Hubie Brown has turned a perennial loser into a probable playoff team _ and a tough one, at that, leading many to surmise that he'll trounce the competition in Coach of the Year voting.

Not so fast, Brown admonished.

``Right now in this league you have a ton of guys doing fantastic jobs. Now it comes down to the fickleness of the guys that are voting, whether or not they like the guy.''

There's not a lot to dislike about Brown, the 70-year-old grandfather figure who has gotten a team of primarily 20-somethings to buy into his system.

Entering this weekend, no NBA team had a better record since Feb. 1 than the Grizzlies. And sometime in the upcoming week they are expected to clinch the first postseason berth in the franchise's nine-year history.

Other coaches in contention for the award include:

_ Stan Van Gundy, who took over on the eve of the season opener and started 0-7 before turning the Heat around. Miami had won nine of 10, moving up to second place in the Atlanta Division, heading into Friday night's game against Dallas.

_ Jerry Sloan, who has kept the youthful Utah Jazz in contention for a playoff spot all season long despite being in the first year of the post-Malone, post-Stockton era.

_ Rick Carlisle, who has the Indiana Pacers competing for the NBA's best record and the players believing they can bring the title back to the East for the first time since 1998.

_ Terry Porter, Milwaukee, who took a roster gutted by ill-advised trades and turned it into an above-.500 team for most of this season.

Brown said the bulk of the credit for the Grizzlies' success should go to team president Jerry West for making nine changes to the roster over the past two seasons.

``If we get this done here, Jerry made a statement the other day this would be the greatest satisfaction and creation of his career. Now think about how fast he's done that.''

Brown said he's satisfied _ award or no award _ with this being the fourth time he has turned around a team considered hopeless.

The first was the Kentucky Colonels, who won an ABA championship the year Brown took over. The second was the Atlanta Hawks, who went to the playoffs in Brown's second season _ 1977-78 _ despite having the league's youngest team and lowest payroll. Brown won the Coach of the Year award that season.

The third big accomplishment, in Brown's opinion, was making the playoffs in his first two seasons coaching the Knicks _ '82-83 and '83-84 _ and losing to the eventual champion.

``This would be like the Atlanta thing for me, if we can get it done. I would feel a major accomplishment that way,'' Brown said.

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OLYMPIC DAVE:@ Count NBA commissioner David Stern as someone who's looking forward to the Olympics _ regardless of who plays for the U.S. team.

While the Americans wait to hear whether Shaquille O'Neal and Kevin Garnett will play, the list of players unwilling to go keeps growing.

Jason Kidd said the possibility of knee surgery could keep him out of Athens, and Jermaine O'Neal has been wavering because of injuries, too. Ray Allen said the upcoming birth of a child could preclude him from attending, and Kobe Bryant's sexual assault trial in Colorado could make him unavailable.

Vince Carter had begged off, even though he hasn't been formally invited, and Elton Brand _ also uninvited, although a member of last summer's qualifying team _ has said he has no interest in going to Greece.

``If the U.S. can't, from among the top 50 players in the NBA, come up with a team capable of competing at the highest level, we sure aren't as good as we think we are. So let's go, and take people who want to play for their country,'' Stern said.

When asked if another country's top basketball stars can beat the NBA players, Stern replied: ``Eventually.''

``It's just a question of how many elite athletes gather on the team,'' he said. ``I had hoped that when we lost in the Olympics it would be after I was commissioner, but who knows?''

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DOUBLE STANDARD?:@ Lakers coach Phil Jackson was unhappy with the difference in punishments handed down to Shaquille O'Neal and Steve Francis for cursing on live television.

O'Neal got a one-game suspension that cost him $291,000 in salary and kept him out of a big game at Indiana. Francis was fined $25,000.

``They didn't suspend him?'' Jackson asked reporters in Los Angeles. ``Francis was not suspended after saying that? And Shaq was? That's incredible. The inconsistencies of the NBA amaze me.''

O'Neal cursed twice, the second time after an interviewer reminded him they were live. Francis cursed during a halftime interview last Sunday but went back on the air at the end of halftime to apologize.

Lakers officials noted that O'Neal's remarks were broadcast only on local TV, whereas Francis made his comments on a national broadcast.

``If they're going to mete out punishment one direction, they've got to be consistent,'' Jackson said.

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STRAW POLL:@ The Rocky Mountain News polled 66 likely Rookie of the Year voters. Of the 57 who stated a preference, 51 favored LeBron James over Carmelo Anthony.

``I'm very, very surprised,'' James told the newspaper when informed of the results. ``Shocked, really. I think we've both had great seasons.''

Anthony said he had heard rumblings in the past few weeks about James gaining support in the rookie race because of Cleveland's push toward the playoffs.

``I knew it,'' he said. ``I just try to keep it in the back of my mind and don't listen to it. ... If I could get the award, it would be a great honor. If I don't, it's not going to be the last of anything. It's just the start of my career.''