Lakers Need a Good Shot of Magic, but His Sore Knee Gets in the Way

Showtime was called on account of stiffness Sunday, a condition that could be traced directly to Magic Johnson’s right knee.

A month after he banged it into another knee belonging to Larry Nance, Magic’s knee is giving him trouble. Trouble Sunday consisted of a rare single double--12 assists, 6 points, 6 rebounds and one game off for the Laker fast break--as the Celtics won the second half of the world championship preview, 105-99.

Johnson took four shots and made none. The last time he went without a field goal was on March 18, 1983, when Steve Johnson of the Kansas City Kings kneed him in the thigh and knocked him out of the game after one minute. The only other times in his seven-year career were two games in his rookie season.

Great defense? Hardly.

“I would just say his desire was there, but the knee wouldn’t allow him to do what he wanted to do,” said Boston’s Dennis Johnson, who guarded him. “I don’t think I really held him back. Magic held himself back. He was out there limping noticeably. I don’t think his knee would allow him to move like he wanted.”

Magic, smiling wanly: “Well, he told me that on the court at the end of the game, because I didn’t put any pressure on him the way I normally do . . . When I’m 100%, he knows I’m gonna put the pressure back on him. That’s what you have to do with DJ.”

Magic’s injury has been diagnosed as a bruise. He ran into Nance Jan. 14, missed a game, then tried a comeback that lasted one game. He retired to the sideline again for six more, of which the Lakers lost three, before returning just before the All-Star Game.

His own all-star’s game has been generally off, although he hit the Hawks Friday night for 18 points, 16 assists and 8 rebounds.

His coach, Pat Riley, thinks it’s a conditioning problem.

“I don’t think he’s 100%,” Riley said. “But if you saw him play the other night against Atlanta, you’d see he’s on his way back. I’ve said all along, the problem is he’s been off five-six weeks.”

Johnson thinks it’s a conditioning problem, too--sort of.

“Friday it loosened up really quick,” Johnson said. “The thing is, you never know what’s going to happen. Saturday it wasn’t bad. Today it was loose, but you can’t cut like you want to. That’s no excuse. They (Celtics) are just playing better than we are. Right now they’re the team to beat. . . .

“You’re aware of the knee in the second half. It gets weaker as the game goes on. You try not to think about it because you’ve got a job to do, but it’s always going to let you know.

“It still hurts a little, of course. It’s weak. It’s not as strong as the other knee. When I see an opening, I can’t get into the gaps. If I see a pick man coming, and I try to spring back, that’s where I have problems. I can run the team without any problem, but when I try to beat somebody, I have no burst of speed.”

Most observers didn’t think Johnson was limping, noticeably or otherwise. So much for Magic’s bright spots Sunday.

“We’ve had him examined many times,” Laker owner Jerry Buss said. “We told him exactly what the doctors told us. He could play when he felt OK, but not to play a second before that.”

Riley: “The doctors have assured him there’s nothing structurally wrong with the knee. You have to remember, he puts a lot of pressure on it. We just have to hope in time the pain subsides and he gets to the point where he’s 100%. There are no guarantees of that. You just have to deal with it.”

At the present, it’s still a mere bruised knee. All of Buss’ doctors and all of Buss’ men are resuming work on it.

Johnson underwent a battery of questions Sunday and came up smiling most of the way.

“I’m going to quit (talking about it),” he said late Sunday afternoon. “People will say I’m looking for an excuse. It’s there. It’s a problem. But I was out there, so. . . .

“We’re going to do some things (in physical therapy) the next week or two to get it back to where it should be. If it’s not back by then, then you worry about it.”

“We all have ups and downs,” teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said. “This team wouldn’t be a great team if he wasn’t on it. We just have to have patience and faith that he can do for us what he’s done time and again.”