NBA PLAYOFFS : Bronx Cheers Become Bullish Bravos as Cartwright Finally Gets a Chance

They gasped or scoffed or coughed when the Chicago Bulls traded one of the National Basketball Assn.’s most relentless rebounders, forward Charles Oakley, to the New York Knicks during the off-season, because all the Bulls got in return was Bill Cartwright.

“Mr. Bill,” they had called him at Madison Square Garden, in mocking tones and falsetto voices. He was always beaten, always hurting. Cartwright was hooted by the New York crowds, on those periodic occasions when he was healthy enough to appear in a game. How in the world could the Knicks be so lucky as to unload him and pick up a rebounding monster such as Oakley in the bargain?

Funny how things sometimes work out. Oakley and the Knicks are on the sidelines--put there, in fact, by Cartwright and the Bulls--and the big hoss in the middle has become a very big man in Chicago’s plans as Game 3 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals rolls around today (11 a.m. PST, Channels 2 and 8).

Tied with the Detroit Pistons at a victory apiece, the Bulls believe they can hold their own with the Pistons, simply because Cartwright has given them some semblance, at least, of the center Chicago has been desperately seeking since Artis Gilmore was young.

“One thing for sure,” Coach Doug Collins said. “We wouldn’t have gotten this far without Bill Cartwright.”

Cartwright’s scoring and rebounding have improved steadily since the season began. For a time, Oakley was doing his rebounding thing for the Knicks, who were one of the NBA’s most impressive teams, while Cartwright was struggling to learn the Chicago system--Give it to Michael Jordan and Get Out of His Way.

The more he played, though, the more Cartwright got comfortable in his surroundings. Bit by bit, he assumed some of the scoring load. With that hilarious shot of his--when Cartwright shoots, whether it’s a jump shot or a free throw, he holds the ball above his head as though he is playing water polo--Cartwright came through with some offense, and Chicago Stadium’s crowds stopped heckling and started clapping.

He became the club’s No. 3 scorer and rebounder, averaging 12.4 points and 6.7 rebounds. He stationed himself in the low post and called it home, and, after a while, even Jordan realized it was OK to lob the ball into him without wasting a trip downcourt.

“I questioned the trade in the past,” Jordan said. “But not any longer. Bill has stepped it up a notch, especially during the playoffs. He’s been outstanding.”

Patrick Ewing can vouch for that. So can Brad Daugherty. Credit for the elimination of the Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers mainly went to Jordan, whose last-quarter heroics have been well-documented. Nobody, though, should discount the job Cartwright did on the two opposing centers in those series.

As for Detroit, nobody could blame Cartwright for Tuesday night’s 100-91 Chicago defeat. Even though he was weak from flu, Cartwright played hard, particularly on defense. Nobody on the Piston starting front line scored in double figures.

Rick Mahorn of the Pistons did get 18 points in Game 1, leading his team in scoring for the first time all season, with Cartwright assigned to guard him. That motivated the big Bull.

“I’ve got to do a better job on Mahorn,” Cartwright said. “I can’t take it for granted that he’s not a big scorer. He knows how to put the ball in the basket, same as he knows how to keep you from the basket, by pushing and shoving and bumping and trying to distract you from your game.”

Cartwright had mixed feelings when New York traded him. The only NBA life he had known was with the Knicks. He was the No. 3 pick in the quality-laden 1979 draft, the one in which the Lakers flipped a coin with the Bulls for the No. 1 choice and came up with Magic Johnson.

In that draft, Cartwright went ahead of some pretty fine players, among them Sidney Moncrief, who went No. 4 to Milwaukee, and Vinnie Johnson, who went from obscurity in Seattle to an invaluable role as a sharpshooter reserve for Detroit.

“I’ve been waiting a long time to get a taste,” Cartwright said. “It’s been a long time without any championship possibilities, and all of a sudden I’ve got a shot. Maybe we’re not the favorites in this thing, but nobody can say we’re out of it.”

Cartwright, the aging Bull, is attempting to fill a need as old as the franchise itself. Chicago has had only one first-rate center--Gilmore--since the outfit was formed in 1966.

“Look at how far we’ve come with Cartwright at center,” Collins said. “Bill’s been doing a fine job, but I think anybody could tell you that he got off to a slow start. Now that Michael’s got a capable center to work with, his own game is that much better. And the better Cartwright gets, the better Jordan is going to get.”

Now there’s a scary thought.

“I know some people here were sorry to see Charles Oakley go,” Cartwright said. “I’d like to think now that the trade worked out pretty well for both sides.”

NBA Notes

Injured Chicago forward Scottie Pippen said: “I’ll play. I’ll be out there.” The Bulls’ No. 2 scorer has a bruised arch on his left foot, and has been listed as questionable in recent days. . . . Fired University of Kentucky basketball coach Eddie Sutton, in town on business, visited practice as a guest of Chicago General Manager Jerry Krause. Sutton said he intends to stay out of coaching for at least the next couple of years. “First, I want to let my battery recharge and try something else,” he said.

A sellout, today’s game “doesn’t even have standing room or obstructed-view tickets available,” Chicago ticket manager Joe O’Neil said. O’Neil has been offered everything from money to “Les Miserables” tickets for playoff seats. One guy identified himself as a friend of Laker General Manager Jerry West, who, he said, told him to call O’Neil for tickets. “That’s funny,” O’Neil said. “Jerry West wouldn’t know me if I walked into him on Sunset Strip.” The caller hung up.