THERE IS a reason to think the Warriors can rise from the dead this season: coach Dave Cowens.

It's axiomatic in sports that the superstars rarely become good coaches or managers, because they're usually so absorbed in what they're doing that they can't understand that most players are not that way.

Cowens talked about that when discussing the great and unanticipated play that Derek Jeter made in the third game of the American League Division Series to cut down Jeremy Giambi at the plate, a play that might have been the single most decisive one in that series.

"It's more than just instinct," Cowens said. "The great players always have their minds in the game. They're always prepared for something to happen, so they can be in the right spot. Why do you think Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and Michael Jordan were so great? They were totally into the game all the time. "