European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 20, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday november 20, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 25 Riley s new kicks muscle up to run by Bill Barnard a basketball writer new York Pat Riley once the Aba s smoothest coach on the Aba s smoothest team is going muscular in his first season with the new York kicks. Eager to please and impress Riley before training Camp opened the a Nicks holdovers did their Best to show him a body Beautiful look and a series of trades and acquisitions have transformed the kicks into team intimidation. New Yorkus front line of Patrick Ewing Charles Oakley and Xavier Mcdaniel with 6-foot-7, 2s0-Pound free Aba agent signee Anthony Mason in Reserve is not Only big but As Forward Kiki Vandeweghe said a you have to pick somebody else to mess  a they have a Nasty disposition Quot Riley said. A they Are four front court players who Are very aggressive and won t be afraid to mix it  Riley who won four Aba championships and compiled the leagues Best career winning percentage As coach of the los Angeles lakers is returning to coaching after a one year broadcasting stint. He says he a missed the game the practices and even talking to the Buzzards in the  in the kicks 39-43 and wingless in the first round of the playoffs last season Riley knows he does no to have the Talent of the lakers who won the Pacific division All nine years he was the coach. A but we re quietly optimistic about the continued growth of the team Quot he said. Quot i Haven t predicted anything from a win standpoint its unfair to the players. 1 done to know them Well enough to put a number on them. My Only goal is to be one of the hardest working Best conditioned teams in the  to achieve that goal projected starting guards Mark Jackson and Gerald Wilkins came to Camp looking like Shorter versions of the muscular front line. Jackson gave up fast foods cutting his weight from 202 to 193 and his body fat from 22 percent to 15 percent. Wilkins Riley said Quot came to Camp at 216 and sculptured. I think he a going to be on muscle Magazine next month. He s gotten bigger and stronger. He can match up against some Small forwards in this  Riley a proponent of seven and eight Man rotations with the lakers might Quot do that again in new York if he can find players who can handle More than one position. A was a team the More versatile you Are that makes you that much More of a threat All around a Wilkins said. A the Way we run our offence it does no to require big Here big  a you la see All different types of lineups a said Oakley who expects to play some minutes at Center. A i think he Only likes to play seven or eight Guys so the More positions you play the More you re going to play the More you re going to help the team  even with the Trade of Jarrod Mustaf and Trent Tucker to Phoenix for Mcdaniel a consistent 20-Point scorer in his career who slipped to 17.0 for the suns and Seattle last season the kicks revolve around Ewing the perennial Allstar Center. Ewing s positive attitude and a warm reception from fans at Madison Square Garden in two preseason games have eased fears that this would be a difficult season for him mentally because of a highly publicized contract squabble. A Patrick is doing everything we ask and doing it with a smile on his face Quot Riley said. A a he a leading the drills in practice and working very  Ewing is one of the Best scoring rebounding and shot blocking centers in the league but Riley is most concerned with improving his passing. A the actually becomes a trigger Man he becomes a Point Post player when he gets double teamed a Riley said. A a he a got to take the pressure Down there and make some scoring passes. As far As everything else he a everything i thought he would  Riley Isnit buying the prevailing Wisdom that says teams no longer need a dominating Center to win an Aba title. A you have a better Chance to win a championship by getting a great Center and then building the parts around him a Riley said a Detroit won two with Bill Laimbeer but he s a great rebounded and gives them a threat away from the Basket. And they did t win it All until James de penguins clip Quebec by the associated press Quebec a Mark Recchi scored three goals and added three assists As the Pittsburgh penguins beat Quebec 7-3 monday night in Pierre pages first game As coach of the Nordques. Page Quebec a general manager fired coach Dave Chambers on sunday and look Over behind the Bench. The loss was the sixth straight for the Nordques and their 11th in 13 games Kevin Stevens also scored three goals for the penguins whose $65 million Sale from the Debartolo family to Howard Baldwin and Morris Belzberg was approved earlier in the Day. Recchi who scored 40 goals last season had the first three goal game of his career. He scored on the Power play at 7 37 of the first and made it 20 4 11 later. Stevens scored at 2 25 of the second but Mark Sundin pulled Quebec to 3-1 at 9 21. Recchi then scored his eighth goal of the season with 2 47 remaining in the period. Stevens scored on the Power play at 1 47 of the third and made it 6-1 just 73 seconds later with his third goal. Sundin got his second goal of the game at 6 29, and Doug Smail pulled Quebec to 6-3 at 13 19. Jaromir Jug scored for Pittsburgh with 2 48 remaining. In monday s Only other game canadians 1, oilers 0 Montreal a Stephan Lebeau scored on a Power play goal nine minutes. Into the second period As Montreal ended a three game wingless Streak. Edmonton had just 12 shots on goal and came within one of the record for fewest shots against Montreal. That was set by Toronto on Jan. 19, 1956. Canadians goaltender Patrick Roy recorded his third shutout this season and the 16th of his  magic is Back magic Johnson returned to the forum in Inglewood calif., sunday night and received a standing ovation and hugs from the lakers and visiting Atlanta Hawks in his first appearance at a lakers game since retiring from the game nov. 7 after testing positive for the aids virus. The lakers won 111-89. Wards gave them a Low Post  Riley s toughest chore could be turning the kicks who All too often relied strictly on Ewing at crunch time into a polished running team. A anyone who knows me knows i like to run not a freelance fast break but a patterned fast break a Riley said. A however i know we can t win without a balance Between a running game and a half court  another key for Riley is Jackson a former Rookie of the year and All Star whose Stock has fallen steadily the past two seasons. A this is the most important year for me since my Rookie year a Jackson said. Quot this is the Opportunity to prove myself. I always Felt i was at my Best when i m  pacers sign 1st pick trip pistons 118-101 Indianapolis a the Indiana pacers made news on and off the court monday signing first round draft pick Dale Davis and then defeating the Detroit pistons 118-101. Quot it was a Long wait for  said Davis the Atlantic coast conference rebounding Leader at Clemson the past three years. A i saw some Good opportunities on defense and tried to get myself into Good rebounding  Rik smile scored 13 of his 26 Points in the third Quarter including a three Point play that put the pacers ahead to slav and ignited a 25-9 second half spun. With the score lied 69-69, Smits hit a 10-Fooicr despite being fouled by Bill Laimbeer. And the free throw gave Indiana a 72-69 Edge with 5 41 left in the third Quarter. Smits who has scored in double figures in All 11 games this season. Had two More baskets As Indiana started to pull away. His Hook shot with 4 05 left gave Indiana a 78-73 Lead and the pacers out scored the pistons 9-2 in the final 3 29 Lor an 87-75 advantage. Vei n Fleming scored six of those nine Points. Detroit which got 27 Points from Isiah Thomas and 19 rebounds from Dennis Rodman closed to 87-78 on a three Point play by Thomas with 11 16 left in the game. But Indiana look command by scoring the next seven Points. A Layup by Micheal Williams who had 12 of his 22 Points in the final Quarter put Indiana up 89-78. Williams also had 14 assists. Davis worked out with the team for about an hour before the game and placed 13 minutes. He did t score but he finished with two blocks and five rebounds a All in the Linal Quarter. John Salley scored 21 Points for Detroit and the pacers Chuck person had 19 Points