Larry Bird, Indiana Pacers
Third year with Pacers, third year overall
Playoff record: 26-14
Best Finish: Took Pacers to Eastern Conference finals in 1998 and '99, but lost to Bulls and Knicks

Jeff Van Gundy, New York
Fifth year with Knicks, fifth year overall
Playoff record: 33-25
Best Finish: Took Knicks to NBA Finals last year, losing in five games to the Spurs

Second round: The Pacers allowed Philly to flirt with history as the Sixers climbed out of an 0-3 hole to make it an interesting series and threaten to become the first team to dig out of that ditch in the playoffs. But the Pacers came through in Game 6, recapturing their dominance exhibited in the first three victories of the series. The series was marred by Reggie Miller's fracas with Matt Geiger in Game 4, which resulted in the Pacers star being suspended for Game 5. Miller was back for the sixth game and so was his team.
Second-round overview

First round: They made their fans nervous with the drawn-out five-game set with Milwaukee in the opening round, showing their slowness in some brutal stretches. But they avoided becoming the third No. 1 seed in NBA history to lose to a No. 8. Backup point guard Travis Best had the series-clinching 3-pointer with 16 seconds left in Game 5.
First-round overview

Second round: It was colossal warfare once again between the Knicks and the Heat … and once again New York was just a little bit hungrier, just a little bit meaner, just a little bit more clutch. For the third consecutive year, the Knicks beat the Heat in Miami in a do-or-die game. The series was nip-and-tuck throughout with two of the games decided by one point -- including Game 7, 83-82 -- and each contest undecided until the waning minutes. Chris Childs was the difference in the clincher, knocking in several key jumpers in the second half when the rest of the Knicks went ice-cold. Patrick Ewing was outplayed in the series by Heat center Alonzo Mourning, but came up with 20 points, 10 rebounds in Game 7.
Second-round overview

First round: Latrell Sprewell was splendid in the matchup against Raptors star Vince Carter, holding him to 19 points a game, six below his season average. Carter missed 35 of his 50 field-goal attempts in the series with Spree in his face for nearly every second of it. The Knicks small forward had enough energy to lead the team in scoring, too, with 19 points a game on 49 percent shooting and his runner in the lane won Game 2. The biggest shots, though, came from Larry Johnson who banked in a series-deciding 3-pointer in Game 3 and had a crucial 3-pointer in Game 1.
First-round overview