Magic Johnson Out With Shingles : He’ll Miss Lakers’ Season Opener Tonight at San Antonio

Before playing one game of the regular season, the Lakers have lost Magic Johnson for perhaps a week.

Johnson stayed behind in Los Angeles while the Lakers flew here for tonight’s season opener with the Spurs after a doctor had diagnosed that he was suffering from shingles, a painful viral infection involving the central nervous system.

When Johnson arrived at Laker practice Friday morning with blisters on his face, trainer Gary Vitti sent him to a physician, who diagnosed the ailment as shingles.

Johnson will be re-examined Monday, and although he could rejoin the Lakers at Phoenix for Thursday night’s game, the early prognosis is that he may be out of the lineup until next Saturday night’s game against the Warriors in Oakland.

Without Johnson, the Lakers must play the Spurs with only 11 players on the roster. They cannot bring back point guard Ronnie Lester from the injured list, on which he was placed Thursday, because he is required to miss at least five games.

Laker Coach Pat Riley said Michael Cooper is expected to start in Johnson’s place.

“He (Cooper) is capable of handling the ball,” Riley said. “I don’t know if Magic’s being out is going to be disruptive, but I know we won’t be able to play the same kind of game.”

Kurt Rambis received stitches in his chin to close a cut he received when he was elbowed in practice Friday morning but he will play against the Spurs tonight.

There will also be a change in the Spur backcourt. For the first time since the Lakers began playing San Antonio in 1976, George Gervin will not be part of the Spurs.

The Spurs traded Gervin, who led the NBA in scoring for four seasons, to the Chicago Bulls Thursday for forward David Greenwood.

Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons’ Spurs ended last season with a 41-41 mark, then lost in the first round of the playoffs.

Despite some revamping, things may not be much better now. Center Artis Gilmore is 36 and overweight, point guard Johnny Moore is an unsigned free agent, and now Gervin is in Chicago.

San Antonio’s starting backcourt consists of Wes Matthews, a free-agent point guard signed two weeks ago and playing for his fifth team in six years, and Alvin Robertson, a shooting guard who has inherited Gervin’s spot after averaging only 9.2 points a game last season.

Gervin was destined to be traded once Fitzsimmons and General Manager Bob Bass considered his defensive liabilities greater than his offensive capabilities. Gervin, who has an NBA career scoring average of 27.3 points a game, dropped to 21.2, his lowest, last season.

With the arrival of the 6-10 Greenwood, the Spurs have added two new big men who played last season with the Bulls. Steve Johnson, also 6-10, is the other.