All’s Well In Chicago And That’s No Bull

Serenity has come at last to the Chicago Bulls, who once took creative tension to another level but are now proving they can win even if they like each other.

Once Michael Jordan challenged teammates, referring to them as “my supporting cast.”

Scottie Pippen wondered what it would be like to be like Mike and everyone dumped on thorny general manager Jerry Krause.

Now Jordan has seen curveballs and rediscovered his love for basketball. Pippen has found that it’s easier to be Jordan’s sidekick than his replacement. And Krause is working on his acceptance speech for when he is named executive of the year for acquiring the original Detroit Piston Bad Boy, Dennis Rodman, a move that reversed Krause’s managerial philosophy, and just in time.

“We have a very ironic situation now,” Jordan says. “Here’s a guy who used to tear our heads off and now he’s telling me to go into the post so he can throw it to me. It’s a different situation.”

The Bulls’ 21-2 start is their best. In another Bulls’ first, Rodman recently posed nude for Playboy.

“They used to want guys with character,” says former Bull Horace Grant. “I caught all sorts of flak for being in one of those skin magazines, and I had my clothes on.”

Characters will have to do.

Jordan is back atop the scoring race, which he won for seven seasons before retiring. If this isn’t quite the old Mike, it’s close enough.

About the time ESPN was compiling a chart showing he couldn’t bring it in games on consecutive nights, he hit Vancouver for 19 points and Portland for 14 in fourth-quarter rallies, and scored 30 five times on a seven-game, 12-day trip. Then he toasted Penny Hardaway, pay-back for their first meeting.

“When I left the game I fell down in the ratings,” Jordan says. “Down, I feel, below people like Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson and Charles Barkley.

“The question people end up asking is how do I compare the two players - the one before baseball and the one after I quit baseball. Quite frankly, I think they are the same.”

Pippen once merely flirted with greatness, but Jordan’s absence was good for him. Pippen is averaging 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists this month. Donnie Walsh, president of the Indiana Pacers, says he’s “the best all-around player in the league right now.” Just being best on the Bulls means you’re a probable Hall of Famer.

Rodman seems happier than ever, soaking up the adulation of a grateful Chicago, doing his TV shows, striking an affectionate pose with his girlfriend in Playboy. He hasn’t been thrown out of a single game, although a few opponents have dreamed of garroting him, such as Milwaukee’s Glenn Robinson, after Rodman suggested to him that he try earning his $68 million.

“I’m glad to be somewhere where my every move is not documented as some major event,” Rodman says. “I’m tired of people following me around, wondering what Dennis Rodman is doing,

“Michael Jordan helps. It’s great having him around, even though he’s bald.”

Pat the Rat

Even if you believe Pat Riley’s version of his friend’s contact with the Miami Heat last February, Riley behaved badly, bailing out without a word to the fans whose opinion, he says now, means so much to him.

New York, of course, behaved like New York.

The tabloids, whose manic style conditions everyone else’s coverage - or in other words, life in New York - went bonkers, especially the New York Post, which ran dozens of advance stories under the logo: “The return of Pat the rat.”

Riley, followed round the clock by the tabs, felt threatened enough to bring security people with him. However, he stuck to his itinerary, including Giorgio Armani’s party for him and the usual gang (Spike Lee et al.).

“To stop himself from tampering with any more NBA owners, Riley hired a dozen bodyguards,” the Post’s Pete Vecsey wrote. “He rotated six, overused four and trusted none.”

Thanks, pal

Vice President Kevin McHale of the Minnesota Timberwolves sacked Bill Blair and made his old college roommate, General Manager Flip Saunders, the new coach, which wasn’t a very nice thing to do to a friend. There is speculation that McHale won’t stay around long and when he leaves, Saunders will take over. “The guys better look at Flip as the GM as well as the coach,” McHale said. “He is the guy who is going to dictate their future earnings in this league.”

Pack it up, Price

The Washington Bullets hope Mark Price will be ready in early January, but what happens then? They are happy with Robert Pack and both will be free agents. Insiders say they are leaning toward Pack, 26, over Price, 31. Price is thought to want to finish his career with a veteran team.

Uneasy Ed

New Jersey Nets G.M. Willis Reed on Ed O’Bannon, shooting 34 percent and struggling with his confidence: “Ed is a guy we have to push a little bit. He’s been worried about taking shots and missing. I said, ‘Ed, were you worried about taking shots and missing last year at UCLA?”’