SMART MONEY'S ON BULLS : CHICAGO STILL BEST EASTERN TEAM.Byline: Marc Stein Marc Stein is a sports reporter. He began writing for ESPN.com in 2000 and signed on full-time in 2002 to serve as the site's senior National Basketball Association writer. Daily News Staff Writer No matter how many millions the competition spends, there's only one true beast in the NBA's Eastern Conference. And the chances are greater that 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. will be bored before they're gored as long as their stars hang around. Indeed, it would seem that only complacency - or injury - can keep the Bulls from making their fifth trip to the NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association. The team winning the Eastern Conference Finals earns one of the two berths in the championship round, with the other going to the team that wins the Western Conference Finals. in the past seven seasons. They've still got 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. , 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). , Dennis Rodman and 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. - in plain terms, plenty to counter New York's $150 million shopping spree that flanked Patrick Ewing Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a retired American professional basketball player. He played most of his career with the National Basketball Association's New York Knicks as their starting center and played briefly with the Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic. with Larry Johnson, Allen Johnson, Allen, 1870–1931, American historian, b. Lowell, Mass. He was professor of history at Iowa (now Grinnell) College (1898–1905), Bowdoin College (1905–10), and Yale (1910–26). Houston and Chris Childs Chris Childs may refer to:
``I don't think we are too relaxed,'' said Jordan, the three-time MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. and a champion in each of his past four full seasons. ``When I think about after we won the first championship (in 1991) and then we came back to do it again, we were just as hungry as we were the first time because we got a taste of what it was like. I think this team is similar. A lot of guys had never experienced winning, and now they feel compelled to keep that feeling.'' Because the Knicks will almost certainly need time to mesh, and with Orlando still reeling from Shaquille O'Neal's free-agent defection to the Lakers, it's widely believed that the Bulls won't even be challenged until the Finals. Pressure is also less of a factor this year, since early injuries suffered by Pippen and fellow starters 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 and 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. give Chicago cause to just play rather than attempt to better its 72-10 record. ``And that's not such a bad thing,'' Jordan said. ``You always want to go out and start in a good fashion, but we have had some surgeries over the summer and haven't had a chance to practice together as a unit. It seems we were made to get off to a slow start. ``This will take some of the expectations away, but I like to think we are mature enough not to try to live up to expectations anyway. We are going to try and play our style of basketball and hopefully that will end up with a championship.'' Orlando's Penny Hardaway Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18 1971, in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American NBA basketball player specializing as a point guard and shooting guard. He is currently a member of the Miami Heat[1], who signed him August 9, 2007. , asked if any East teams narrowed the gap on the Bulls, said flatly: ``No. No way. Nobody. Their players know how to play together. They have great chemistry. Everybody knows Michael and Scottie are the two best perimeter players in the league, but it's Rodman that makes the difference. Rodman and their team chemistry. Other teams are trying to build chemistry. The Bulls already have it.'' The following is a team-by-team look at the conference in predicted order of finish: 1. CHICAGO BULLS Coach: Phil Jackson (eighth season). Last year: 72-10, first in Central. Key newcomers: Robert Parish Robert Lee Parish (born July 30 1953 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is a retired American basketball center. . Outlook: Mathematically precluded from being better than last year - you don't really think they'll speed into the 70s again, do you? - Chicago decided to get older. And why not? Putting the venerable Parish alongside the many thirtysomethings on this team (Jordan, Pippen, Rodman and Ron Harper) only makes it more lov-a-bull. The age-old question, of course, is whether Rodman can behave for an entire season, which is really the Windy City's only concern besides injuries. As long as Dennis doesn't detonate det·o·nate intr. & tr.v. det·o·nat·ed, det·o·nat·ing, det·o·nates To explode or cause to explode. [Latin d , a fifth championship in seven years is more likely than not. Few are willing to bet against Super Mike, the master gambler. 2. 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 Coach: Jeff Van Gundy Jeff Van Gundy (born January 19, 1962 in Hemet, California) is an American basketball head coach, most recently with the National Basketball Association's Houston Rockets. Van Gundy attended Nazareth College (1985). (second season). Last year: 47-35, second in Atlantic. Key newcomers: Larry Johnson, Allen Houston, Chris Childs, Buck Williams
Charles Linwood Williams (born March 8 1960 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina), better known as "Buck . Outlook: In the league's capital city, the NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= is turning 50 and Ewing has been re-born. He's finally happy, having been surrounded by fresh, younger, talented faces and deserted by O'Neal, whose escape to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. leaves the 34-year-old as the East's top center. Just like the Lakers, though, it'll probably take time for the Knicks' new parts to fuse. Johnson has to stay healthy and Childs and Houston still have to prove themselves after relatively marginal success netted both big contracts. There's also some doubt about how tough a town New York will be now that the emphasis has switched from defense to offense. 3. ORLANDO MAGIC The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). History Early years The Orlando Magic officially entered the NBA as an expansion franchise in 1989. Coach: Brian Hill (fourth season). Last year: 60-22, first in Atlantic. Key newcomers: Felton Spencer Felton LaFrance Spencer (born January 15 1968 in Louisville, Kentucky) is a retired American basketball player at the center position in the National Basketball Association. , Derek Strong Derek Strong (born February 9, 1968 in Los Angeles, California), is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2nd round (47th overall) of the 1990 NBA Draft. , Gerald Wilkins Gerald Bernard Wilkins (born November 9 1963, in Atlanta, Georgia) is a retired American basketball player. A 6'6" shooting guard/small forward, who played collegiately at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and later in the NBA. . Outlook: Would you trade Shaq for Derek Strong? The Magic certainly didn't want to, but had to get something for its franchise player. So it responded to O'Neal's departure by signing Strong away from the Lakers, adding Wilkins and trading for Spencer, the new center. With Shaq, those moves would have enabled Orlando to threaten Chicago. Without him, the Magic will be worse everywhere except the free-throw line free-throw line n. See foul line. . . . unless Hardaway, arguably the game's best young player, supplants Jordan as MVP. 4. INDIANA PACERS “Pacers” redirects here. For other uses, see Pacers (disambiguation). The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Coach: Larry Brown Larry Brown may refer to:
Last year: 52-30, second in Central. Key newcomers: Jalen Rose, Reggie Williams, Erick Dampier. Outlook: Be honest. You didn't think Brown would last this long in Indianapolis. Then again, who dared to imagine that Reggie Miller, widely acclaimed as the second-best shooting guard on earth, would have to wait all summer to get a new contract, while King Jordan got a one-year, $30 million deal in mere minutes? Yes, the difference between No. 1 and No. 2 in the Central Division has never been more pronounced. All of Jordan's demands - including the re-signing of Rodman and coach Jackson - were met. Miller had to threaten a holdout hold·out n. One that withholds agreement or consent upon which progress is contingent. Noun 1. holdout - a negotiator who hopes to gain concessions by refusing to come to terms; "their star pitcher was a holdout for six to get his money, and lost backcourt buddy Mark Jackson (in the Rose trade) while he was waiting. 5. WASHINGTON BULLETS Coach: Jim Lynam (third year). Last year: 39-43, fourth in Atlantic. Key newcomers: Rod Strickland, Tracy Murray, Harvey Grant, Lorenzo Williams. Outlook: No less an authority than Jordan has anointed "Anointed" redirects here. For the process of anointing, see Anointing. Anointed is a Contemporary Christian music duo consisting of siblings Steve and Da'dra Crawford. Their musical style includes elements of R&B, funk, and piano ballads. the Bullets as ``the team you don't want to forget about it.'' And you won't have to, provided they can stay healthy. Trouble is, this franchise might have used up all its good fortune in the offseason, which wouldn't surprise anyone who was watched Washington miss the playoffs for eight straight years. For all their summertime success - Juwan Howard miraculously returned to D.C. after signing with Miami, free agents Murray and Williams were allowed to stay and the long-sought Strickland was acquired - the Bullets begin the year banged up as usual. Howard, Chris Webber, Gheorghe Muresan and Tim Legler are already hurting. 6. MIAMI HEAT Coach: Pat Riley (second season). Last year: 42-40, third in Atlantic. Key newcomers: Dan Majerle, P.J. Brown, Gary Grant, Ed Pinckney. Outlook: Pat Riley had people convinced that, after the richest free-agent frenzy in league history, either Howard or Gary Payton would be teamed with Alonzo Mourning for the next seven seasons. Instead, Riley got his hand slapped by commissioner David Stern for salary-cap crimes and came away with no more than a former All-Star (Majerle) to help Mourning. But the Heat should rise in the standings regardless, because Riley did manage to keep Mourning and Tim Hardaway together. Those two clicked pretty quickly late last year, and with Riles sure to take an us-against-the-world approach, Miami won't lack for motivation. 7. ATLANTA HAWKS Coach: Lenny Wilkens (fourth year). Last year: 46-36, fourth in Central. Key newcomers: Dikembe Mutombo, Tyrone Corbin, Eldridge Recasner, Priest Lauderdale. Outlook: Mutombo was one of the most visible spectators at the Summer Games in Atlanta, supporting the women's basketball team from his native Zaire. His role now, however, is drawing a perennially disinterested fan base back to Atlanta games as the Hawks' new centerpiece, their first big-name star since the Dominique Wilkins-for-Danny Manning trade with the Clippers in 1994. Expect Mutombo's impact to be greater on the floor than at the box office, but not by much. While he joins Christian Laettner, Mookie Blaylock and Steve Smith in a reasonably talented starting cast, there isn't a lot behind them to worry the rest of the conference. Nothing that Hawks followers haven't witnessed - or ignored - in the past. 8. MILWAUKEE BUCKS Coach: Chris Ford (first season). Last year: 25-57, seventh in Central. Key newcomers: Ray Allen, Armon Gilliam, Andrew Lang, Elliot Perry. Outlook: Mike Dunleavy finally realized that the Bucks would continually fall short of the postseason without surrounding Vin Baker and Glenn Robinson with actual players. Sadly, the former Lakers coach couldn't make the needed changes in time to keep himself on the Milwaukee bench, so Ford is the benefactor of a busy offseason. As strictly the GM, Dunleavy replaced the dynamic center duo of Benoit Benjamin and Kevin Duckworth with the respected Gilliam and Lang. Allen, acquired in a draft-day trade, and free-agent pickup Perry also address needs. ``The playoffs,'' Big Dog claims, ``are very realistic this year.'' 9. DETROIT PISTONS Coach: Doug Collins (second season). Last year: 46-36, fifth in Central. Key newcomers: Stacey Augmon, Grant Long, Rick Mahorn, Jerome Williams. Outlook: After getting back into the playoffs last season, Detroit was expected to make an even bigger splash on the open market over the summer. Collins was convinced he could lure either Mutombo or Michigan native Howard to the Motor City. He wound up missing on both . . . and lost Houston to the Knicks. The additions Collins was able to make turned the Pistons into ``the most athletic team Detroit has ever had.'' That said, they still have no center and now lack a perimeter threat to partner the great Grant Hill. This year, only Hill's commercials will last past April. 10. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS Coach: Mike Fratello (fourth year). Last year: 47-35, third in Central. Key newcomers: Mark West, Vitaly Potapenko, Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Outlook: After a thorough evaluation - but at great risk - we have determined that, no matter how much good coaching Mike Fratello does, the Cavaliers have no shot at the playoffs. Just like last year, when they started 0-7 . . . and wound up winning 47 games. This time, though, we're serious, since Cleveland made no significant additions and then lost Majerle to Miami. Oh, well. The Czar still has a believer in the Lakers' O'Neal, who announced recently: ``Mike Fratello has no talent on his team, and that (guy) wins 50 games every year. Know why? Because those guys play hard and play together.'' 11. CHARLOTTE HORNETS Coach: Dave Cowens (first year). Last year: 41-41, sixth in Central. Key newcomers: Vlade Divac, Anthony Mason, Tony Delk. Outlook: The cornerstones of the franchise, Mourning and LJ, are gone. So, too, is Kenny Anderson, who spent a half-season as the Hornets' quarterback, and embattled coach Allan Bristow, who spent five seasons taking shots from everyone on Tobacco Road. What's left? Glen Rice is a player, Mason should help if he feels like it and Cowens, the Hall of Fame center from Boston, just might be the guy to motivate Divac. In the East, that's not enough to make the playoffs but probably sufficient to avoid total embarrassment. 12. PHILADELPHIA 76ERS ERS, n.pr See extended rotated side-bent. Coach: Johnny Davis (first year). Last year: 18-64, seventh in Atlantic. Key newcomers: Allen Iverson, Don MacLean, Lucious Harris, Michael Cage. Outlook: Philly fans like to refer to Iverson and Jerry Stackhouse as the NBA's Backcourt of the Future. Better make it the distant future. Stackhouse had nice numbers as a rookie (19.2 ppg) but did it on a really bad team. Iverson comes in with even more potential but a shoot-first mentality that could clash with Stackhouse and, worse, Derrick Coleman. Clarence Weatherspoon has already observed, after just eight exhibition games, that the Sixers' offense basically consists of one pass before the ball goes in the air. That'll quickly deflate (file format, compression) deflate - A compression standard derived from LZ77; it is reportedly used in zip, gzip, PKZIP, and png, among others. Unlike LZW, deflate compression does not use patented compression algorithms. any hopes they have of making the inaugural season in the new CoreStates Center a playoff season. 13. NEW JERSEY NETS Coach: John Calipari (first year). Last year: 30-52, sixth in Central. Key newcomers: Kerry Kittles, Robert Pack, Vincent Askew. Outlook: Winning will on most nights be beyond Calipari's capability in his first NBA season. His immediate goal is stopping the laughter, which is the first step toward convincing future free agents that New Jersey is a great place to play no matter how bad the Nets look now. And they do look bad. To get to 30 wins last year, they relied heavily on Childs, Gilliam and P.J. Brown, all of whom are gone. That leaves three-year disappointment Shawn Bradley, rookie bust Ed O'Bannon and longtime malcontent mal·con·tent adj. Dissatisfied with existing conditions. n. 1. A chronically dissatisfied person. 2. One who rebels against the established system: Kendall Gill as team leaders. At least funny man Jayson Williams is still around to entertain us. 14. TORONTO RAPTORS Coach: Darrell Walker (first year). Last year: 21-61, eight in Central. Key newcomers: Marcus Camby, Walt Williams, Popeye Jones, Hubert Davis, Benoit Benjamin. Outlook: It didn't take long, did it? After just one season, and one productive offseason, expansion Toronto is no longer the worst team in the conference. Vice president Isiah Thomas has significantly upgraded the talent base from last year's debut, which should ease the burden on Rookie of the Year Rookie of the Year may refer to:
With so many new names, of course, chemistry is a concern. But, at this stage, it's better for the Raptors to be talented than just together, especially since most of the acquisitions are so young. Consider this campaign a success if Camby brings the Raptors another rookie-award trophy. 15. BOSTON CELTICS Coach: M.L. Carr (second season). Last year: 33-49, fifth in Atlantic. Key newcomers: Antoine Walker, Frank Brickowski. Outlook: With every stride the Lakers make toward recapturing the glory days, Boston slips back one . . . or three. The Celtics have been reduced to waiting for high draft picks to rescue the franchise, which is really all they can do now with a lottery-bound roster and the rights to Dallas' No. 1 pick in June. Until then, don't look. The Celtics play no defense, they have no center and Carr makes things even tougher by insisting that they try to compete for a playoff spot. He'd be better served by losing and losing big. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--color) The Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, remain the best in the Eastern Conference. Associated Press (2) The New York Knicks have a new look except at center, where 34-year-old Patrick Ewing returns. Daily News File Photo |
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