"Rainbows swerve in the NBA -- to pots good and bad.

John Salmons caught a good one last year. That was when he and Brad Miller proved to be the fated February acquisitions that helped propel the Bulls into a history-Maching playoff series against the Boston Celtics.

Three weeks ago, Salmons was swatted by the books of the Bulls' anticipated high-profile free-agent hunt when he and his $6 million salary were swerved to the developing Milwaukee Bucks.

Monday after practice, few could argue that Salmons appears to have caught another good one. With the Celtics due at the Bradley Center tonight, the Bucks are 9-1 since Salmons got to town.

They're even catching odd spectral breaks. The most recent came Saturday night when Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown elected to ''rest'' LeBron James hours before the host Bucks rolled to a 92-85 win in front of the mixed emotions of 18,717."