When Shaquille O'Neal returns to action, the Bulls plan toexperiment with covering the 7-1, 330-pound center with a singleplayer for much of the game.
The next meeting with the Orlando Magic isn't untilFebruary, so O'Neal, who's expected to make his season debut Fridaynight, should be in midseason form by then.
Bulls coach Phil Jackson believes O'Neal is going to get hisshare of points and rebounds even if he's double- or triple-teamed.The key to beating the Magic, Jackson believes, is containing theother players.
Orlando won last season's playoff matchup with the Bullsmainly because support players Nick Anderson, Horace Grant and DennisScott had an outstanding series.
"I think that's the way you have to beat them, like Houstonbeat them last year (in the NBA Finals)," Jackson said before theBulls posted their 112-103 victory Wednesday night in the UnitedCenter. "They didn't help out until (Hakeem) Olajuwon was in foultrouble and gave some help when appropriate."
That's one of the reasons Jackson wanted Luc Longley to bethe starter this season before Will Perdue was traded to San Antoniofor Dennis Rodman. At 7-2, 290, Longley has the size needed tocontend with O'Neal.
"The thing with Orlando is they have so many options,"Longley said. "You also have to give them different looks so theycan't figure you out. Shaq doesn't need to know that there's adouble coming from this side every time. Playing me solo for a whilewill give them a different look."
Of course, the key to how long the Bulls can play that wayis how long Longley can stay out of foul trouble. Wednesday night,with O'Neal on the bench, Longley picked up two fouls 27 seconds intothe game. No Hack-a-Shaq
With the single coverage, Jackson said the Bulls won't feature aHack-a-Shaq philosophy.
"I have not discussed it at all with my players aboutfouling him," he said. "We don't want to foul him. That's not partof what we're trying to do. We're just going to play him straightup, play basketball. Anybody that has an easy shot, we expect tomake it difficult for them, not give them layups. I don't think he'sany different than anybody else." Welcome back
Jackson said before the game he didn't expect the regular NBAofficials to make much of a difference right off the bat because theydidn't return to work until last weekend and might be rusty. ButMichael Jordan said he noticed a difference from the outset.
"The control factor was there for the entire game," Jordansaid. "I'm glad they're back." Flu-bugged
Bill Wennington played nine minutes in the first quarterWednesday night but soon was heading to the locker room because ofthe stomach flu and did not return.
The Bulls were able to overcome the absence because O'Nealnever got off the bench. The Magic went small when substituting forJon Koncak, so Toni Kukoc saw more action for the Bulls. THE JORDAN WATCH Michael Jordan came into Wednesday night's game having scored 30 ormore points in six of his last 10 games. We had a tough time trying to beat this team in the playoffs. - Jordan, on the Bulls' trying to beat Orlando THE PIPPEN WATCH Scottie Pippen, off a season-high 28 points against Milwaukee onSaturday, is averaging 19.7 points per game. I would rather have had Shaq playing. - Pippen, on Magic without Shaquille O'Neal THE RODMAN WATCH Dennis Rodman has has had three consecutive 20-rebound games, thefirst Bull to do that since Tom Boerwinkle in 1970. With Dennis back in the lineup, we're a much better team. - Jordan
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