BULLS MAY NOT BE A SURE THING.

Byline: Associated Press 

Two teams will fight for Eastern Conference supremacy this season: the Bulls and the Jackrabbits.

The Jackrabbits, you see, will be the team that recognizes its opportunity - the chance to jump ahead of the pack in the first two to three months of the season while Scottie Pippen of Chicago and Alonzo Mourning of Miami are recovering from injuries.

It could be the Pistons, it could be Hornets, it could be the Knicks, it could even be the Hawks. One of them should be able to have a better start or at least keep pace with Chicago while Pippen is out until the new year following foot surgery.

``It'll be a difficult start,'' Bulls coach Phil Jackson said. ``We're definitely behind the 8-ball to start the season. If we can turn into a healthy team, we'll have a good chance of finishing strong so we can finish in the same place we were last year.''

The injuries to Pippen and Mourning leave the Eastern Conference, at least in theory, up for grabs. Other teams haven't had this kind of chance since 1993-94, when Michael Jordan was playing baseball.

Chicago can't be considered a legitimate threat to win 70 games again, and a 20-10 or 25-13 start to the season while Pippen is out will make 64 wins a long shot at best.

And the team that starts fastest - the Jackrabbits - will have a chance to be the pursued rather than the pursuer. If they set themselves up for a 62- to 64-win season, that might be enough to finish with the best record in the conference.

``I don't know how the smoke will clear over the course of the season, but I expect the conference to be as good as it has been in several seasons,'' Heat coach Pat Riley said.

All of last year's playoff teams, with the exception of Atlanta and Washington, have improved through free agency or trades.

Miami, which made the Eastern Conference finals despite a dreadful bench, found a way to add four quality players - Terry Mills, Todd Day, Duane Causwell and Eric Murdock - for only $3 million.

The Heat's depth at center will be especially needed over the first six weeks of the season while Mourning recovers from knee surgery.

The Knicks are back with much of the leave-the-bench crew that botched its way to a seven-game playoff loss to Miami.

Another year older and another degree more desperate, New York traded away its last four No. 1 picks to add Chris Dudley to help keep Patrick Ewing fresh for the postseason and Chris Mills to play behind Larry Johnson. After three straight years of second-round playoff losses, the Knicks window of opportunity could close even faster.

The Detroit Pistons, shockingly successful over the first five months of last season, added free agent Brian Williams to plug a decade-long gap at center. But they also traded Otis Thorpe, getting rid of a player who clashed with coach Doug Collins but who also was a workmanlike rebounder and low-post scorer.

Charlotte overhauled its backcourt by signing free agents David Wesley and Bobby Phills to take over for Muggsy Bogues and Ricky Pierce. It will bring much-needed defensive improvement, but the Hornets will only succeed if Glen Rice becomes more of a money player in the fourth quarter of close games.

Atlanta still has one of the best starting fives in the league but was unable to upgrade its bench and add a better starting small forward than Tyrone Corbin.

The middle of the pack is crowded with six teams that figure to fight for the bottom two playoff spots.

Washington, newly renamed the Wizards, came on strong late last season and grabbed the final playoff spot on the final day of the season.

The Indiana Pacers not only added Larry Bird as coach, they acquired Chris Mullin from Golden State and will have a healthy Rik Smits.

Milwaukee, despite losing Vin Baker, improved with the addition of Terrell Brandon, Tyrone Hill and Ervin Johnson, and Orlando will move Anfernee Hardaway to shooting guard to try to make him a 30-point scorer.

Cleveland, because of Shawn Kemp, can't be totally dismissed as a No. 8 playoff contender.

New Jersey has loaded up on decent players but still needs a center, and Philadelphia will have plenty of talent trying to blend under yet another new coach, Larry Brown.

The third-year Toronto Raptors, quietly building one of the youngest, most eye-catching teams in the league, figure to improve on last season's 30 wins.

It'll be a big dropoff from there to Rick Pitino's Boston Celtics, who will be lucky if they reach 20 wins.

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PHOTO Chicago coach Phil Jackson says the Bulls could get off to a difficult start this season because of the injury to Scottie Pippen.

Associated Press