes because I’m sure his timing is going to be off,” Miller said. “But if he can just come in there and run the offense and hit open shots, it’s what we know he can do.”
AP-ES-03-31-03 1531EST
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