Not even halfway through the NBA season, and already the league has lost four of its coaches.

But, technically speaking, only one of those coaches - Dave Cowens - got fired. The other three - Jeff Van Gundy, Dan Issel and Tim Floyd - resigned.

I'm reading a book called "The Agony and the Ecstasy," about Michelangelo at the time when Rome was the center of the world. So I'm in a Roman frame of mind, which is to say, I want more blood.

In Colosseum parlance, which NBA coach gets the next thumbs down when his owner decides he deserves no mercy?

Well, things are getting tense in Phoenix, where the team's roster was dismantled over the summer, and Stephon Marbury was brought in for Jason Kidd.

While things are going swimmingly with Kidd in New Jersey, Marbury already has gotten into a fistfight with backcourt mate Penny Hardaway.

Of course, a great many people want to lay a butt-kicking on Marbury and Hardaway, so the fact that they took care of each other in practice one day actually did countless favors, but still ...

It is perhaps no coincidence that soon after the two children had to be separated for throwing erasers at each other, the Suns started to slide, and now have lost five in a row, on the cusp of dropping out of the playoff race.

Scott Skiles pulled a Paul Westphal after one loss, asking the team whether he was the problem. And there are many in the Valley of the Stun who believe Skiles is too temperamental to be an NBA coach.

Of course, there also are many in Toronto who believe that Lenny Wilkens is not temperamental enough.

The Raptors were considered one of the top three candidates to make it to the NBA Finals this season from the Eastern Conference - which is another way of saying they were the team favored to get waxed by the Lakers in June.

They re-signed Vince Carter, they re-signed Antonio Davis, they re-signed Jerome Williams, they traded for Keon Clark and they added Hakeem Olajuwon, their first real center since Ontario became a province.

But they have muddled along around .500 all season, going to 20-16 when they got taken to overtime by the lowly Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.

Virtually every Toronto paper is saying Wilkens should be fired, and sports talk radio - clearly, the last bastion of objectivity - is filling the airwaves with anti-Wilkens sentiment. They want Lenny out of there, eh. So much for the peaceful Canadians.

When you are the winningest coach in NBA history, in the Hall of Fame as a coach and a player, and are a classy guy, it counts for something, and the general feeling is that Wilkens will be given at least until the end of the season to succeed or fail. But if the Raptors don't advance beyond the second round this season, take a look for Lenny on the streets of Seattle.

And finally, that takes us to the delusional Pat Riley, who, even at 8-25, still is thinking his roster of misfits can make the playoffs.

Hello, Pat, Earth to Pat, are you home Pat?

Riley is in a bit of a different situation because he is a part owner of the franchise. And he said last week that whenever he sees Alonzo Mourning slogging up and down the court with a kidney ailment, it inspires him to keep coaching.

Of course, Riley also said he would never trade Jamal Mashburn or P.J. Brown, so taking Riley at his word is naive.

If the Heat continue to bumble along, Riley almost certainly is gone at the end of the season, being bumped upstairs to a consultant position - though, based on the current makeup of the roster, it is some Heatseeker's hopes that that position has nothing to do with personnel decisions.

So, Skiles, Wilkens or Riley, who's the next to go?

Maybe we're looking in the wrong places. The replacements f

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Around the league: WESTERN CONFERENCE

or Cowens, Van Gundy, Issel and Floyd aren't winning, either.

If there is one criticism of Shaquille O'Neal, it is that he does not take coach Phil Jackson's advice.

As is his wont, Jackson gave O'Neal a copy of Herman Hesse's book "Steppenwolf."

Shaq politely declined.

"If it ain't a law-enforcement book or a Federal Bureau of Investigation book, I'm not at liberty to read it right now," Shaq said.

Shaq did say he was thinking if giving Phil a book to read: "Shaq Talks Back." ...

The Portland Trail Blazers were 4-9 in December, their worst month since the same record in February 1996; they lost six in a row ending with the Jan. 4 win over Philly, their longest losing streak since a 12-gamer in 1986. ...

It sure was a good trade the Rockets made with New York for Glen Rice.

He is done for the season. Houston knew he was injured when they made the trade, and now he has had knee surgery. The rehab is estimated at 3-to-4 months. "It was a shock to me," Rice said. "In the beginning, what we were trying to do is give it time to heal on it's own. It didn't work out that way. It's disappointing." ...

Former Phoenix coach Danny Ainge, 42-years old, is about to become a grandfather. His 22-year-old daughter Ashlee is pregnant. "Like I told (wife) Michelle: The only thing I can think of that's bad about being a grandpa is I have to sleep with a grandma every night. She doesn't look like a grandma, though." ...

Interim Denver coach Mike Evans still has not moved into the office of Dan Issel, who resigned after making racially insensitive remarks to a fan. "It's not my gig yet. No, not right now. I don't feel comfortable," Evans said. ...

San Antonio's Steve Smith has made 62-of-108 3-pointers (57.4 percent), putting him on pace to break the NBA record of 52.4 percent set by Steve Kerr. Kerr set his mark in the 1994-95 season when the apex of the 3-point line measured 22 feet. In the four seasons since the apex was moved back to 23 feet, 9 inches, no player has shot 50 percent for the season. ...

Utah reserve Scott Padgett played so well against Phoenix last week that Hall of Famer Karl Malone couldn't get back in the game. ... When Sacramento's Chris Webber was injured, his aunt sent a recipe for recovery: a sack full of cow manure mixed with ammonia. "She said I needed to put a bag of that stuff on my leg," Webber said. That was a new one for Barney Nugent, the San Francisco Giants' assistant trainer. "I'm not sure it would work," he said. "But I bet it would help keep the defenders away."

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EASTERN CONFERENCE

There is a sneaking suspicion around the league that News Jersey's Kenyon Martin is getting wrist slaps for his flagrant fouls because Nets general manager Rod Thorn used to dole out fines and punishment for the league.

"You do have to wonder about the Rod Thorn connection," Orlando coach Doc Rivers said. "Rod used to be the king of security, and now his team's the one doing all the dirty plays. Kind of ironic, huh? ... I was almost laughing at Rod and (Nets coach) Byron Scott when I heard they were complaining about the suspension. Somebody should hand them an Oscar. They know they got off with just a slap on the wrist. I bet they were laughing when they turned their backs. (Martin) obviously deserved more than a two-game suspension, and Rod knows that." ...

Michael Jordan says the upcoming schedule against NBA top guns Milwaukee, Minnesota, San Antonio and New Jersey could determine the next step for the Wizards, the surprise team of the season.

"This stretch is key," Jordan said. "If we come out of this stretch smelling like roses, we're stepping ourselves into serious playoff mode. If we don't, we must see what changes and what improvements we need to make. It's a crucial point for this franchise." ...

Detroit's Jerry Stackhouse last week recommended his team trade for volatile forward Rasheed Wallace, with whom he played at North Carolina.

"Why wouldn't you want him on your team?" Stackhouse said. "I don't see that bond with anybody on (Portland) that I know he would have here if he were with me. I would not be afraid to go up to him and say 'Hey look, yo. We need you.' At the same time, I need it from him. It would be give or take because I am subject to go off once in a while. He understands that." ...

Things are going so badly for Charlotte Hornets management in their attempt to get a new arena that the stories about the arena proposal are not even being placed on hornets.com. ... Clearly, Bulls GM Jerry Krause knows what he is doing. For the second consecutive year, neither of the Bulls' high lottery picks is going to the rookie-sophomore game. ...

The first five games Ray Allen missed, the Milwaukee Bucks went 4-1. The first five Glenn Robinson missed, they were 1-4. ... The Boston Celtics experienced their second FleetCenter lights-out against the San Antonio Spurs earlier this week. A transformer in Everett, Mass., blew, causing a surge that momentarily shut down the arena's 228 TV lights. It took 23 minutes to get things rolling again.

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Frank Hughes' top 5 current NBA coaches

Phil Jackson

Seven rings

George Karl

Wins wherever he goes

Larry Brown

Screw loose, but that makes him good

Flip Saunders

Vastly underrated. Maybe it's the name.

Jerry Sloan

Nate McMillan's idol

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Rim shots

WELCOME TO JERRY'S WORLD, POPULATION: 1

"Our careers are intertwined. We both benefited from one another."

-?Delusional Bulls GM Jerry Krause on Michael Jordan.

JUST TAKE OFF YOUR BLUE SUEDE SHOES AT THE DOOR

"Well, I'm not going to visit his house (Graceland), OK?" - Lenny Wilkens on whether he was an Elvis fan.

OR WAS IT 'I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT BUTTER'?

"They worked us like a piece of butter out there." Utah coach Jerry Sloan after losing to the Timberwolves.