Eastern Conference

Sporting News, The, Nov 29, 1999

Atlanta

Terry's quick learning has Hawks optimistic

The development of rookie PG Jason Terry has the team optimistic. He has gained invaluable experience by working with starting PG Bimbo Coles in practice and watching him in games. Terry has started to use his speed and quickness against defenses that once caused him trouble. He also is learning to penetrate just deep enough to draw the defense and then dish to an open teammate. And when the opportunity arises, he can score with aggressive moves to the basket and by hitting open perimeter shots.... Trouble could be on the horizon if G Isaiah Rider does not become a consistent force. With G/F Jim Jackson sidelined because of knee tendinitis, Rider must show his better side. That would be the one that shows up for practice and provides consistent scoring from the perimeter, low post and running game.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: Coach Lenny Wilkens needs to decide on a starting small forward. His choice should be Roshown McLeod, who has offensive skills that can only get better. He was averaging 9.4 points and 22.6 minutes and shooting 53.8 percent from the field through last Saturday. The team can't count on injury-prone LaPhonso Ellis. Chris Crawford has had only a few quality outings, and Jackson is too small to play there on a full-time basis.

--Curtis Bunn

Boston

Walker needs to get better for Celtics to do the same

PF Antoine Walker is drifting back to his form of seasons past; he isn't making his shots, and he isn't rebounding or passing as well as he could. He did have a good game against the Nets last week, but that was probably because of Keith Van Horn's porous defense.... Injuries and inconsistency remain a problem for the bench. The injury to SF Calbert Cheaney particularly hurts the scoring off the bench; he was blending in well. Coach Rick Pitino needs more scoring from his reserves, and F Walter McCarty has been wildly inconsistent after scoring 20 points in the season opener. Eric Williams must be more consistent as well.... In addition to his scoring and defense, SF Adrian Griffin has become the team's best rebounder. That is especially valuable because of the injury to Danny Fortson (stress fracture, right foot), who averaged 11.6 rebounds last season.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: Pitino should seriously consider making Fortson his starting center when he's healthy. Current starter Vitaly Potapenko gets by, but he's in foul trouble too often, and he has terrible hands. Even though he isn't a true center, Fortson (6-7, 260) will be able to rebound, and he can score when necessary. He filled in successfully at center for the Nuggets last year after Raef LaFrentz got hurt. The move also would keep everyone else in their same positions.

--Peter May

Charlotte

Silas mixes up frontcourt starters

Coach Paul Silas originally planned to move Derrick Coleman into the starting lineup at power forward last week, with Anthony Mason switching to small forward and Bobby Phills falling out of the starting lineup and into a sixth-man's role. But minutes before tipoff in Orlando, Coleman reformed Silas he couldn't play because of a strained right foot, so Brad Miller started in Coleman's place, with Phills staying on the bench. Silas says he likes the way Elden Campbell, Mason and Coleman play together on the front line, and he says he needs more scoring off the bench and Phills is best-suited to provide it. He also thinks Phills will have a positive effect on younger players such as Baron Davis and Miller when they're in the game together.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: The team is taking a different approach to pregame preparations on the road this season. In situations where they have to travel the night before--say, on the second night of back-to-backs--the Hornets are skipping the customary morning shoot-arounds in favor of a team breakfast. They eat, watch some game film and get a brief scouting report on that night's opponent, but they don't have to go through the time-consuming process of going to the arena, changing, etc. Silas likes the idea because it's a way to get everyone together and go over that night's game plan without tying the players up for two or three hours.

--John Delong

Chicago

Kukoc heals slowly and not too surely

Toni Kukoc, the team's best player, has been slow to return from back spasms. Why should he, given he is in a contract year and the Bulls have not expressed interest in retaining him? The Bulls have compromised themselves with their pseudo-rebuilding campaign, giving Kukoc every reason to protect his best leverage, his health. This season already has been written off; why play with pain and risk career-threatening injuries for a losing season orchestrated by a management that can't be trusted? ... Randy Brown remains the top choice at point guard because he's healthy and is the team's best push man. But rookie Dedric Willoughby will get more minutes as he rounds into shape. He missed all but the last two days of training camp because he arrived late. Both must improve their shooting.