"People look at me," Malone said, "and wonder how a guy my size drives a car, gets through a doorway, finds a large enough bed to sleep in. Manute's so much bigger, I know he hears it even more. But he's a great individual, loves the game, doesn't worry about anything."
But is Bol, a Dinka tribesman from the Sudan, a shot-blocker, a legitimate player, a curiosity? Some of the above? All of the above?
"He can become a good player," Malone said. "He can learn to play more offense. But they're not going to know unless they use him. If you've got a guy 7-7, you should have a play for him. A lob, maybe.
"I remember when Akeem (the Houston Rockets' Akeem Olajuwon) first went to
college down in Houston, he was scared of the contact, didn't know what to do. I worked with him, told him not to be afraid. After a while, Akeem didn't need me. Manute could be the same way.
"I know if I had a pick in the draft and could get a guy 7-7, I'd take a chance. I wouldn't want to be 7-7, but if I was that tall and could play the way I can, they'd have to change the name of the league."
The Bullets simply tried to change the face of their franchise, assuming a rollicking, frolicking personality. Instead, the lights blinked only momentarily. Guard Frank Johnson went down with a stress fracture in his foot, center Jeff Ruland limped off with a series of injuries, coach Gene Shue was fired and the Bullets scuffled their way to 39 victories.
The prize in that Cracker Jack box was the sixth playoff seed in the East, at best a tenuous position.
"Moses being out helps us a little, but our perspective is that losing Ruland is more critical to us than losing Moses is to them," said Bullets vice president and general manager Bob Ferry, assessing the best-of-five matchup.
"Our problem is, we tried to build around Jeff, and his strengths are to rebound and pass. Scoring with him is third. When he went out, we didn't rebound well, and the player we replaced him with is very different."
