Erving Will Go Back to Forward for All-Star Game

Julius Erving, a starting guard for the Philadelphia 76ers since mid-December, makes his 10th consecutive start as a forward today in the 36th National Basketball Assn. All-Star Game.

The 76ers were struggling with a 12-11 record when Erving was inserted as a starting guard on Dec. 14. After that, they won 19 of 25 games.

Boston Celtic Coach K. C. Jones will make the lineup decisions for the Eastern Conference team after the starters: Erving, forward Larry Bird of Boston, center Moses Malone of Philadelphia and guards Sidney Moncrief of Milwaukee and Detroit’s Isiah Thomas.

“I was picked as a forward and I expect to play forward extensively,” Erving said. “They picked four other guards. K.C. will make the final decision, but there has been no discussion about playing guard.”

But Houston Coach Bill Fitch said if Jones wants to use Erving in the backcourt, “He has a guard out there that no other guard in the league can post up.”

“The switch to guard has not been that difficult for me,” said Erving, an All-Star Most Valuable Player in 1977 and 1983. “When (Andrew) Toney comes back from injury, I’ll probably divide my time between guard and forward.”

Dallas will play host for the All-Star Game for the first time since the Mavericks joined the league in 1980. It was chosen as part of the 150th anniversary celebration of Texas independence.

The game at Reunion Arena--site of next month’s NCAA Final Four--is a sellout, but the crowd of 16,573 will be some 500 short of the normal capacity to accommodate the media.

Pat Riley of the Lakers will coach the West team, which includes three members of the defending NBA champions in the starting lineup. Forward Ralph Sampson of Houston and guard Alvin Robertson of San Antonio join Lakers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy and Magic Johnson as starters.

Eastern Conference substitutes are Robert Parish of Boston and Patrick Ewing of New York at center; Dominique Wilkins of Atlanta, Kevin McHale of Boston and Buck Williams of New Jersey at forward; and Maurice Cheeks of Philadelphia and Jeff Malone of Washington at guard. Guard Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls was voted a starter, but will not play because of an injury.

For the West, Akeem Olajuwon of Houston and Artis Gilmore of San Antonio were added at center; Alex English of Denver and Adrian Dantley of Utah at forward; and Marques Johnson of the Clippers, Rolando Blackman of Dallas and Clyde Drexler of Portland at guard.

Abdul-Jabbar and Erving each will be appearing in his 15th All-Star Game as professionals, although five of Erving’s were in the American Basketball Assn. Abdul-Jabbar established the NBA record last year with his 14th, one more than John Havlicek, Bob Cousy and Wilt Chamberlain.

The game is expected to be high-scoring. The last time a team won an All-Star Game with fewer than 120 points was 1975, when the East won 108-102.

In the last 10 games, the winning team has averaged 133 points. The West won 140-129 last year to cut the East’s lead in the series to 23-12.

Sampson, somewhat overshadowed by Olajuwon on the Rockets this season, was the 1985 MVP and will try to become the second player to win the award two years in a row. Bob Petit won it in 1958 and shared it with Elgin Baylor in 1959.

The NBA actually has transformed the All-Star Game into an All-Star Weekend, with two other events that were to be held Saturday: the slam-dunk championship and a three-point field goal shooting contest.