MILLER EMBRACES MENTOR ROLE.

Byline: JOE STEVENS

When Reggie Miller was a child, he had to wear braces to bed to straighten his twisted legs.

By kindergarten, he walked fine and eventually became a basketball star in school. Yet he often was in the shadow of his athletic family, with older sister Cheryl getting most of the attention because of her basketball skills.

Through hard work and a deadeye jump shot, Miller succeeded, having a stellar career at UCLA and turning into an unlikely NBA star. He's always been thin and not exceptionally quick, but he still became a five-time All-Star and one of the best shooters the league has seen.

This season, Miller's Indiana Pacers have the Eastern Conference's top record. But these are the days when the West dominates the East, and every Eastern team will be an enormous underdog in the NBA Finals.

Miller finds himself in a common role as an underdog, but also in a different role as a mentor. As the Pacers are poised to finish with the best record in franchise history, the 38-year-old Miller is the unheralded glue that has been crucial for their success.

``He's been like an assistant coach,'' Indiana All-Star Jermaine O'Neal said. ``He stated what he wants, what he expects from players. He's not a guy who's just going to talk about it. He goes out every day and prepares every single day, off and on the court. And that rubs off on a young team like ours.''

O'Neal and fellow All-Star Ron Artest have garnered a lot of attention this season. Miller has led the Pacers in scoring for the majority of his 17 seasons at Indiana, but he has fallen behind the All-Stars and Al Harrington for fourth on the team in scoring.

Fans in Indiana want the ``old Reggie,'' and some have complained that he isn't shooting enough. Although his 10.3 points per game are the lowest he's averaged since his rookie season, he still demands coverage and sometimes double teams.

His shot is still on, so he stretches defenses, helping his teammates face one-on-one coverages and get open shots. Yet with what he brings to games, he might be more valuable in practices.

``When you have a guy who's done the things Reggie Miller has done in his career - all the huge shots in big games, all the dramatics and playoff performances - and gets ready to play in a very meticulous manner, the rest of the team is going to take note,'' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. ``He's an impact guy for us.''

Carlisle considers Miller the NBA's version of the NFL's Jerry Rice. It is unusual for NBA players to play until they're 38, and it's even more unusual for a guard to play that long. If players happen to make it beyond 35, they are usually centers or forwards, tossing their body around close to the basket and surviving in the league, despite being slower. In contrast, Miller often guards some of the league's quickest and most athletic shooting guards.

``To do what he's doing at the two-guard spot at age 38 is nothing short of remarkable,'' Carlisle said.

In the offseason, Miller signed a three-year, $19 million contract that runs through the 2005-06 season. He says he never wants to be a bench player, and if it gets to the point that his playing time is considerably diminished, he will retire.

He accepts that his role is as a mentor and that the best way to teach is to show by example. He normally is the first Pacer to show up for a game, coming three hours early. He endures 30 minutes of treatment on his body, then watches videotape and works out on the court.

With the hot topic in Indiana being his shooting, or lack thereof, he answered that with ``I don't have to shoot all the time. I'm blessed to be on a team with a lot of young guns who are offensively talented. I pick and choose.''

Something that could be lost about Miller is his playoff experience and ability to make big shots. Come playoff time, there is a chance that he could be an X factor in close games. Some of his teammates do not have nail-biting playoff experience, but he sure does. Maybe that will set the Pacers apart in the East and give them a chance against one of the West powers.

``He's been the guy who's able to make big-time shots and big-time plays his whole life,'' O'Neal said. ``And now, we have the offensive capabilities to keep him away, give him rest until we need him for a big-time shot. He's taken criticism because he isn't shooting enough. But I would take one mega-shot to win the game then 15, 20 shots that score a lot of points.''

--Cuban watch: Dallas owner Mark Cuban hasn't been in the news too much this season. Perhaps his young marriage has taken up more of his off-court time.

But this week, he finally sounded off about something - how Minnesota supposedly disrespected his Mavericks in a blowout. Ervin Johnson, the last Wolves player to enter the game, attempted a 3-pointer as time expired. Earlier, Kevin Garnett sat on the scorers' table during a timeout late in the game, picked up a phone and had a mock conversation.

``That was low-rent and classless,'' Cuban told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Perhaps the owner is also upset because the Wolves have replaced the Mavs as one of the West's ``Big Four'' teams.

--End of an era? If the season ended today, the Portland Trail Blazers would miss the playoffs after being in the postseason for 21 consecutive seasons. In their post-Rasheed Wallace era, the 10th-place Blazers are making a run for the eighth spot in the West, but the surprising Nuggets are holding their ground as the eighth-place team.

If the Blazers happen to make the playoffs, they will tie the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers (1950-71) for the longest playoff run in league history.

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- Ross Siler