The auditions are over. A desperate Larry Brown, sick of the instability and the losing, announced yesterday he's settling on a permanent starting lineup and shortening his rotation to about nine men starting tonight vs. Orlando.
For any other coach, that's normal. For Brown, it's a bombshell.

"I think now I'm going to settle on a lineup, settle on a rotation a little bit more," Brown said. "By doing that, we'll see a bit more continuity on both ends. I'll shorten the rotation, so guys will know when they're going to play. I have a better feel of who should play together."

Brown indicated his probable starting lineup will have Stephon Marbury and Quentin Richardson in the backcourt, Trevor Ariza and Channing Frye at forward and Eddy Curry up front. Average age: 23.4 years.