[Fwd: ESPN report]

[Steve Huffman <stevhuff@eastky.net>]

Greg Odegaard wrote:

> Thanks for the info last time, but if anybody gets the premium ESPN Zone
> coverage, could they please post the report today regarding the Atlantic
> Division.  Should be interesting.
>
> Curious comments today in the Globe from Pitino.  Can he take the heat?  At
> least we know the opposing teams can't.  Is he being fair with the fans?
> Having been in Boston for games a few times, and not in the last 2 years,
> is the fans treatment of the team this poor, and sporadic?
>
> Just wonderin'

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X XI hope
this is the ESPN report that you wanted to read.
Steve Huffman
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  Building a mystery in the East

                 By Jeffrey Denberg
                 Special to ESPN SportsZone


  Eastern archive

                 We're a few days into the new season and if you don't have
more questions than  answers, you aren't paying attention.

                 Question 1: What's going on in Charlotte? With newcomer Bobby
Phills out as  many as three weeks, coach Dave Cowens moved Glen Rice to
shooting guard,
slipped untested Tony Farmer in as starting small forward and watched New York
and Minnesota clobber his Hornets.

                 Rice was a combined 6-for-22 while playing in the backcourt.
The Hornets lost by  an average of 14 points and generally acted like a bunch
of guys who had not been   introduced. New point guard David Wesley had 11
assists and seven turnovers in
 two games.

                 Order was restored to Charlotte's lineup
                 Monday night in Miami. Rice was back at
                 small forward, and he scored 28 points on
                 11-for-17 shooting. Wesley had 20 points
                 and eight assists as the Hornets beat the
                 Heat 112-99.

                 Question 2: If they're running in  Cleveland, where are they
going? The
Cavs put up 86 points in Houston and shot  .372, moved over to San Antonio
where
 they scored 80 and shot .329.

                 One executive wondered if Mike Fratello's
                 new up-tempo game would make it to
                 Thanksgiving. Better question: How long
                 will Fratello go with rookie Derek
                 Anderson as his starting point? Many
                 consider fellow rook Brevin Knight a
                 better choice.

                 Question 3: Is Nick Anderson for real?   The Magic small
forward did not attempt a  free throw in the exhibition season or in the
opening loss to Atlanta. He put one  up Sunday in Boston and missed.

                 Anderson's contract offers him $1 million bonuses if he makes
67 percent of his   foul shots and if he averages 2.9 free throws a game. If
Anderson doesn't become
 more involved, he can make his guaranteed $4.5 million a year sitting on the
bench.

                 Question 4: Why is Christian Laettner missing in action?
Laettner played
listlessly during last season's playoff series against the Bulls, drifted
throughout
training camp and was ineffective during the exhibition season.

                 One weekend into the season, backup Alan Henderson is the
better player,
shooting 14-for-19 and scoring 37 points in 48 minutes. Meanwhile, Laettner was

7-for-17 with 15 points in 63 minutes. Against Toronto, he was benched in favor

of   Henderson nearly the entire fourth quarter before returning for mop-up
work.

                 Question 5: Does Boston's victory over Chicago mean anything?
No. In fact, the   first month of the season doesn't mean anything as far as
the Bulls go. The Bullies
 need a little time to get Toni Kukoc and Dennis Rodman acclimated. And when
 Scottie Pippen comes back, watch out.

                 Question 6: Can money buy a starting position? Chris Childs
lost his starting job   in New York to Charlie Ward. Chris Mills signed for $33
million in Boston and got
bumped to New York where he, too, is a sub. Between them, Mills and Childs
make about $60 million. They can buy their own team and start themselves.

                 No Miami for Mitch

                 Miami's Pat Riley still isn't satisfied with his Heat team.
Now he wants Kings
guard Mitch Richmond, but it won't happen as the Lakers move in on Richmond.

                 What it takes for the Heat is a three-way deal to settle
salary-cap issues, and few  teams appear willing to part with key players to
get role players from Miami. The
                 Heat will not give up Alonzo Mourning or Tim Hardaway. Though
P.J. Brown's   name is mentioned in every Heat trade rumor, Riley is reluctant
to move the
 power forward.

                 "We've had discussions with them, that's all. But everybody
has discussions," Riley  said. "(Richmond) is a great, great superstar. It
looks as though it has come to the
time out there, that they are really entertaining discussions. There must be 15

teams involved."

                 Riley has long been enamored with Richmond, 32, who grew up in
Lauderdale  Lakes and attended Boyd Anderson High School, a 25-minute drive
from Miami.    Riley does believe that Richmond will be traded soon, though.
"It's getting to that   point, as it does with a lot of teams, with some
players, where it becomes that
time."

                 Jordan on my mind

                 The lure of Michael Jordan is a great magnet in Atlanta with
the Hawks playing   the Bulls on Friday in the Georgia Dome. More than 30,000
tickets have been sold   and the game is certain to surpass the largest crowds
ever to see a game in the
state of Georgia -- 34,614 when UMass played Georgetown in the 1996 NCAA
East Regional, and 34,600 for the men's gold-medal game in the '96 Olympics.

                 The Hawks figure the game will surpass 41,311 and become the
10th-biggest  crowd for an NBA regular-season game. The Bulls come back March
27 and the  advance sales are already at 20,000.

                 Scottie isn't seething

                 Pippen hints he will return for the Christmas game against
Miami. Pippen also said   not having surgery on his foot before the summer had
nothing to do with
 management, and he's not mad at anybody.

                 "It's been very difficult for me after hearing all the stuff
about why I waited to
have surgery and why I didn't have it over the summer," he said. "I took my
time
and tried to allow my injury to heal through time, and it didn't happen that
way. I
 wasn't anticipating the season starting without me. But that's the way it has
played
out and we'll have to deal with it.

                 "I was a little disappointed when I knew I was going to have
surgery. But not
surprised. I wanted to see if it would heal. It worked for Toni. But it didn't
work in
 my favor. It's a totally different injury."

                 Man of the people

                 The Bulls had their tip-off luncheon for the fans and, what do
you know, Rodman   got booed.   "You can boo him if you want to," said Phil
Jackson, "but we're glad he's back."

                 Said Rodman: "For the people who like me, I appreciate that.
And for the people   who don't like me, all I am going to say is I am not here
to kiss your butt to have    you like me. I'm paid to do a job. If you don't
like it, you don't have to come to the    games."

                 Light up the scoreboard

                 Orlando is definitely putting the ball and the team squarely
in Penny Hardaway's   hands. Asked if Penny has the green light to shoot any
time this year, assistant   Brendan Suhr said, "He's got any light he wants."

                 Jeffrey Denberg, who covers the NBA for the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution,
writes a weekly Eastern Conference notebook each Tuesday for
ESPN                SportsZone.

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