Is this year's Eastern Conference quarterfinal series between Milwaukee and Orlando the beginning of a great rivalry? Maybe. The coaches don't seem to particularly care for one another, and that's a start. After all, it's hard to work up a whole lot of hatred in an intramural game between frat brothers.

Sure, some of the patter between the Bucks' George Karl and the Magic's Doc Rivers feels a bit forced (for example, turning the lack of available hotel space in Milwaukee into a personal affront on one's civic pride), but it's something. And since we haven't had a good sparring partner in town since the Philadelphia 76ers of the mid-'80s, even friendly small talk starts to sound like banter.

Today, the Bucks find themselves ahead of the opening five-game series, 2-0, with Games Three slated for Orlando Saturday night. In addition to the current two-game advantage, Milwaukee has disposed of the Magic 11 straight times overall. The rivalry that immediately springs to mind is that of the Cowboys and Packers in the '90s. It was bigger to us than to them simply because we lost every time.

That's usually the way it goes. Michael Jordan and the Bulls once thought of the Pistons the way Ronald Reagan did Communists, but I knew Detroit fans at the time who considered Chicago to be the NBA equivalent of a persistently irritating mosquito. Eventually it bit them, and as it turns out, the wound was infected.

Orlando has that capability. Now the 103-90 and 103-96 wins were not as hefty as the Milwaukee press made them sound, but they weren't as bad as TNT's Charles Barkley would have you believe, either. They were two close games that the Bucks won despite less than peak performances from the Big Three (Sam Cassell, Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson). Why did Milwaukee win them? Because they are the better team.

Orlando could have won either of them. Tracy McGrady has showed he is already a star on the playoff stage, but he simply doesn't have much help. Pat Garrity? Yeah, he hit a few shots. Mike Miller? Could be a shorter Tom Chambers someday. Darrell Armstrong? Quicker than a hiccup. But add them all up and it still comes out to McGrady & Co. with nary an IPO in sight.

All that changes when Grant Hill returns. Hill is not Jordan and his ultimate ability to make a team a winner (he's never won a playoff series) remains open for debate. But imagine what the Bucks' season would have been like without Ray Allen all year, his being the closest approximation to the varied skills that Hill brings to the floor. Milwaukee certainly wouldn't have won 52 games, and maybe not even the Central Division. In fact, would they have even made the playoffs?

At any rate, the Magic did. Look again at the names: John Amaechi and Bo Outlaw; Michael Doleac and Troy Hudson; Don Reid and Dee Brown. While I pity Rivers' gamesmanship (please don't belittle anyone's coaching record in the playoffs before you've ever even participated), I envy his leadership.

To give Orlando appropriate credit does not belittle Milwaukee's accomplishments. George Karl has certainly brought out the best in Tim Thomas and Mark Pope as well as prodding established vets like Scott Williams, Jason Caffey and Ervin Johnson to some of their best basketball. Undoubtedly, the Bucks' team concept and star power put them in solid position to chase future league titles.

But barring the trade or continued injury troubles of either Hill or McGrady, Rivers and Orlando aren't likely to regress. Admittedly, Milwaukee hasn't won a playoff series with its current group of players either, but Orlando is at same stage the Bucks were in 1998-99. Hill's return next season doesn't guarantee a run to the top of the Conference, but two years from now that might be a good bet. To get there, they'll likely have to beat the same group of Bucks that has dominated them over the last two years.

Milwaukee can slightly stunt the growth of their would-be rivals by completing a sweep Saturday night. If they get it, Rivers has little ammo with which to wage his mental guerrilla campaign next time. If the Magic win, suddenly it's a series again, and all the residue of the long losing streak is whisked away like so many Krispy Kremes from Barkley's breakfast plate. Squint a little bit more and it's not impossible to see Orlando as last year's Milwaukee and Milwaukee as last year's Indiana. No one in the state wants this thing to go five.

Oh yes -- one critical difference there: the Bucks aren't last year's Pacers. Beyond the one, two or three games these teams may still play this season, both will return. And you know how the playoffs go (it seemed to be a league bylaw for awhile that Miami and New York meet in a series each spring); they are certain to tread this way again with even more at stake. Let's hope the coaching banter becomes increasingly engaging in kind.