It’s Portland Today, but Lakers Can’t Help Looking to the Future

To most everyone else, the Lakers are playing the Western Conference semifinals, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said it’s really only the preliminaries.

The Lakers, who can sweep their second consecutive playoff series with a victory this afternoon over Portland, are trying not to think ahead, but they don’t seem to be succeeding.

“We have our eyes on the bigger goal,” Abdul-Jabbar said Saturday before a short Laker practice session. “We know we have to win the preliminaries first if we want a chance at the main event.”

With a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series against the Trail Blazers, the Lakers can knock Portland out of the playoffs in the minimum number of games, which is what the Lakers did to Phoenix in a three-game first-round sweep.

Abdul-Jabbar reached his playoff high this season with 26 points Friday night in a 130-126 Laker victory. It was the first time a playoff opponent had come within 16 points of the Lakers.

“We tried not to make it close, but we’re just glad we could have that type of game and still win,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “We know it’ll just keep getting tougher for us down the road.”

Since Feb. 1, the Lakers are 37-4, including their 6-0 playoff record, but Laker Coach Pat Riley said the chance for a second sweep doesn’t mean much.

“All the other wins mean nothing,” he said. “If we lose (a series), nobody will remember the games we won before. All we’ve done is reach a comfortable state.”

For the Trail Blazers, things are getting a little hot. After running with the Lakers in the first two games, Portland switched to a slower, half-court style and moved center Sam Bowie from the high-post position closer to the basket.

That strategy worked better for the Trail Blazers, but not well enough to keep them from the brink of elimination.

“We’re not going to give them anything,” Portland’s Mychal Thompson said. “They’re going to have to take it from us, which is just what they have done in the first three games.”

Laker Notes Laker Coach Pat Riley said the first quarter of today’s game will be critical. “We want to get on top of them early and try to demoralize them,” he said. “We want to make them say, ‘Hey, it’s over.’ ” . . . The Lakers spent most of Saturday’s practice working on their defensive switches, especially those involving the front line, an area the Trail Blazers exploited in Game 3. . . . Riley said he will try to play Mitch Kupchak and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar together for brief periods. Riley also wants to give a breather to Magic Johnson. “I’m a little concerned about the exhaustion factor with Magic,” Riley said. “When he’s tired, it affects his decision-making.” Riley wants to rest Johnson for a couple of minutes in the middle of the fourth quarter. . . . If the Lakers close out the Portland series, they will play the winner of the other Western Conference semifinal series, the Denver Nuggets or Utah Jazz, in a best-of-seven series, with the first two games at the Forum. . . . Denver leads, 2-1, with Game 4 tonight at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.