1996 NBA FINALS WATCH : It’s a Comparison Good Only in Seattle

Nate McMillan’s return, credited by Seattle teammates for inspiring the SuperSonics to their Game 4 victory, is being compared to Willis Reed’s famous performance in 1970.

At least in Seattle, it is.

“I saw film of him dragging his leg,” McMillan said. “That came to mind. So did Isiah Thomas, who had a bad ankle one year [1988 against the Lakers] and limped around.”

Chicago Coach Phil Jackson was a teammate in 1970 when Reed had his hip shot up with a painkiller and limped out to face the Lakers’ Wilt Chamberlain, inspiring the New York Knicks to a Game 7 victory.

Said Jackson, asked if McMillan’s return had reminded him of Reed’s: “Do you want me to laugh now or can I hold my breath for a second?”

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Fortune magazine this week named Seattle one of the 10 most livable cities in the nation, but the Bulls don’t much like it.

“It’s all right,” Dennis Rodman said, “but I wouldn’t want to live here. It’s not my kind of city. Too many people kill themselves around here.

“They got too many damn coffee shops here because of one reason. People are bored and and their lives are miserable here. . . .

“I got one more day here and then I’m the hell away from here.”

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Rodman got an early technical foul from referee Joey Crawford in Game 4 and after that, was on his best behavior, convinced the officials were eager to call a second and eject him.

“Of course,” Rodman said. “That’s the only way this league can control Dennis Rodman. For some reason, the referees seem to look at me more than anybody in the league. Why? I guess their lives are more drab than I think they are. They got to sit there and watch me the whole damn game.

“I’m not going to blow up. I think they see now they’re not going to win. I’m not going to blow up. . . .

“Some of the things the referees was doing were ridiculous, but, hey, the league made another $11 million.”

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Seattle’s Frank Brickowski, a Laker for half the 1986-87 season, on his introduction to Magic Johnson at a practice:

“The team got together. [Coach] Pat Riley was in the middle and Pat said, ‘All right, we’re going to do this, this, this and this, and in two hours we’ll be out of here.’

“And everybody puts their hands in and Magic said, ‘All right, we’ll do this, this, this and this, and in an hour and 15 minutes, we’ll be out of here.’

“And Pat goes, ‘No, I say we’re going to do this, this, this and this. And in two hours we’ll be out of here.’

“And Magic said, ‘Oh, I thought you said we’re going to do this, this, this and this because we’re tired from flying last night and playing back-to-back games so we’d be out of here in an hour and 15 minutes.’

“And I’m just like, whoa! I look at Pat like, ‘What are you going to say?’ There’s like dead silence and everybody’s waiting. We have everybody’s hand in the middle and Pat goes, ‘All right, if we do this, this and this and we’re sharp, we’ll get out of here in an hour 15 minutes.’

“And Magic looked over at me and winked.”