HE IS SO COMFORTABLE in his own skin that if his dream job is taken away within the next couple of weeks, you'd half expect Dionte Christmas to shrug it off and move on with his life.

You'd be dead wrong, though, because the Philly native and Temple alum is doing everything within his 6-5, 211-pound body to keep Sixers coach Eddie Jordan from giving him the dreaded news that he didn't make the team.

His biggest moment in what he hopes is the infancy of his NBA career came in Friday night's 93-92 comeback preseason win over the New Jersey Nets. Relegated as a spectator from the Sixers bench for the first three quarters, Christmas was called upon to provide some spark into what, up to that point, had been a performance that could generously be described as lackluster.

"It was just a coach's gut feeling," Jordan said of inserting Christmas. "I knew he had a 'three' hidden in there somewhere. I just thought it was time to put him in. We were down 15 at the time, and he had nothing to lose. It's not like the game was tied and the game was gonna be swayed due to his performance. There was no pressure."

Well, when you're an undrafted player trying to make the team at a position where there is an abundance, there certainly is pressure. Throw in the fact that Christmas had "lots of aunts and uncles, my grandmother, lots of friends" in the stands, and you're talking about blow-your-top pressure.

But Christmas handled it with the calm and coolness that made him a star at Temple. He hit that three-pointer, which trimmed the lead from 15 to 12, grabbed a rebound and a steal, and provided a much-needed lift as the Sixers scored 38 fourth-quarter points to post their third win in as many preseason games.

"It means a lot to my confidence for coach to have enough confidence to just put me out there," Christmas said after practice yesterday. "In a situation like that, we were down 12 and he put me in and I did what I did. That gave me tremendous confidence that I can play in this league and I can compete with these guys."

His work ethic and determination have gone a long way to making an impression on Jordan.

"I like him, I like him a lot," the first-year coach said. "I've loved him since the Summer League - his enthusiasm; he's always inquisitive about everything, the history of the NBA, what I did. He's always asking about the offense, about the defense. He's great."

There is a very good reason for Christmas' enthusiasm, according to Temple coach Fran Dunphy.

"I don't think there's anybody in the league who wants to be in the NBA more than him," Dunphy said. "His desire is critical to any success I hope he achieves in the NBA. He wants to be coached, he wants to learn, he wants to be part of the team. He realizes how much hard work he has to put in to attain his goal and he's willing to do that. He's a terrific guy, and I'm happy he got himself to this point in his career, and I hope everything works out for him."

So does Christmas, and he'll have another shot at showcasing his talents for his coach tonight, when the Sixers plays the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

"I never think I've done enough," he said. "Even though I got in the game the other night and coach said I did a great job, I think I could have done more. I can definitely do more for this team, just given the opportunity. With the opportunity that coach gave me the other night, I think I did all right. It was my first game home and it felt good. I think what I gave the team that night, I can give every night.

"I'm just focusing right now on making this team. Right now, I'm just focusing on the Sixers and what this team needs and what I can do."

He'll do whatever it takes, which even means playing some forward right now, because of the guard-heavy roster, according to Jordan. It doesn't matter to Christmas, he just wants the chance to show his skills, so the decision of whether he stays or goes is a very difficult one.

He certainly has a fan in Jordan.

"He's the type of guy that if you want to keep an extra guy, he's the guy you keep," the coach said.

Six shots

 

The Sixers released guard Sean Singletary and forward Stromile Swift yesterday, bringing the roster down to 15. Singletary didn't seem to pick up the offense all that well, while Swift hurt his hamstring on the first day of training camp . . . Willie Green showed up at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine yesterday before practice, got some medicine and went home. He has the flu . . . Royal Ivey returned to practice, but his strained hamstring was being closely monitored. *