REIGN OVER? THEY SAY BULL.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI The Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are a professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They play in the National Basketball Association. The team was founded in 1966, and has won six NBA Championships since. don't seem worried about this. The Bulls don't seem upset about this. They may even be enjoying this. Seven and five, 1-4 on the road? ``It's a marathon, not a sprint,'' center Luc Longley Lucien James "Luc" Longley (born January 19 1969 in Melbourne, Victoria) is a retired Australian professional basketball player, who was the first Australian to play in the NBA. He attended college at the University of New Mexico. was saying cheerily. Four games behind In sports, the phrase games behind, often abbreviated as GB in tables, is a common way to reflect the gap between a leading team and another team in a sports league, conference, or division. the Atlanta Hawks in their division? ``Don't mean a thing,'' guard Ron Harper
Ronald Harper (born January 20, 1964 in Dayton, Ohio) is a retired American professional basketball player whose career spanned from 1986 to 2001 with four teams in was saying of the Hawks' fast start, pointing out, ``They got drilled at home (by the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Knicks Thursday).'' Supplanted as the NBA's best team by the undefeated Lakers? ``Don't believe the hype,'' Harper was telling the people who make the hype. ``It's all hype.'' The Bulls came to the Sports Arena with their worst road record at the start of a season in either Michael Jordan This article is about the former basketball player. For other uses, see Michael Jordan (disambiguation). Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. era, with Scottie Pippen Scottie Maurice Pippen (born September 25, 1965 in Hamburg, Arkansas) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). on the trip only to rehab his left foot, and with a few other unfamiliar pieces of baggage. With sympathy, with the rest of the league underrating them, and with the emotional edge of an underdog. Then things got worse, or better, depending on their attitude. The Clippers took them to double overtime before Jordan and the Bulls won 111-102 in front of a standing-room-only, arena-record crowd of 16,199 that included Tiger Woods  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled. , Steve Lavin Steve Lavin (born September 4,1964), a San Francisco, California native is a former college basketball coach and current ABC and ESPN TV analyst. As UCLA head basketball coach from 1996-2003, Lavin compiled a record of 145-78. and Billy Crystal in
the owner's row.
Judging by the reactions to Jordan's 49 points, the 199 were the Clippers fans. OK, so the Bulls weren't underdogs against the Clippers, but elsewhere around the league, they're being measured by would-be successors. And . . . loving it? An hour before the game, Dennis Rodman sat at his cubicle, watching a replay of the Bulls' latest loss but nodding along to the CD playing in his headphones Head-mounted speakers. Headphones have a strap that rests on top of the head, positioning a pair of speakers over both ears. For listening to music or monitoring live performances and audio tracks, both left and right channels are required. . Jordan sat in street clothes in the training room, staying out of interview range until seconds before the 6:45 p.m. close of press access. Pippen was telling a very broad joke: ``Man, I'm not coming back. I'm trying to work a trade out to come to the Clippers.'' Longley was having fun with writers who wanted to know if he spent Friday at the beach, where on an L.A. visit last season he hurt a shoulder body-surfing. ``I didn't go to the surf today,'' the Australian said. ``And if I did, I wouldn't tell you.'' The Bulls survived the summer, when management pondered the dismantling of the team that has won five of the past seven NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= titles. But Pippen, coach Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson (born September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana) is the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, an American professional basketball team. and, if Jackson, then Jordan, could be gone at the end of this season. So this might be the Bulls Farewell Tour. If so, Los Angeles gave them a nice going-away gift Friday, a game against the 1-10 Clippers. A gift they could use, you'd think. These nights, Jordan faces double- and triple-teaming defenses without Pippen to bail him out, and putting Toni Kukoc in the lineup robs the Bulls of the NBA's best sixth man. When Jordan passes, it seems to catch his teammates by surprise. If you were Rusty LaRue, wouldn't you be surprised if Jordan threw the ball to you? ``We're working on things we need to work on,'' Longley said. ``We're confident it'll (get better), but not because we're waiting for (Pippen to return).'' Pippen, who had surgery, is expected to be back in the Bulls' red, black and white in January, unless, of course, that trade to the Clippers goes through. The questions until then are: Can Jordan carry the team? Should he try - and risk having nothing left for the second half? ``This is definitely a challenge,'' Harper said. ``It's a good challenge. ``I'm sure, if we are successful and go all the way and play in June, we'll look back at this and think it was quite an accomplishment. It'll be more special.'' What a nice change of pace. If the rest of the league thinks they're easy marks, well, just wait. ``After the All-Star break, that's when the real season starts,'' Harper said. After the All-Star break: Isn't that when old age will really catch up with them? ``Hey, Harper said, ``catch me in June.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: It's been easier for teams to double- and triple-team Michael Jordan with injured Scottie Pippen out of the Bulls lineup. David R. Crane / Daily News |
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