AROUND THE NBA

George Karl made it clear he isn’t concerned about Dikembe Mutombo. The Milwaukee Buck coach isn’t impressed by the Philadelphia 76ers’ defense either.

One day after the 76ers defeated Milwaukee, 93-85, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, Karl wasn’t about to give Philadelphia any credit.

“Philly has an amazing ability to foul a lot and never get called for it,” Karl said Wednesday. “They are the best slashing and rippering team in the league. They have a great defensive reputation, but I wish they would have to earn it.

“Without [injured forward George] Lynch, they’re not as great defensively as they were and I still think the referees think they’re a great defensive team. They’re not great defensively and they foul a lot.”

76er guard Eric Snow simply brushed aside the comments the day before Game 2 of the best-of-seven series.

“Get used to it,” Snow said after Wednesday’s practice. “He’s going to say off-the-wall stuff the whole series.”

Before the series, Karl said the 7-2 Mutombo, the NBA’s defensive player of the year, wouldn’t impact his team and called him “irrelevant.”

After Mutombo scored 15 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked four shots Tuesday night, Karl didn’t change his opinion.

“Mutombo’s influence is more on the offensive boards than on the defensive and our problem wasn’t Mutombo, it was our shot selection,” Karl said. “I have tremendous respect for Mutombo. We don’t go down there [inside] very much. So is he as much a concern to us as he is to Shaq [O’Neal] or [Tim] Duncan? No.”

The NBA won’t have a minimum age for players, no matter what Commissioner David Stern wants, said Billy Hunter, executive director of the union that represents players.

“I’m not going to agree to an age limit--period,” Hunter told Bloomberg News. “Our players believe in the right of choice. Anybody who can perform should be permitted to come in.”