Perhaps the NBA should institute a new system for evaluating greatness, one that takes into account degree of difficulty. Certainly, that could help end the debate whether the Lakers are better than Michael Jordan's Bulls.

Last year, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant feuded while coach Phil Jackson and Kobe knocked heads. But by April, everyone had kissed and made up -- just in time for the Lakers to go 15-1 through the playoffs and win their second consecutive NBA title.

This season the Lakers are 13-1, prompting speculation about whether they will have the Bulls' record of 72 victories in their sights by spring.

"This will be the team that one year will match that record Phil had (with Jordan and the Bulls) in Chicago. They will break that record," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said yesterday as he prepared his team for a showdown with the Lakers tonight.

As for the degree-of-difficulty factor, here it is: The Lakers are so bored by the lack of competition this season, Shaq has resorted to shameless headline-grabbing.

The latest Shaq bulletin came out yesterday. It was reported in Los Angeles that he is attending classes offered by the L.A. County Sheriff's Department for harbor-patrol duty. Unlike Jordan -- who didn't find baseball or golf satisfying enough -- Shaq is making serious strides toward carving out his life after basketball.

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports: Veteran power forward Charles Oakley continues to count the days until he can leave Chicago as a free agent in the offseason.

"Right now I'm in Desert Storm, and right now I'm just hoping to get rescued,'' he said Thursday night before his Bulls faced the Heat at the United Center.

At 38, Oakley is old even by Heat standards, but he said he still holds Pat Riley in high esteem. He said he is surprised the criticism his former Knicks coach has endured this season from former Heat players.

We have a lot of crybabies in this league,'' he said. "They get their money early without proving anything.

Oakley said the Heat's struggles are not a reflection of diminished capacity by Riley.

"He just doesn't have the players, and his hands are tied,'' he said. "He's still one of the best coaches in the business.''

In Heat news, Traveling with the team, General Manager Randy Pfund said the Heat would not rush into using its $3.3 million trade exception to upgrade its struggling roster.

Yes, it has gotten worse.

The Heat, a team that was in the playoffs seven months ago, is now tied for the worst record in the NBA after a 78-72 loss Thursday night to the Chicago Bulls in front of 17,003 at the United Center.

Chicago ended its losing streak at 10 games and extended Miami's skid to 10. The teams are both 2-12.

``Both teams played hard because they wanted to win,'' Heat coach Pat Riley said. ``But they made the three plays at the end of the game that counted. Night in and night out it's the same kind of mistakes.''

Ron Mercer provided the late spark for Chicago, scoring eight of his 19 points in the final 2:23. Greg Anthony added 11 points and six steals, and Charles Oakley grabbed 10 rebounds.

``[The Bulls] got what they wanted, and we never got what we wanted,'' said shooting guard Eddie Jones, who led the Heat with 15 points. ``We played terribly from start to finish.''

The glory days of the two franchises, which met in the Eastern Conference finals just four years ago, are clearly behind.

Mirror, mirror on the NBA wall, who is today's worst team of all?

Thanks to Ron Mercer's clutch scoring and rookie Trenton Hassell's adhesive defense, the Bulls' 78-72 victory Thursday night before 17,003 at the United Center suggests it's the Miami Heat, the team they beat to end their 10-game losing streak.

Both teams now have 2-12 records, tying them with the Memphis Grizzlies, who lost to the Toronto Raptors earlier in the evening. But now it's the Heat with the 10-game losing streak, not the Bulls.

''It's still too early to say which team is the worst because the Heat and Bulls have key injuries that keep you from seeing how good either team is,'' Bulls captain Charles Oakley said. ''It's nice to put an end to the 10-game losing streak. But one win doesn't make that much difference. We still have a lot of improvement to make.''

The game came down to a scoring duel between shooting guards Mercer of the Bulls and Eddie Jones of the Heat. Mercer scored 10 of his game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter, including the winning basket, an 18-foot jumper that broke a 72-72 tie with 1:42 to play.

Jones had to settle for 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting, and he was limited to two points on 1-of-3 shooting in the fourth quarter. While one might say Mercer simply outplayed Jones, Heat coach Pat Riley offered a different explanation.

''The kind of [defensive] attention that Eddie Jones got from them, we didn't give to Mercer,'' Riley said. ''We blew two defensive assignments going down the stretch. One was where [Mercer] should have been trapped on a pick-and-roll that Oakley set. And he should have been stunted on with three guys on the catch-and-shoot that got him into the lane for the four-point lead. Eddie sees three guys, and Mercer sees nothing.''

Bulls coach Tim Floyd admitted he hesitated to put Ron Mercer in for Fred Hoiberg with 3:12 remaining Thursday against the Miami Heat, and the emotion was understandable.

Hoiberg had just hit two long jumpers to help stop a Miami run, and Mercer had been in a two-game slump. But Mercer went 3-for-3 from the field and hit both free-throw attempts down the stretch to lead the Bulls to a 78-72 victory. Mercer scored a team-high 19 points.

''I hesitated, but we wanted Mercer in the game down the stretch,'' Floyd said.

Mercer was 7-for-28 (.250) the previous two games, averaging just nine points. Floyd pointed out Mercer wasn't getting to the free-throw line enough, and Mercer responded by attacking the basket and connecting on 7 of 8 attempts from the line.

''He told me before the season about attacking the basket,'' Mercer said. ''I just wanted to play hard.''

And today's magical number in Chicago is.... ten.  The Bulls ended their losing streak at ten tonight against Miami, who are now on a game losing streak of their own.  After scoring only six points against the Nets in their last game, Chicago was again lacking in the third against the Heat, overcoming a ten point third quarter to break clear at the end of the fourth.  

Ron Mercer was on fire in the fourth quarter, scoring ten points in the quarter including the last eight in the game.  

"Anytime I'm struggling and I make one bucket, in my mind I feel I'm hot," Mercer said. "That's basically all it took. After making one bucket, I felt that I wanted the ball and shots fell."

Alonzo Mourning fouled out with just under ten minutes to go in the final quarter.

With his team in the midst of a nine-game losing streak, a trip to face the Chicago Bulls could be just the tonic that Pat Riley and the Miami Heat need.

But with the way things have been going for the Heat lately, Riley appears to be taking nothing for granted.

"The last two games against Cleveland and Boston, we had a shot to win both games," Riley said. "Those were two very tough losses for a team team that's trying to get a win and get some confidence."

In Chicago, Riley sees a team much like his own -- one that is desperate for a win.

"Probably in Chicago might be the toughest game. They're hungry, they're at home."

The Bulls have just one win this season and have lost 10 straight. If Miami were to lose to Chicago, it would fall into a tie for the worst record in the NBA.

Center Alonzo Mourning said the Heat need to find a way to get things turned around. Miami's next three games are against teams that have losing records.

Almost overnight, the Chicago Bulls went from a dynasty to a dud.

But don't expect any sympathy from the sinking Heat, which hopes to end a nine-game losing streak against the hapless Bulls, who have dropped 10 in a row and are 1-12 for the third straight season.

"We're right down there with them," said Heat point guard Rod Strickland, who attended DePaul University prior to the Bulls' first (1990-91) of six titles over an eight-year span. "We've got to pick ourselves up. It's about wins, no matter who it is."

Never before has the Heat played the Bulls and Michael Jordan on back-to-back nights but in different cities. And never before has a Heat-Bulls clash been met with such national indifference or with the outcome determining the league's worst team.

Both teams rank near the bottom of every significant team statistic, including points scored, free-throw percentage and rebounding.

Bulls coach Tim Floyd gazes across the floor of the Berto Center, the training facility of the Chicago Bulls.  He sees Eddy Curry working overtime on his game, but where is Tyson Chandler?  Chandler is no where to be found.  "How can you expect me to reward that?" he said, clearly annoyed by Chandler's work habits.

Floyd admits that he has thought about quitting, but only during the offseason, saying the Bulls job was less bleak to him in 1998 because, "I knew that Jerry [Krause] had built a championship team before and that [Jerry] Reinsdorf was willing to pay for the best players."  He gave Krause a list of players he wanted to sign or trade for, to which Krause responded "That guy's not going to win you a championship."

So what is Floyd supposed to do?  This is Jerry Krause's team, not his, and it is being run Jerry Krause's way.  The man wants out... the question is when will he be able to escape?

This season the Bulls brought in athletes in an effort to try to follow the blueprint of the L.A. Clippers.  Out went Elton Brand and Bryce Drew and in came Tyson Chandler and Eddie Robinson.  The Bulls were supposed to be filling the lanes, playing exciting ball, utilising the athleticism of both Robinson and Ron Mercer.

But after 13 games the Bulls find themselves at the same 1-12 mark as they were for the previous two seasons, and their offensive woes have not been repaired.  While guard Jamal Crawford, Robinson, and forward Ron Artest have all missed the majority of the season with various injuries, the team is scoring only 81.2 points per game, worst in the league.  They scored 81.5 last season.  In Robinson's three games for the Bulls the team averaged 93.3 points per game, Brad Miller saying "We were more fluid".

With Ron Mercer the focal point of opposition's defenses and struggling as a result coupled with Robinson's unavailability, the Bulls are going through some rough patches, just like their 6 point effort in the third quarter against New Jersey.  

''[Charles Oakley's] never been a scorer, but he's doing the intangibles, and Greg [Anthony] hasn't been a scorer in a while,'' Miller said. ''I've never been a scorer before. Mercer's the only one who's been a scorer, and [Trenton] Hassell's a rookie. We don't have the scorers, and people are trying to adjust their roles.''

The woes are bound to continue for the Bulls, with coach Tim Floyd stating that he believes Robinson will miss more than the minimum five games while on the injured list, even though his new 'ERob 32' Reeboks arrived, Robinson stating that they are "more comfortable than my Air Jordans."