No Subject

Q: How many teams have a realistic chance of winning the East this year?

Riley: ''I think Charlotte is one of the top teams, without a doubt, in the 
conference. It is incredible what Bob Bass (executive vice president of 
basketball operations) has done there over the years because of certain
situations with Alonzo going and Larry Johnson going and Glen Rice going
and (still) being able to put together a real core of veteran, talented
players that I think, when they look around at practice, have to say,
"Look, we've got a legitimate chance." I'm very, very impressed with what
they've done in Charlotte.

There's probably half a dozen teams in the Eastern Conference that truly
believe that they can get there this year. I think we're one of them,
along with Charlotte and a number of the other mainstays: the Knicks and
the Indiana Pacers.

I think the Milwaukee Bucks are going to be better this year with the
addition of Danny Manning and J.R. Reid. The New Jersey Nets if healthy,
when Jayson Williams gets back are explosive. I like what Rick (Pitino)
has done up in Boston with that team and what Larry (Brown) has done in
Philadelphia so hopefully I didn't discount anybody but I think there are
a half a dozen teams. This is going to be a real crapshoot to find out
where teams are. I think in the next month or two you'll get an idea of
exactly where teams are - whether they are going to be good one night or
bad the next night. I see seven good teams in the East.''