COMPARING THE FIRST MONTH THIS SEASON TO A YEAR AGO, PLAY CAN BE SUMMED UP IN ONE WORD: FLAT

The Chicago Bulls score nine points in the fourth quarter, but their ineptness is overshadowed by the Golden State Warriors, who manage only two field goals and six points in their fourth quarter the same night.

The New York Knicks fail to score 70 points in three consecutive games and win two of them. The Cleveland Cavaliers shoot 29% and make only 21 shots for an entire game. The Clippers have only 10 assists against Minnesota while Stephon Marbury gets nine by himself.

In a normal NBA season, facts like these would have been talked about by basketball fans across the nation for days. But not this year. In this shortened season, bad shooting and sloppy play have almost become the rule rather than the exception.

Is the quality of play in this 50-game season that much different from what it was last season? After the first month, the consensus is yes. Most believe the level has dropped, and much of the blame is directed at the long layoff created by the lockout and the crash-course, two-week training camp--not enough time for overweight players to get into regular-season condition.

“There’s been some pretty sloppy ballgames,” Utah Coach Jerry Sloan said. “When guys are in really good shape, they’re able to go out and compete hard. That hasn’t always been the case [this year].”

If there’s any debate about the poor play over the first month of this season, consider these statistics:

* Teams shot 44.8% from the field after the first 28 days last season. This year, shooting is down to 42.8%.

* Last season, teams averaged 95.4 points a game after one month. This season, team scoring is down to 91.1--the lowest average since the NBA introduced the 24-second clock for the 1954-55 season.

* After 12 games last season, teams scored 100 or more points 119 times; after 12 games this year, teams scored 100 or more only 85 times, a drop of 29%. Over the same period a year ago, teams scored fewer than 80 points 26 times; this year, teams scored fewer than 80 points 60 times, a jump of 131%.

Most players say the reason for the decline in offense is the lack of time they had to prepare for this season and the more concentrated schedule.

“I don’t know if the games are actually sloppy, but when you haven’t been playing in serious competition for six or seven months like that, it’s a little different,” Golden State forward Chris Mills said.

“Little nagging aches and pains . . . when you’re playing a lot of games cramming them in like that. We played five games in seven nights and then turned around and did that again. It takes a toll on people. I think it’s wearing down people a lot quicker, and that’s maybe why shooting percentage and things like that are not up like they usually are.”

That theory sounds good. Golden State, for example, has three more games in the first 30 days this season than it did in the first 30 days last season. And the average increase is 1.6 additional games in the first month. But that’s not the case for every team; 10 teams, in fact, had no more games this season than they did in the first 30 days a year ago.

The real problem for players is that many were not in “basketball playing condition” when the season began. With so many players on new teams, learning to play with new teammates and trying to work on fitness at the same time, many games lack the kind of offensive finesse fans have come to expect.

“The guys are still trying to get in good shape now, compared to the first few games of the season,” Sloan said. “I’ve always thought that the first four or five games of the season are almost as good as any games you will have all year long. Because everyone is in shape and had a chance to get themselves ready. Again, that wasn’t the case this year.”

Jack Ramsay, ESPN analyst and former NBA coach, credits tough defense and ragged offense for the league’s ugly start but adds that there are other factors too.

“Tightly contested, ill-timed and off-balance shots also yield low-percentage success,” Ramsay said. “Lack of aggressive, NBA-style practice impacts game-shooting accuracy. Players can practice leisure shooting all summer and never acquire the touch they need for high-level performance.”

New York Coach Jeff Van Gundy agreed: “I’ve always loved practice. I’ve always believed that it’s in the gym that you learn, that you develop your feel for the rhythms of the season. And now all that is gone,” he said. “When I hear people say that you only learn by playing games, I want to laugh.”

At no time during games has it been more evident that players are off-stride than in the fourth quarter. Although the NBA does not provide statistics regarding final-quarter shooting percentages, most agree teams have struggled more than usual at the end of games. A look at some early-season box scores shows point totals in the fourth quarter that can easily be mistaken for overtime.

It’s no secret that players shoot their worst when they’re tired. And because players and coaches agree that conditioning has been an issue this year, it’s easy to understand why teams have struggled to score down the stretch.

After his team squeaked out a 70-67 victory over Atlanta, Orlando Coach Chuck Daly talked like someone who has accepted mediocre offensive games.

“As you can see . . . this was two tired teams,” said Daly, whose Magic scored eight points in the third quarter and then came back to hold the Hawks to three field goals and 13 points in the fourth.

“Everybody struggled to make it through the game. When you’re playing the amount of games we are, and everybody’s doing it, the game is going to suffer some nights.”

Some expressed concern before the season that with a reduced training camp and condensed schedule, players would be more susceptible to injury. But this year’s list has been no worse than last season’s at this time. Sure, big-name players such as Latrell Sprewell, Charles Barkley, Jamal Mashburn and Steve Smith have missed games because of injuries, but their injuries haven’t necessarily been connected to conditioning.

“Injuries are going to happen; they are part of the game,” said Barkley, who sat out two weeks because of a knee injury. “You can’t control them. They just happen.”

In this post-Michael Jordan transition season, and with the quality of play an issue, many also assumed fan interest would decline. Apparently not so.

Through 186 games this season, average attendance at games has been 16,517, virtually the same as the 16,612 the league averaged over the same span a year ago.

Television ratings have been at least as good as last season. NBC’s first 10 telecasts this season have averaged a 4.8 rating with an 11 share, higher than the 4.5 rating and 11 share for February games last season. Sunday’s Laker-Houston Rocket telecast on NBC got a national rating of 7.0 and a 14 share, the largest regular-season telecast since a Chicago-New York game last March.

“From the competition standpoint, the intensity level has been really high for most of the games,” said Rod Thorn, NBA senior vice president of basketball operations. “The early shooting was not as good because some of the players were not in tip-top condition. But it’s coming around now. You’ll see the play continue to get better.”

Players and coaches agree with Thorn and say fans will be rewarded in late April and May when teams start coming together and conditioning is no longer a problem.

“Guys came out and were focused to be ready to play to start the season, but to play organized was a different story,” Mills said. “Guys were coming out trying to bust their butt. However, their shots may not have been falling. But you can see everyone starting to get their game back.”

And Sloan expects to see better teamwork on the court as the season goes on.

“It will get better when teams get to know each other better,” Sloan said. “There just were so many changes and not [enough] time.”

In any case, the jury is in on the breakdown of the first month of this strange micro-season.

The players started the season trying to get into shape and in search of their shooting touches, but the fans don’t seem too upset. They’re simply happy to have the NBA back.

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SHOOTING PERCENTAGE

1997-98: .448

1999: .428

Poor conditioning and fewer exhibition games have led to a decrease in shooting percentage.

*

AVERAGE SCORING

1997-98: 95.4

1999: 91.1

Average scoring this season is the lowest since the NBA introduced the shot clock in 1954-55.

*

MORE THAN 100 POINTS

1997-98: 119

1999: 85

After 12 games, there was a 29% dropoff in the number of times teams scored 100 or more points.

*

FEWER THAN 80 POINTS

1997-98: 26

1999: 60

After 12 games, there was a 131% increase in the number of times teams managed 80 of fewer points.

*

AVERAGE TV RATING

1997-98: 4.5

1999: 4.8

Even without Michael Jordan, ratings were up on NBC, compared to last February’s numbers.

*

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE

1997-98: 16,612

1999: 16,517

Through 186 games, fans are turning out in virtually the same numbers they were a year ago.