If the worst thing George Karl had mentioned in an article in the current issue of Esquire magazine was that he doesn't wear underwear while coaching, he still would have gotten razzed Tuesday night when the Milwaukee Bucks come to Orlando.

Considering the comment he made about Doc Rivers and other coaches whom he claimed hadn't paid their dues before getting their jobs, he might want to wear earplugs to avoid hearing Magic fans giving him the third degree.

Karl's reference to Rivers in particular and black head coaches in general made him a target for criticism on NBC and elsewhere. But after the article came out, he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he was just as bothered by Larry Bird and Danny Ainge being hired by Indiana and Phoenix, respectively, as with the Magic choosing Rivers three years ago and the Pacers replacing Bird with Isiah Thomas.

"I think we should have more black coaches, to be honest with you," Karl said. "But I want the system to be fair, too."

Rivers called Karl "a whiner" before the Magic faced the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs last April. Given their history, Karl could be booed more loudly than Penny Hardaway was Wednesday night when the Magic hosted the Phoenix Suns, but he likely won't mind.

"If they don't respect you, they're not going to waste their time booing you," Karl said before Game 3 of the Magic-Bucks series.

Despite being in the same conference, the Magic and the Bucks have met just once so far this season. The Bucks pulled out a 115-110 decision Jan. 18 at Milwaukee, extending their regular-season winning streak over the Magic to 10.

THE UNRETIRING TYPES Magic assistant coach Paul Pressey can tell Dee Brown a thing or two about coming out of retirement to play again.

Pressey was on the staff of coach Don Nelson at Golden State in 1993 when a rash of injuries to the Warriors caused them to activate Pressey, who had retired the previous year after a total of 11 seasons with the Bucks and the San Antonio Spurs. He wound up playing 18 games and averaging almost 15 minutes a contest.

Now 43, Pressey was not one of the options being considered by Magic general manager John Gabriel to replace the injured Mike Miller.

"I told them if they made that option, I wanted a five-year contract -- guaranteed," Pressey said with a laugh.

Brown admitted the most physical activity he'd done in the past six months was swinging a golf club. But he's still 10 pounds lighter than when he was on the Magic's playoff roster last year and hit four 3-point field goals in their only win over the Bucks.

"My wife don't want no fat guy walking around the house," he said. "I've still got an image to protect. I've still got to look good."

LIMITED MINUTES

Patrick Ewing went into Friday night not having played more than 13 minutes in any game for the Magic since coming off their injured list Feb. 12.

"He probably wants more, and he'll probably get more later," Rivers said. "But right now, I like the way it's going."

The only position where the Magic are deep at is center, especially with Horace Grant having moved there from power forward after the 39-year-old Ewing came down with tendinitis in his right calf and Achilles tendon in early January. Andrew DeClercq hadn't been used much off the bench for a month until he had five rebounds and a blocked shot in 10 minutes last Sunday against Toronto, and a blowout loss March 6 at Boston marked the only occasion in which rookie Steven Hunter has received extensive playing time.

TRACY'S 10

Tracy McGrady fell short of breaking a franchise record by scoring all 10 of the Magic's points in overtime against the Suns. Darrell Armstrong had 13 in the second extra five-minute period of a victory at Philadelphia last year, tying a mark originally set by Shaquille O'Neal in 1993 against the New York Knicks.

Armstrong's outburst came in what was the Magic's last regular-season overtime win until Wednesday night.