He is known only as “Little Mac,” and he has been part of the Charlotte Hornets since they joined the NBA in 1988. He is one of those obliging aides de camp who helps his players and opposing players and as a result is liked by all.
On Saturday, after the Bulls practiced at Charlotte Coliseum, he was idling around Ron Harper, who was teasing him.
“I hate to say goodbye,” Harper said. “But this building will be closed after tomorrow night’s game until the next concert comes. We’re here for business only. You should have never won Game 2.”
“We won’t lay down for you,” Mac bravely replied.
“We don’t want you to lay down,” Harper said. “We want to walk over you, run over you, kick you, spit on you.”
“We know you’re the world champs. We respect you for that,” Mac said.
“Don’t respect us for that. Respect us for the nasty we’re going to put on y’all tomorrow,” Harper said. Then he stopped and turned to the others who were around him.
“Mac’s been a Charlotte fan for as long as I’ve been in the league,” Harper said with obvious affection in his voice. “I’m glad they finally got some players here so he can cheer loudly.”
Of no concern: In an attempt to slow Michael Jordan and the Bulls, Hornets coach Dave Cowens has continually changed defensive assignments throughout the series. He has had guards guarding centers, forwards guarding guards . . . just about every mix-and-match available.
Cowens wasn’t saying Saturday what he’ll do in Sunday’s Game 4, but he did reveal that he’s not exactly in awe of Dennis Rodman’s offense. “Their going big doesn’t bother me because I don’t have to put a big man on Rodman,” he said.
“They don’t go through him that much offensively, so you don’t have to worry about him posting people up and trying to score. I can always shift a smaller man on him.”
Adjustment 101: By putting Jordan on point guard David Wesley, the Bulls thoroughly disrupted the Hornets’ offense in Game 3. How will Cowens counter that move come Sunday?
“Let somebody else handle the ball,” he said. “Let guys run him without the ball, then they don’t have the ball to worry about.”
