NBA All-Star Game : Worthy-Wilkins Could Be Matchup Played in Heavens

In the true spirit of the National Basketball Assn. All-Star game, there is a lot of room for something like individual expression. So while it may be East versus West today, that’s not the real matchup to watch.

Moses Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Who will go bald first?

Julius Erving and Abdul-Jabbar. Who will retire first?

Alex English and Jeff Malone. Who will shoot first?

Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas. Who will try an impossible pass first?

James Worthy and Dominique Wilkins. Who will fly first?

First and foremost, this is still just an exhibition game. It is definitely not a game to take very seriously. Both coaches say they won’t fall into that trap.

Pat Riley feels his West Conference players really want to win, but Riley didn’t sound quite so committed.

“I just want to have fun,” he said. “The last thing I want to think about is coaching.”

K.C. Jones was coaching really hard. Sure he was. Jones practiced alley-oop passes in Saturday’s 15-minute “workout.”

True, alley-oop passes are always an integral part of a team’s pattern offense. But what other plays will the East run?

“I’ll have to ask Dr. J.,” Jones said. “I asked Moses Malone, and he said all he wanted was for me to find him a body of water. I asked him why, and he said he felt like taking a walk.”

They won’t be walking on water, but there is a good chance that there might be some sneaker prints on the air inside Reunion Arena today. When the NBA tips off its 36th All-Star game, the greatest collection of runners, jumpers and scorers to play in one game this season will be on display.

Why not focus on the All-Star All-Air matchup, which could be the most interesting of them all.

Outside of Julius Erving, who is appearing in his 10th NBA All-Star game, the best of the rest of the pure jumper-scorers are first-time All-Stars Clyde Drexler, Worthy and Wilkins.

It might be a good idea to keep in mind both Worthy and Wilkins. That way, you won’t be too surprised if one of them comes away with the game’s MVP trophy in his All-Star debut.

As in most All-Star games, individual brilliance dominates team play, which may mean something for both Wilkins and Worthy, whose individual games have soared this season.

Wilkins is averaging 28.4 points for the Atlanta Hawks, a team he has improved almost single-handedly into what could be a playoff contender.

Worthy’s scoring average is less spectacular, 20.3 points a game, but he is shooting 58.7% and the Lakers went into the All-Star break with a 10 1/2-game lead over second-place Portland.

They are two of the best young players in the game, and they just happen to play the same position.

Besides both being small forwards, Worthy and Wilkins also share history.

The Lakers chose Worthy with the first pick in the 1982 draft. Utah selected Wilkins with the third pick, then traded him to Atlanta. Worthy thought he benefited from playing with a stronger team than Wilkins.

“I’ve gotten recognition just by being on the Lakers,” he said. “People know me through them and because of our championships. After all, I’m playing on the same team with two of the most popular players in the league.”

Wilkins has had neither Magic Johnson nor Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He’s had Glenn Rivers and Tree Rollins instead, and there’s a difference.

So Wilkins became a one-man team, which is something Worthy was able to avoid. Wilkins became the “Human Highlight Film,” a dunker supreme and pretty much a one-dimensional player.

He’s not that way anymore.

“Dominique has gone from a good player to a great player,” Larry Bird said. “I used to be able to do a lot of things against him, like take him down low and just wear him down. I think he’s improved more than anyone else here. Once he started rebounding and passing, he changed his game completely.”

Fans in Atlanta always knew Wilkins could shoot, maybe because he did it so often. But this season, they’re seeing something else, too, such as the game against Houston that Wilkins won twice.

First, with the clock running down and the Rockets ahead by a two points, Wilkins fired a three-pointer. While Wilkins raised his arms in the air to celebrate, he saw a pass headed downcourt to Akeem Olajuwon. Wilkins outran the ball and deflected it to save a sure dunk.

Wilkins said he is a better all-round player now because he no longer feels he has to do everything for the Hawks to win.

“We’re starting to get some respect now,” Wilkins said. “Last year was a sticky situation. I had to take shots I really didn’t want to because we didn’t have enough guys who could score. This year, I’m a better rebounder and better with my power moves.

“It doesn’t bother me at all if people still want to classify me as just a dunker,” he said. “I think I’ve come a long way.”

Since he joined the Lakers, Worthy’s game has already been more well-rounded. The big reason why is Johnson, who sees to it that Worthy gets the basketball only when he is in a position to score.

“I’ve never thought that being selected to the All-Star team was a major endorsement for my game personally,” Worthy said. “There are a lot of knowledgeable fans out there, but the other players don’t vote, so I don’t want to hang my existence as a player on whether I make it or not.”

Even if he did, he is certainly legitimate now. And so is Wilkins.

“You can’t call either one them budding stars because they’re both already here,” Jones said. “James Worthy sometimes gets overlooked because he is part of such a great team, and Dominique sometimes doesn’t get enough credit either.

“What they can both do is score and soar. And if you don’t look real close, you might have trouble telling them apart.”

All-Star Notes

The Clippers’ Marques Johnson missed the West Conference All-Star practice Saturday morning because his week-old son was sick. Johnson took a red-eye flight from Los Angeles, where he stayed with Marques Kevin II. “His breathing has been a little rapid, so there was cause for concern,” Johnson said. “The reason I didn’t leave until late was because my wife was coming home from the hospital and I wanted to get her situated.”. . . Julius Erving said that he has decided to play one more season with the Philadelphia 76ers. “I haven’t made an official announcement,” Erving told the Associated Press in a telephone interview from his hotel room. “I’m going to do that this weekend in conjunction with the (All-Star) game. But I have decided to play again next year.” . . . NBA Commissioner David Stern said Saturday that the next draft lottery will keep the same format as last year. The bottom seven teams are in a lottery and each one has an equal chance of getting the No. 1 pick. Stern said he will propose a change for next season. In his proposal, no team will be eligible for any of the top three picks if they get those picks from somebody else. Stern also said the league has agreed to a two-year extension on its cable television agreement with WTBS. The new contract will bring the NBA $25 million. WTBS will air 55 regular-season games and 20 playoff games. On the subject of expansion, Stern said the NBA Board of Governors plans to discuss adding one or possibly two franchises when it meets in September. Only two groups have officially filed the $100,000 fee as an application for expansion. They are from Orange County, Calif., and Miami, Fla. Others who are interested, but have formally applied are from Minneapolis, Orlando, Fla., Charlotte, N.C., and Toronto.