NEW YORK -- Sizing up the East, everybody is looking up to Charlotte. Well, at least when it comes to measuring who's got the biggest team and most formidable frontcourt.

	Derrick Coleman can play forward or center, and can play outside or inside.

"I don't think there's anybody in the conference with our size," said the Hornets' David Wesley. "If you're talking about the whole league, maybe Portland. But in the East, we're bigger than anybody."

Actually, the Hornets rank only fourth in the East, according to the league's annual survey of the 29 teams' heights, weights, age and experience. Using the entire roster as a measuring stick, Indiana (first overall), New York (tied for sixth with Denver) and Atlanta (eighth) are taller.

But those statistics are deceiving, when you consider that the Knicks' height is inflated by three players (Travis Knight, Felton Spencer and Jonathan Kerner -- two 7-footers, one at 6-11) who don't see the court. The Hornets can wheel out Elden Campbell, P.J. Brown, Derrick Coleman, Otis Thorpe and rookie Jamaal Magloire, in short, enough size to scare most of the other conference's coaches because they all get playing time.

"They have those five guys who are 6-10 or better," New York's Jeff Van Gundy said. "In this conference, they dwarf everybody else. If they put it together, they've got to be one of the top teams we have in the East."

As long as they take advantage of their size.

	Brown

	Campbell

Sometimes they forget, which might be attributable to a second-year playmaker (Baron Davis) failing to realize mismatches, or their lack of a proven veteran point guard. Take this past weekend's 14-point loss to the Knicks. The Hornets failed to expose the Knicks' small, soft interior and wound up tying the NBA record with only 19 points in the second half of an 81-67 loss. "With our size and talent, that should never happen to this team," Brown said.

Other times, they've remembered who they are and mauled their smaller opponents. In wins over Orlando and Miami, they went to their "power" game over and over, pounded the ball inside and played to their strength. If they can do that, they may even have a chance to get out of the first round for only the second time since 1993.

"We've made a lot of changes coming into this season," said coach Paul Silas, who has two new starters in Brown and Jamal Mashburn. "So it's going to take some time. But we know what the expectations are for us. If we're rolling by midseason, we'll be happy. If we're not, we won't be happy."

	Thorpe

	Mashburn

Guaranteed, Silas will be unhappy, some nights. Campbell has a history of not coming to compete every time out. Coleman is still working his way into shape after missing all of preseason and the first four games of the regular season with a heart condition. Magloire has been an offensive rebounding machine (16 in his first 87 minutes), but figures to struggle as much as any rookie. Brown has already shown he's a defensive stopper, but is limited offensively and is now battling a sore Achilles tendon. Thorpe, now in his 16th season, did practically nothing last season in Miami.

"Size aside," Wesley said, "if we execute every night and play hard, we're going to win."

But this is one team that has to remember that size still matters, especially in the conference of the wing player.

Rim Shots

Trouble in Seattle: When the Sonics did a lay-down number and lost by 35 in Jersey, more than one scout saw a team that had quit on its coach. "They've got big problems," said one scout, who was in the Meadowlands. "Something is definitely wrong."

	Payton

Gary Payton, the Sonics' leader, wasn't joining the timeout huddles in the fourth quarter in Jersey. On the Florida portion of the East Coast swing, he also sulked at the end of the bench several times when he was taken out. Vin Baker, a follower by nature, reacted to his benchings in Florida by yelling at Paul Westphal, who looks overmatched with this crew. It might be time to start a Westphal Watch.