When Chucky Atkins pouted publicly about his lack of playing time 11 days ago, Coach Rick Carlisle didn't say much to him.
  He didn't have to. Atkins had already been pulled aside and lectured to by several of his veteran teammates.
  "Chucky is maturing," said Michael Curry, one of those veteran teammates. "He realizes that any situation you face in pro ball, you either submit to it or you take it as a challenge and rise above it. In the beginning, he might have submitted to it. But now, he has obviously decided to rise above it."
  How is this for rising above it? In the last three games, starting in place of the injured Dana Barros, Atkins has scored 69 points, hit 25 of 41 shots (60.9 percent), 14 of 23 three-pointers (60.8) and has 20 assists to just three turnovers.
  "The change came from within himself," Curry said. "When he got out of the rotation, at first he felt sorry for himself. He was disappointed. But he came back to practice and started fighting more. And that has translated over to the games."