European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 02, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse R Page 34 the stars and stripes sports wednesday november 2,1994 pacers magic Ead the Field Eastern conference by Shaun Powell. New Day to prof Theli Rte Indiana pacers the pacers came within 13 seconds of advancing to the Aba finals with a Cuba Point guard. That s Why they get the nod Here to set the Pace when the season opens Friday. You replace Haywoode Workman with Mark Jackson and you be got something. Jackson is a play maker. He generates scoring chances for teammates perhaps better than any Point guard except John Stockton. Imagine what Jackson will mean to Dale Davis and Antonio Davis Guys who t Are unable to create their own shots. Hell also help Center Rik Smits score Little closer to the Basket. Reggie Miller does t need Jackson s Aid since he s Thebes scoring two guard in the game. The difference for the pacers and the person who May give them the Edge Over Orlando an Charlotte and yes even the kicks is coach Larry Brown. The pacers have solid direction on the Bench and on the floor and that kind of balance competes for championships. Orlando magic for a team that has t won a playoff game great things sure Are expected of the magic. There s Good reason for that. Shaquille o Neal is ready for a monster year. Horace Grant is the Power Forward they Veblen looking for. Penny Hardaway could make a huge leap in his second season and Brian Shaw provides a steady hand in the Back court. Book the magic for 50-something wins and not Only a playoff Victory but maybe even a few playoff rounds. New York kicks the kicks won t be any worse than last year because they Haven t suffered Amajor Talent loss instead another championship round appearance depends on How much better the com Petman is. Assuming his right knee withstands an other Long season Patrick Ewing will Likely maintain the same kind of consist Jency he s Given the last four years. New York also will have Derek Harper for a full season and now that he s comfortable he figures to assume the performance level he displayed in the finals. The kicks will offer no surprises in 94-95. They la be hell on defense Horri ble on offence and will compete for the Best record in the conference. What the kicks must guard against is getting sur prised by Orlando or Indiana. Charlotte hornets this was the year the hornets were supposed to make a. Dash for the but then Larry Johnson s Back be came an Issue. Now it s the stress Frac Ture in his foot which will Shelve him for a few months and suddenly it seems the hornets Are simply a Good team hoping for greatness. The hornets acquired some front Lin insurance by signing grand papa Robert Parish and gave themselves some stability but not size at Point guard by acquiring Michael Adams. Whether the hornets can put the same kind of scare into the Eastern Confer ence contenders like they did a few years ago depends on whether Johnson will be sitting on the Bench or lying next to it during his rest periods. Aba preview Middle of the Road. J Miami heat the heat Haven t been As Lucky As their expansion cousins Orlando and Charlotte in the draft. And that May be reflected this year. While those teams head upward in the standings the heat creeps along at a slower Pace. It has several Good players but no great ones no All stars. Miami is trying to locate a Point guar because it s evident that Steve Smith is better suited to play big guard. Rookie guard Khalid Reeves will get his Chanceton become a play maker. Chicago bulls you get the feeling the bulls Aren t dead yet. They still have a Clever coach i Phil Jackson and the game s Best non Center in Scottie Pippen. They re just hoping for a breakthrough year from Toni Kukoc and a solid season from free agent signee Ron Harper. They figure to have problems at the strength positions because their bes Power Forward is a Rookie Dickey Simp Kins and their Center position will be carved up by Luc Longley will Perdue and Bill Wennington. New Jersey nets during the of season the nets added Butch Beard Yinka dare and Sean Hig gins. Each comes with question Marks. Can Beard handle one of the hardest teams to coach is dare ready to play significant minutes and How much can Higgins help the second worst shooting team in the league at least the nets know what they have in Derrick Coleman and Kenny Ander son which is the Best Forward guard combo West of Malone and Stockton. Atlanta Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens won 926 games and coached 21 years without the Benefit of a superstar. Hell have to do that again because the Hawks lost Domin ique Wilkins and Danny Manning and have nothing to show for them. That s Why the Hawks Wilkens non withstanding Are everyone s Choice to experience a significant drop off from Las year s 57 wins. They la still be a formidable defensive team because that s the strength of their coach and their backcourt Stacey aug Mon and cookie Blaylock. But. They must find a reliable offensive source other than Kevin Willis and locate someone who can win games. Willis is not that player. Cleveland Cavaliers ouch ooh. Ugh. That was the Only noise made last year by the Cavaliers who continued their miserable relation ship with the injury Bug. And it figures to carry Over into this season because Herald Wilkins is out with a torn Achilles and Center Brad Daugherty s Back remains iffy. A healthy cars team can tread above .500 because Mark Price is still an All Star and Tyrone Hill leads a Host of Relia ble role players. But if Daugherty stays Down the cars May eventually head that Way too. Bottom of the Heap Boston celtics look out celtics. You re shaping up suspiciously like your 197879 team. They had an aging gunner Bob Mcado Othey added a thick plodding Center Rick Robey and went through 18 different top contenders in Aba East Orlando defenders Larry Krystkowiak Dennis Scott and Shaquille o Neal have pacer guard Haywoode Workman boxed in Here in this 1993 Aba playoff game but the pacers swept the series. Indiana has replaced Workman with Mark Jackson this year and rates As one of the favourites along with the magic. Players. You have a aging gunner do Minique Wilkins thick plodding Cen Ter Rookie Eric Montross and . Carr has shaken up the roster since becoming gym this summer. What you Don t want to inherit from that team was its 29 wins. No you won t be that bad. But they found Relief next year in Rookie Larry Bird. When do you turn things around " Philadelphia 76ers the 76ers Are building a front line forthe future. Forward Clarence Weatherspoon we already know about. Rookie Forward Sharone Wright we have a goo feeling about. Center Shawn Bradley is the one that has us scratching Dandruff. Is he a Long Long Range project or will he show the 76ers something substantial this year Bradley was bringing it All together last Spring before a busted Kneecap prematurely ended his Rookie year. His inconclusive preseason which ended prematurely after he re injured the knee did trend any clues. Washington bullets for a team that actually has a decent collection of Young Talent the bullets sure did lose a lot last year. The reason they could t play any a they never meshed As a unit and they were an awfully big liability in the Middle. New coach Jim Lynam is supposed to take care of the first two problems. As for the Center Well that responsibility Falls on the awfully High shoulders of 7-7 Gheorge Muresan who looks like he Sready. Detroit pistons it s too Early to be sure but the pistons probably drafted themselves a bigger ver Sion of Joe Dumars when they took Grant Hill. All of the same elements Are there character professionalism Tal ent. Now if some of Hill can rub off on overweight undisciplined free agent Sig Nee Oliver Miller these lottery appear ances will be fewer in the future. Milwaukee Bucks the Best Way to rebuild is by adding a solid piece each year. The Bucks did thai wit Levin Baker and now Here s Glenn Robinson when he signs. Since they Don t have much else the Bucks will have the Chance to add another High lottery pick next Western conference pre View
