Published March 20, 2002

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David Whitley

It wasn't exactly Nixon visiting China, but Doc Rivers wanted to lessen the tension. So he walked over before introductions and shook hands with George Karl.

"Put it on the players," Rivers said.

That's where he wanted the focus to be. And we were about to see why.

Forget the mind games, the hard feelings and the George Karl School for Career Advice. Forget the coaching blood feud between The Anointed One and The Annoying One.

When it gets back to basketball, the Annoying One's verbal shots are starting to look like bullets bouncing off Superman's chest. That's because Rivers now possesses what makes every coach brilliant.

A truly Anointed One.

Despite Karl's assessment, it is not Rivers. It is Tracy McGrady.

The more he plays, the less it matters what anybody says. Karl could hire Don Rickles to write some new insults. He could dig up Sigmund Freud and ask him for advice on mind games. As long as McGrady doesn't turn out to be a mirage, it won't matter.

"I just thought it was time to move on with this stuff," Rivers said.

This stuff began when Karl zinged the Magic two years ago about their plans to dump the Heart & Hustle Crew. That was a psychological ploy, designed to pump up the rivalry and get his team serious.

It worked. But then, that stuff always seems to work when you have the better team.

The stuff crossed the line when Karl questioned Rivers' coaching qualifications. He may have chafed about guys not paying dues. But saying "Afro-Americans" like Rivers were "anointed" to be head coaches was not the way to put it.

Karl realizes that and has apologized. When it comes to realizing coaching dues have changed, he is still in the peach-basket stage. As Rivers pointed out, he paid a lot of dues running through screens for 13 years instead of just talking about them.

The two coaches plan to hook up this summer to hash things out. Rivers joked about a pay-per-view fight, though they'll probably just put on goofy shoes and hit the lanes. Basketball detente through bowling.

They will probably agree on one thing. The talent makes the coach. Karl had the edge the past two years. Now Rivers has the shooting star.

McGrady was Eastern Conference Player of the Month for February. He was NBA Player of the Week last week. It's time to start thinking more long term, as in MVP of the season.

His 48 points were routinely spectacular. Dunks, jumpers, drives, no-look passes, an alley-oop in which he appeared to be dropped from the rafters. Oh yeah, he also posed at halftime with some ladies collecting teacher-of-the-year awards.

McGrady is quickly ascending to the basketball stratosphere. Karl could say anything he wanted and know the Big Three would back him up. He can have Sam Cassell, Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen.

Rivers will take his Big One. Even if the guy can't put up 50 points.

"I thought he was tired down the stretch," Rivers said.

The Magic still won by 10 points, breaking a 10-game losing streak to the Bucks. The way McGrady has been playing, it's Milwaukee minds that are now being toyed with.

"We didn't play great to beat them," Rivers said. "We just played OK."

Sounds like something Karl would have said. It's fun to play mind games when the Anointed One is on your side.

David Whitley can be reached at dwhitley@orlandosentinel.com