European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 2, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday november 2,1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 23 Aba preview stand Pat pistons stay in running backcourt stars Joe Dumars 4 and Isiah Thomas Are pointing toward the pistons third straight championship. Vinnie Johnson 15 fuels decisive Detroit Bench Dennis Rodman led a assisted Here by Mark Aguirre remains stifling. By Bill Barnard a basketball writer the Detroit pistons Are standing still while going for their third straight championship a half dozen teams Are making big changes while going for glory in the West. And the Denver nuggets moving faster than anyone could be going nowhere except into the record Book. The 1990-91 Aba season opens tonight with nearly everyone in the West other than the los Angeles lakers hoping for a new Era not dominated by one team. The lakers represented the West in the Aba finals every year but one in the �?T80s, but the Portland Trail blazers run through the 1990 playoffs had much of the conference scrambling during the of season. Meanwhile the pistons second straight dominating season has the rest of the East a coaches scratching their Heads Over what to do about it. But everyone concedes Detroit is the favorite to become the first team since the 1959-66 celtics to win As Many As three straight titles. A the pistons have such Good athletes Good rotations and work so Well together a Chicago coach Phil Jackson said. A we match them in the first unit but it was their depth that beat  the bulls the Only team to Challenge the pistons playoff superiority the last two years added guard Dennis Hopson and Forward Cliff Levingston to improve the cast around scoring machine Michael Jordan. Detroit coach Chuck Daly is worried that his near perfect mixture of players is being threatened by a recurring ankle injury to defensive Star Dennis Rodman. Playoff map Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer were injured during the exhibition season but Are expected Back before the opener. A a it a difficult to accomplish three straight titles from a mental standpoint and other than that there seem to be eight to 10 teams who can win it in the East and West a Daly said. You can to Tell the teams without a scorecard in the Western conference. The biggest changes in a nutshell a the Utah jazz acquired 24-Point scorer Jeff Malone to go with All league Forward Karl Malone and assist Champion John Stockton. A the defending conference Champion Trail blazers gave up a draft Choice for Danny Ainge giving Portland a three guard rotation of Ainge Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter that rivals anyone else a. A the lakers brought in Mike Dunleavy to replace coach of the decade Pat Riley and signed the off season a unrestricted free agent prize Sam Perkins then further improved their depth by adding Terry Teagle a West version of Detroit a Vinnie Johnson. A Dallas rejected its Long lived policy of hoarding first round draft picks and sent them All away in Exchange for veterans fat lever and Rodney Mccray then signed Alex English. A Sacramento inherited the mavs system and wound up with four first round picks. Two of them Lionel Simmon. And Travis Mays May wind up As starters. A the nuggets hired Paul Westhead away from Loyola Mary mount virtually guaranteeing the obsolescence of every single season record for Points scored and Points allowed. A we  have any problem reaching that a Westhead said when informed that the Aba record scoring average is 126.5, set by the nuggets in 1981-82. Westhead Wasny to reminded that the largest scoring average allowed in a season was 126.0 by those same 1981-82 nuggets. Considering that the average score of Denver a first five preseason games a four of them losses a was 171145 in favor of the opposition its Little wonder that Aba coaches were wondering who would be the first team to score 200 Points in a game. A we should be up in the 150s and above in most games a Westhead said. A obviously on some Days the opposition will be right up there with  Westhead said he wants the nuggets to wait just 5-7 seconds before taking a shot in each Possession reminding them that a if you run three quarters Speed its better not to run at All.�?�. According to Westhead the real key to forcing High octane games is pressure defense. A i Learned that the Only problem with this offence was when the other team has the Ball they slowed the Pace a Westhead said. A so i started using pressure defense. If that works the offence can to be  Westhead Isnit afraid of making Aba history. A everyone in the league runs basically the same stuff a he said. A everybody plays the game of monopoly. In a going to try to play parch Eesi. In a going to try to change the game a Little  if the rest of the Aba is playing monopoly at least some of them will be using different pieces this season. Dallas coach Richie Adubato said the acquisitions of lever Mccray and English give the Mavericks the versatility to match up with any team. A we can be very big with James Donaldson Roy tar Pley and Herb Williams on the front line and we can be Small and Quick with Roy Rodney and Rolando Blackman on the front line a Adubato said. The lakers 63-win season was largely forgotten after they were dumped by Phoenix in the second round of the playoffs. Dunleavy plans to move last season s Rookie sensation Vlade Divac into the starting lineup at Center and bring veterans Perkins and Mychal Thompson off the Bench in a flexible front line. A i done to see the lakers dropping off As Long As they have magic Johnson and James worthy a Portland coach Rick Adelman said. A and i think Byron Scott will come Back Strong after an off  but Adelman who took the Trail blazers into the finals last season said the lakers Are just one of five or six teams including Portland that have a Chance to come out of the West. San Antonious Larry Brown agrees with that assessment. A everyone assumes that because we won 56 games and we re a Young team that Well be better and i think we will be a Brown said. A but so Many teams have improved that it does no to mean Well have As much  and it remains to be seen if All that improvement Means that someone will be Good enough to dethrone the pistons