BASKETBALL BY THE PROS

Only 350 of 200+ million Americans play professional basketball, a game of precision timing, finesse, and speed in which strategies are worked out against a 24-second clock. Some of those involved in the business of basketball expound here on a variety of subjects: schoolyard ball, salaries, forwards and guards, salaries, the pressures of a long season, and salaries ($110,000 average). Mature players realize that ball-handling virtuosity may dazzle spectators but teamwork wins championships, and many stress the further difficulty of being ""up"" 82 times a year. Although there are quotations from some rarely heard from--administrators, player attorneys, officials, trainers--most offer no more than the meager insights of a pregame interview. Almost always that financial refrain is heard; as George McGinnis puts it, ""Basically, you're meat on a hook. So I consider myself Grade A."" No net gain for fans.