NBA PLAYOFFS : Disorder in the Ranks Replaces ‘80s Dynasties

Things used to be much simpler.

In the 1980s, you could pretty much count on the NBA finals with either the Lakers or the Boston Celtics. In the early ‘90s, the Chicago Bulls were the dominant team.

“It’s not that way anymore,” New York Knick Coach Pat Riley said. “I think the teams out West have shown this year there’s a number of teams that can win it, and it’s the same back East. I think that’s good.”

When the 1995 NBA playoffs begin today, it will be with no clear favorite and with as many as 10 teams feeling they have a legitimate shot at winning it all.

The best-of-five first round opens with the Lakers at Seattle, Houston at Utah, Cleveland at New York and Atlanta at Indiana.

The Bulls don’t have home-court advantage in the first round, but they do have Michael Jordan playing again. The Bulls would have to win four road series to claim the title, beginning with their opening series against Charlotte on Friday. San Antonio, Orlando, Seattle, Phoenix, New York and Utah are other favorites.

While Jordan talks of his chances of winning a fourth title, chances of Houston repeating as champion seem slim. The Rockets are seeded sixth, playing against a Utah team having its best season ever.

But a defending champion hasn’t been bounced out in the first round since 1984. And Hakeem Olajuwon, last year’s season and finals most valuable player, is back at full strength after sitting out eight games because of anemia, and Clyde Drexler brought 11 seasons worth of playoff experience with him from Portland.

If the road back to the championship series looks tough for the Rockets, the Knicks know exactly how it feels.

Like Houston, the defending Eastern Conference champions didn’t win their division, were hurt by injuries and have a difficult first-round matchup.

The Knicks’ first-round opponents, the Cavaliers, have patience and a tenacious, ball-control offense that frustrates most teams. Cleveland split the regular-season series with the Knicks, winning twice at Madison Square Garden, but have lost their last 10 on the road.

“We can’t let them control the pace to the point where it defuses our energy to play,” Riley said. “We have to create things, make sure we rebound the ball after they use the whole clock, take advantage of breaking opportunities. They’re masters at that game. It will be low-scoring regardless of what tempo it is.”

Cleveland averaged a league-low 90.5 points a game during the regular season, while the Knicks averaged 98.2.

Add Indiana to the list of teams thinking this is its year to go all the way. With their first division title and best record since joining the NBA, the Pacers got to Game 7 of the conference finals before losing to the Knicks.

“The bottom line is our objective from training camp to this point was to win a championship, put ourselves in a position to do that,” said guard Byron Scott, who won three championships with the Lakers. “I think we’ve done everything we possibly can to do that.”

Indiana eliminated the Hawks last year in the conference semifinals.

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NBA Notes

As expected, Don Chaney was fired as coach of the Detroit Pistons, and Billy McKinney resigned as vice president of player operations. The jobs will be combined and handed to Doug Collins, whose hiring is to be announced at a news conference Saturday. Tom Wilson, Piston president, emphasized that Collins has not signed a contract. But he made it clear the former Chicago Bull coach is leaving the broadcast booth to take charge of the Pistons. A color commentator on TNT’s NBA telecasts, Collins was in Atlanta on Wednesday for an NBA playoff preview, and at New York today and Charlotte on Friday for first-round playoff games. . . . Point guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf’s lower right leg is hurting, and he isn’t expected to be ready Friday for Denver’s first game against San Antonio.