ATLANTA -- His team expects to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. He has to share the ball with two starters who are also capable of averaging 20-plus points a game.

Hey, hasn't Glenn Robinson been through this before? Not if you ask the Big Dog.

"It's a new chapter in my career, and in my life," Robinson said. "I'm in a different situation."

	Glenn Robinson is part of another high-scoring trio in Atlanta.

Everything changed for Robinson on August 2. That day, the Milwaukee Bucks, the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 1994 and the team he helped build into an Eastern Conference power in his eight seasons, traded him to the Atlanta Hawks for forwards Toni Kukoc, Leon Smith and a 2003 first-round pick. After an inexplicable late-season freefall out of a playoff spot, the Bucks had to do something to shake things up. Misdemeanor counts of domestic battery, assault and illegal possession of a firearm didn't help Robinson's case to remain in Milwaukee, either. So, whether he liked it or not, Robinson was headed for a change of scenery.

Robinson faced new tricks, too -- like having to pack up his belongings and moving to a new NBA city for the first time. "The good thing is that I had the rest of the summer to get settled in here," Robinson said.

Luckily for Robinson, unpacking boxes has been his biggest adjustment in Atlanta. Welcomed with open arms by the Hawks' previous scoring twosome of Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Jason Terry, Robinson has stepped right in at small forward. So who's the No. 1 option? Evidently, whoever is open.

"These guys don't care who gets the credit," coach Lon Kruger said, "as long as we get the result."

Terry, one of the team's few 3-point theats, figures to get his shots. But to accommodate Robinson's career averages of 21.1 points and 17.9 shots a game, Abdur-Rahim may not get as many touches as last season when he led the Hawks in scoring at 21.2.

"I don't mind giving up the ball," Abdur-Rahim said. "We have another guy who we have to make sure is involved and who has to touch the ball to be so. If that means me sacrificing some of my offense, I'm fine with it.

"It's real early, but everything is real good, and I don't anticipate it not going good. I can't see it not going good."

General manager Pete Babcock admits being surprised by Robinson being so "versatile" (i.e., his willingness to give the ball up).

"He's made unselfish plays ... He's fit in well. And the guys love having him here," Babcock said. "We feel pretty good about the mix."

So there won't be any gripes about not getting enough shots? "We don't think so," Babcock replied. "All three have at least verbalized everything the right way. Then again, we'll find out when we start playing for real. But all of them have said repeatedly we don't care who gets the last shot. We don't care who scores on any given night as long as we win. Whoever has the hot hand that night, that's where the ball goes. They can't double-team all three guys, so somebody's got to be open."

"Right now, I think our unselfishness is the biggest key," Robinson added. "Nobody cares about who gets the shot. As long as we get the job done. Everybody is friends on the team. Everybody is close and everybody is together."

Then again, Robinson thought he and Ray Allen were tight, too.

Robinson is still waiting for Allen to call him back and explain why his former Bucks "Big Three" teammate pinned Milwaukee's sudden demise on him. According to Allen, Robinson tainted team chemistry with his selfish play and lax work ethic. Robinson returned fire by calling Allen "a little punk" and a "coward," but not before hitting Allen on his cell phone. Not surprisingly, Allen didn't pick up.

	“	Right now, I think our unselfishness is the biggest key. Nobody cares about who gets the shot. As long as we get the job done. Everybody is friends on the team. Everybody is close and everybody is together. ”
		— Glenn Robinson

"I'm quite sure he got my message. And what I told him on his message was, 'Talk to me. Don't talk to the media.' Because I played there for nine years and they know how I feel about running (and talking) to the paparazzi -- instead of talking to me," said Robinson, his voice rising. "You saw me every day. You saw me for five or six hours out of the day, every day. Don't run to an outsider. They always say keep it in the family. Keep it here, between us in the locker room. But then he runs outside and takes it to the media."

Of the many lessons Robinson intends to teach the young and impressionable Hawks, you can be sure communication will be at the top of Professor Big Dog's syllabus for 2002-03.

"He (Allen) came out with some things that really surprised me. I think it really hurt me more than it surprised me because we did a lot together," Robinson continued. "We both watched the team grow together. I was unaware that he felt like that about me ... I've never been a selfish player. (And) I think that was wrong for him to say I was lazy because I work hard every day. And he worked hard every day on the court ... We did a lot of special things together and took a team to another level together. And we were the two guys that started everything. When Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson played bad, the Bucks played bad. We were the two stars on the team. And in order for it to work, your stars have to get along. How can you make it to the Eastern Conference finals -- how can you come one game from going to the championship -- if you've got a guy who feels like that? I never felt like that with Ray.

"If anybody says something like that about me, I'm not just going to let it ride. If it was the truth, if I was a selfish player, if I was a guy that you couldn't say anything to or talk to, then I wouldn't have said nothing because I would know that was my M.O. But I know that's not me."

You can bet Dec. 5 has been circled in the mental calendars of Allen and Robinson. That's when the Bucks meet up with Robinson in Atlanta. Robinson reiterated that there's "no animosity" between he and the Bucks. "But I'll tell you one thing: It's always nice to go out and beat your old team," he said.

The Hawks have guaranteed they'll make the playoffs, backing up their bold claim with a $125 check to every season ticket holder should they fail to do so for the fourth straight season. Robinson offers his own personal pledge: hard work and hard play.

"That's what I want to bring to this team: an-every-possession mentality on the offensive end and on the defensive end," Robinson said. "Because in this league, you're not too far from winning and you're not too far from losing. The extra edge is what's going to get you over the hump."

Joe Lago is the NBA editor for ESPN.com.