Lacy J. Banks of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Bulls? power forward Tyson Chandler may be feeling the pressure of competition. Rookie Lonnie Baxter is proving himself to be a productive player off the bench.

At 6-8, Baxter gives up almost 5 inches to Chandler, but Baxter is a bigger body and he uses his bulk well. Against the Bucks, Chandler managed only 22 minutes because of Baxter?s effectiveness againf Milwaukee?s Anthony Mason. Baxter finished with 14 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots in 23 minutes.

"Lonny's been terrific, and we've been pleased with that,'' Bulls head coach Bill Cartwright said. "We've also been pleased with the progress of Tyson and Eddy Curry.''

"That's good that I was picked in the second round so I can sneak up on some people,'' Baxter said. "They'd be like, 'Who is this guy? He can't do much because he was picked in the second round.' Then they'd be in for some surprises.''

Baxter has been lobbying for more playing time. "Lonny just plays,'' Cartwright said. "He's got a nose for the ball, is in the right spot to rebound, and offensively he makes good decisions. I know Marcus [Fizer] is disappointed and probably Tyson. But the kid's playing pretty good.''