1.   Already burdened mentally with past playoff collapses, the SuperSonics returned home from Denver Sunday night with another cloud over their heads.

2.   And in Rodman, the Bulls have a star player with a volatile personality that has hurt his team in past playoffs.

3.   A lack of hitting and run production from past playoff series has again resurfaced.

4.   Cassell is optimistic that improvement is forthcoming because of the way he has performed in past playoffs.

5.   Consequently, on the eve of the past two playoffs, Karl switched to his backup centers, Perkins and Cummings.

6.   Cross-checking has become another rule that has been called more frequently than had been in past playoffs.

7.   EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - The Los Angeles Kings prefer not to dwell on their past playoff plight, so similar to their current situation.

8.   He attributes his new-found accuracy and aggressiveness to being healthy after nursing so many nagging injuries in playoffs past.

9.   However, the Jazz is not the same, plodding club that has been eliminated in so many past playoffs.

10.   In the past three divisional playoffs, the field of eight has included an average of four first-round quarterbacks.