Bulls-Heat
series page

Needing rest, they got five days between the opening round and the start of the second because they swept Washington.

With Toni Kukoc and Dennis Rodman clearly on the mend but Michael Jordan needing time, they got a week off between their elimination game against Atlanta and the start of the Eastern finals against Miami.

They got rid of their No. 1 foe in the East when the Knicks were bounced after building a 3-1 led over the Heat.

They got the luck of payback, too, some say, arguing that after refusing to let Juwan Howard play for Miami, the NBA gave Pat Riley a break by handing out a suspension to noncombatant Pat Ewing and victim Charlie Ward, slammed dunk by P.J. Brown.

Says one general manager: "To say the league was giving payback is garbage. But one by-product of all this is that the league has shaken forever the perception that it favored the Knicks. That goes back to 1985 when New York won the lottery and drafted Patrick. It was a stupid assertion, because it would have killed the league if it had been true, but it hung around for a long time."

So, New York is gone, and the league gets a less contentious series with smaller TV ratings. And wait until Voshon Lenard and Jamal Mashburn tangle with the Bulls' playoff-intensity defense.

"It's the wrong time to catch the Bulls," says Atlanta's Steve Smith. "We got them when they weren't playing their best. Then, when we nearly beat them in Game One and beat them in Game Two you could see their game come around. We should have done more against them, but they're scary right now."

And now there is another aspect of good fortune following a good team. With 11 technicals and three ejections in eight playoff games, Rodman became a marginally sympathetic figure. When he scored 12 points in Game Five against the Hawks -- actually went out and played -- he probably gained standing with the refs. They may elect to leave him alone, provided Dennis does the same for them.

The Bulls even have been able to defuse Orlando's courtship of Phil Jackson. He admits it's out there and leaves it alone.

The truth is that Jackson is the best coach in the NBA because he eases the burdens of his players. Who else would defend Rodman? Who else could have saved Scottie Pippen after he quit on his team at the end of a playoff game against the Knicks in 1994?

Bird on Bird

However, Bird says he cannot expect his players to come to the game with the same dedication he brought.

"No, I don't expect everyone to stay an hour and a half or two hours after practice shooting. But I do expect them to work on their weaknesses," Bird said. "There were guys I played with you had to beg to play every night. I go back now and talk to some of these guys and they say, 'Can you believe these guys today not wanting to play?' And I say, 'You did the same thing when you played.' These guys (today) are no different. They're a little wilder than they used to be, but they have talent. I'm sure I'll be tested. But I've been there. I know what it takes."

Bird also promises he will not be a control freak. "I think coaches (today) are taking over too much of the game. A lot of times coaches try to coach every play, which I've seen. I want to get out and run. I'm banking on them getting the ball off the board and getting it up court quick, where you can get a lot of easy opportunities to score. It makes the game very simple. I might just sit down and keep my mouth shut. If you're in good shape and know what the game plan is and are prepared, you can let guys play. I can stand around and act like I'm coaching."

The fourth ex-Celtic in the last two years to take an important NBA job away from Boston, Bird says he is not influenced by Kevin McHale (general manager, Minnesota Timberwolves) or coaches Danny Ainge (Phoenix Suns) and Dave Cowens (Charlotte Hornets).

"Kevin always talked about me going into the front office. He told me how many fish he catches and the golf he's playing. That's not where I want to be. And Danny? I would never consult Danny Ainge on anything. The only thing I ever told him was I wished he'd do something on the court so his man would quit defending me."

Mutombo's pain

Mutombo

Each day during the playoffs, home or away, Mutombo went on-line to get the latest news from Zaire, his homeland. "Belgian and French newspapers, mostly," he said.

Parents and grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles are scattered about the city of Kinsasha where army and government officials loyal to Mobutu Sese Seko finally were evicted over the weekend.

With a rebel government in control, Mutombo does not know if "my poor country" is better off or his family safe, but matters could hardly be worse under a new government.

"Everyone asks which side I favor. The (U.S.) State Department asks me. I tell them I can say nothing. My mother and father live five blocks from the presidential palace. I will do nothing to endanger them."

Mutombo tells a story about life under the old regime:

"We have poor transportation in Kinsasha so I buy school buses and send them home so people can have transportation. My father runs the business. From the time these buses arrive in Zaire they are not a secret. From Kinsasha they could see my long line of buses on their way to the city.

"Soon after they arrive, the son of Mobuto Sese Seko comes to he garage where my father keeps the buses. We know this man as Sadam Hussein for his cruelty. His men walk around my buses. They count my buses. Then they walk into my father's office and they see my picture on the way.

"Sadam Hussein asks, 'Are these the buses of Mutombo?'

"My father says yes."

"Only then he leaves. If they were not my buses, they would be his buses, but I am too well known."

Will his fame keep his family safe?

"I don't know," Mutombo says. "But I pray for that."

Jeffrey Denberg, who covers the NBA for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is a regular contributor to ESPNET SportsZone.