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2 R SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2019 | | Sports C7 practice. Something had to change and did. “The organization has got its (stuff) together now,’’ said Blazers fan Saren Bonacker, 35, who’d driven up fromBend, Ore., for Thursday’s game with buddies Tyler Burg, T.J. Vibbert, and Cory Mason, all age 31. “I just think some of the stuff back then wouldn’t fly now.’’ Portland’s past distaste for the teamwas occasionally met with not-so-subtle accusations — in- cluding one by Blazers player Isaiah Rider — that there were racist undertones behind one of America’s whitest cities disliking a group of mostly black players. But today, that same city celebrates Turkish-descent Muslimplayer Kanter, fascinated by his decision to fast from sunrise until sunset during a Ramadan period that coincides with this year’s playoffs. They ferociously cheer on Bos- nian-born Nurkic, another Mus- lim, when he makes his now-regu- lar courtside playoff appearances. They stood and cheered Lillard, the most recognizable of the team’s still-predominantly black lineup when he made a game-seal- ing three-point shot Thursday to put the Blazers up by 13 with 7:24 to go right before the timeout and Nurkic ovation. “It sure seems like they’re really immersed in the community now,’’ said Blazers fan Burg. Perhaps those fans simply need- ed a more likeable version of play- ers. And of owner Allen, whose posthumous likeability among Blazers supporters appears at an all-time high. “I’m sure he’d have loved to be here because he didn’t miss many games,’’ Burg said. “I guess you can say he left the team in better shape than he got it.’’ Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com disliked basketball and football — the in-game sightings provide hope. “The biggest thing that kind of irritates me is when people say she’s not really into the sports teams,’’ said Chris McGowan, now CEO of Vulcan Sports and Enter- tainment and the man overseeing both the Blazers and Seahawks for Allen’s business empire. “It’s the question everyone asks and, I mean, it’s just unfounded. She’s really into the sports teams. She goes to a lot of Seahawks games and I’m sure she’s going to plan to go to a lot of Blazers games and if she doesn’t go she’s watching themon TV.’’ Part of the mystery about her feelings has been caused by her ownmedia reticence, offering only a few brief sentences to re- porter Jason Quick of The Athletic after the playoff opener. “I’m really, really proud to be here, but I have to say, I also really miss my brother,’’ she told Quick. “He would have loved to be in that seat next tome.” McGowan had sat alongside Allen at several Blazers games, where he says the Seattle-based owner formulated ideas that have strengthened the bond between Portland’s community and team. And since Allen’s death, he’s sat with Allen’s sister in boardroom meetings. “She’s super interested in what these teams mean to the commu- nities that they’re in,’’ McGowan said. “And wants to run them just like Paul ran them— in a first-class manner.’’ In that regard, McGowan echoes the bittersweet sentiment that Allen never saw his years of work at rebuilding a community con- nection culminate this magical season. “It’s been really good since I got here,’’ saidMcGowan, who arrived as Blazers teampresident in 2012 after years serving as an executive “Nurk’’ is Nurkic, and “Paul’’ is late Blazers and Seahawks owner Paul Allen, who died of cancer last October at age 65 just days before his beloved basketball team em- barked on arguably its finest cam- paign in two decades. The extent to which fans have rallied behind Allen and one of his players during an emotion-charged playoff run that has the Blazers and Denver Nuggets playing Game 7 in Colo- rado on Sunday for a trip to the Western Conference finals shows just how far the Seattle-based owner had come in changing Portland’s perceptions about him and the team. Just more than a decade ago, relations between Allen’s basket- ball franchise and its home city were in deep disrepair. Portland fans had grown disgusted by the team’s early 2000s “Jail Blazers’’ antics and later by Allen’s ensuing, years-long PR-nightmare attempts to secure a better financial deal on the team and arena. But that’s beenmostly forgotten this spring as Allen’s final Portland legacy is written by a team that overcame the Nurkic injury to finish 53-29, knocked off Oklaho- ma City with a Game 5miracle shot by Damian Lillard in the opening round and— after beat- ing Denver 119-108 on Thursday — sits one win from its first confer- ence final since the 1999-2000 season. Beyond emerging fran- chise leader Lillard, the city is smitten with Blazers center Enes Kanter, dynamic shooting guard CJ McCollum and the together- ness of a group of players that wouldn’t dreamof sucker-punch- ing one another in practice like some predecessors the prior de- cade. “They went from a bunch of players that weren’t respected by the community into a team that the city can rally around,’’ said Blazers fan Andrew Summers, 29, sporting a Rookie-of-the-Year T-shirt fromLillard’s debut 2012-13 season as he stood in a Moda Center beer garden before Thursday’s sixth game. Summers’ friend, Duncan Ketel, 28, feels the passionate Allen still managed not tomeddle much and largely let his handpicked employ- ees run the team. Both he and Summers agreed that didn’t al- ways work out during the 1996-2004 “Jail Blazers’’ era but they say things changed with the Allen-approved hiring of ex-Sonics coach Nate McMillan in 2005 and a renewed focus on “character’’ alongside shot-making ability. “I feel really bad that Paul Al- len’s not here to witness this,’’ Ketel said. “He loved this team and would have loved to see what’s happening now.’’ Indeed, Allen’s longtime court- side seat No. 2 in Section 118, RowAA at the arena he financed mostly on his own for $263million in 1995 had remained empty all season to honor the late owner. Then, in an emotional, playoff- openingmove that caught the attention of players, coaches and fans alike, Allen’s sister, Jody, the team’s new owner, attended Game 1 against Oklahoma City next to her brother’s open chair. It was her first game visit since Allen’s death and she’s returned multiple times since. For fans who’ve made a cottage industry of guessing whether she’ll eventually sell the squad— figuring her prior absence proved the rumors she < Blazers FROM C1 Los Angeles Times (TNS) and The Associated Press LOS ANGELES – Frank Vogel has agreed to a three- year contract to become the Los Angeles Lakers’ next coach and Jason Kidd will be on his staff as an assistant, according to people familiar with the team’s decision. Vogel was previously coach of the OrlandoMagic and the Indiana Pacers. In six seasons as Indiana’s coach, Vogel went 250-181 with five playoff appearanc- es. In two seasons with Or- or 79%. Roughly one of every four Game 7s has been decid- ed by three points or less. Denver already has won a Game 7 this year, also at home, topping San Antonio in the first round. Nikola Jokic had a triple-double — 21 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists — in that game for the Nuggets. Jokic said it’s imperative to bring extra energy Sunday — and adds there’s no reason to get nervous. “I’ve played basketball for 15 years,” Jokic said. “That’s what I’ve done my whole life. Why would I be nervous right now?…You control the game. You’re the one who’s playing.” Schedule > C11 ing Game 7s on Sunday: third-seeded Philadelphia at second-seeded Toronto in the Eastern Conference and third-seeded Portland at second-seeded Denver in the West. The Portland-Denver win- ner will visit top-seeded Golden State in Game 1 of theWest finals Tuesday. The Philadelphia-Toronto winner goes to top-seededMilwau- kee for the opener of the East finals Wednesday. “I’ve been fortunate to be in a fewGame 7s and they’re very unique,” Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said. “They’re special. They are a life lesson.” There have been 133 Game 7s in NBA history — home teams have won 105, Lue reportedly thought the Lakers wouldmake an offer he was more inclined to consider, but they did not. Williams already had ac- cepted the Phoenix Suns’ coaching job the week be- fore. Other candidates consid- ered by the Lakers included Juwan Howard and J.B. Bickerstaff. Apair of Game 7s Toronto guard Kyle Lowry answered a variety of ques- tions Saturday. His last sen- tence was all that really needed to be said. “Nothingmatters but Game 7,” Lowry said. The second round of the playoffs ends with two decid- parted ways with coach Luke Walton, which came three days after Magic Johnson stepped down as president of basketball operations. Former Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue and Philadelphia 76ers assistant MontyWil- liams were the leading candi- dates to replaceWalton. Lue, who won a champion- ship with LeBron James in 2016, had long been consid- ered the favorite for the job, and the Lakers offered him a three-year deal last week, but Lue declined. Lue felt insulted the Lakers were willing to offer a three- year deal worth $18million whenWalton, a first-time head coach, had been given a five-year contract when he was hired. lando, he was 54-110. The 45-year-old Vogel did not coach last season. Kidd interviewed for the Lakers’ head-coaching job in April. While his interview was considered a favor, ac- cording to people with knowledge of the situation, he impressed the Lakers’ front office somuch it want- ed himon the staff of whom- ever was hired. The Lakers are hoping Kidd’s influence can benefit point guard Lonzo Ball, whom they drafted second overall in 2017. Saturday’s news ended a 29-day search amid an un- certain period for the fran- chise. Vogel takes over almost one month after the Lakers Vogel reportedly is hired as coach of Lakers NBA PLAYOFFS Team interviewed several candidates to replace Walton C R A I G M I T C H E L L D Y E R / T H E A S S O C I A T E D P R E S S Trail Blazers owner Jody Allen, center, looks up at the scoreboard during the fourth overtime of Game 3 of Portland's second-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets on May 3 in Portland. The teams play Game 7 Sunday in Denver. lenders so he’d avoid debt pay- ments as one of his holding com- panies went through bankruptcy court in 2004. By 2006, the Blaz- ers were struggling on the court, losingmillions annually and had become what Allen’s advisers termed a “broken financial model’’ in need of government assistance. But the real estate eventually rebounded, the teamgot better, Allen regained control of the arena and accom- panying revenues and by last year, Forbes pegged the teamhe’d bought for $70million in 1988 at a value of $1.3 billion. Earli- er this decade, Allen implement- ed his expanded entertainment vision so fans would be drawn to the Moda Center and the Vulcan- co-owned and operated Rose Quarter and stay longer. “What he did withme was talk about our fans all the time,’’ McGowan said. “He was the type of owner that was at every (home) game and went to the vast majori- ty of our road games as well. He wanted our fans to have a great time and have a great environ- ment to come to.’’ The team that plays in that envi- ronment is imminently more pop- ular with locals than its early 2000s predecessors. By the end of the 2003-04 sea- son alone, four Blazers —Rasheed Wallace, Damon Stoudamire, Qyntel Woods and Zach Randolph —had been cited for marijuana possession. There’d also been inflammatory comments directed by Blazers toward the local fans, Bonzi Wells making an obscene gesture at them, Wallace getting suspended for threatening referee TimDonaghy postgame and Ran- dolf sucker-punching teammate Ruben Patterson in the face during under TimLeiweke with the An- schutz Entertainment Group and its Los Angeles sports holdings. “But it feels deeper and a little bit stronger now.’’ McGowan credits general man- ager Neil Olshey for drafting and hiring “people with character’’ from coaches to players that do great community work withmini- mal turnover so fans can form attachments to the team. And just like the Seahawks have “The 12s,’’ the Blazers have a “Rip City’’ branding identity fostered by Allen that’s grown beyond merchandise sales. Coined from a phrase used during the team’s 1971 expansion season by play- by-play man Bill Schonely to de- scribe a seemingly hopeless, long distance shot attempt, “Rip City’’ now symbolizes an underdog- type, go-for-broke NBA squad beloved by supporters. The Blazers tied for the league’s third-best home record at 32-9; their fans forming an intimidating, at-times momentum-swinging tide of noise McGowan describes as a “super, super powerful’’ con- nection to players and “a passion- ate relationship’’ unlike any city he’s worked in or been to. It’s in stark contrast to the mid- dle of the last decade, when that trust factor had eroded along with Allen’s plans to redevelop the “Rose Quarter’’ neighborhood aroundModa Center into a vast entertainment, shopping and residential district. Real estate values were declining in the area, which is cut off from adjoining neighborhoods by Interstate 5 and surrounding roads and rail lines. At one point, Allen even turned over control of the arena — then known as the Rose Garden— to “ She’s super interested in what these teams mean to the communities that they’re in. And wants to run them just like Paul ran them — in a first-class manner.” CHRIS MCGOWAN On Jody Allen FROM THE SPORTS FRONT BASKETBALL