76ers, Without Moses, May Need Help From Above

Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Washington are putting Moses Malone, Jack Sikma, Jeff Ruland and Roy Hinson in different uniforms this year in a bid to challenge the Boston Celtics’ dominance in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

But out West, where the Lakers missed the finals for the first time since 1981, nearly everyone is standing pat in what Coach Pat Riley calls a balanced conference.

The Celtics, with Larry Bird winning his third consecutive Most Valuable Player award, won their 16th title in 1986 and their third of the decade. Unless backup forward Fred Roberts makes the team, they will have the same 12-man squad that made the NBA finals for the third straight time last season.

The Bucks, 76ers and Bullets have been the Best of the Rest in the East behind the Celtics for most of the 1980s, but while they might not have caught up with Boston, it isn’t for lack of effort.

The biggest upheaval is in Philadelphia, which sent Malone, another three-time MVP, to the Bullets and longtime backup Clemon Johnson to Seattle.

The Philadelphia front line should still be formidable, however, with Ruland, Hinson, budding superstar Charles Barkley and backups Tim McCormick, Danny Vranes and Cliff Robinson. Julius Erving, now a guard, and Maurice Cheeks return in the backcourt, and Andrew Toney is hoping to be back from foot injuries.

“A few of the faces on this year’s squad have changed, but what has not changed is our desire to remain as one of the top teams in the NBA,” 76ers Coach Matt Guokas said. “It’s never easy to replace a great player, but the addition of proven NBA veterans has made us a better ballclub.”

The Bucks, winners of six consecutive Central Division titles, acquired Sikma, their first quality center since the retirement of Bob Lanier. But the smooth-shooting Sikma clearly is on the downside of his career, so the question remains whether Milwaukee has improved enough to compete with Boston.

Nelson, with Sikma to go with holdovers Sidney Moncrief, Terry Cummings and Paul Pressey, is cautiously optimistic.

“I felt we might be slipping a little unless we did something,” Nelson said. “I think this will keep us where we’ve been, which is striking distance of a championship. I’m not saying it brought us any closer to Boston, but it’s something we had to do to make sure we didn’t fall any farther back.”

Malone will share last-name billing with fellow All-Star Jeff Malone on the Bullets, and at 6-foot-10, will look up to last season’s rookie sensation, 7-7 Manute Bol, who bulked up from 210 to 230 in the offseason, and is talking like he’s ready to pay back the brutes who pushed him around a year ago.

Donning the Bullets uniform for the first time this season, besides Moses Malone, are former Dallas forward Jay Vincent, Philadelphia-ex Terry Catledge and Darwin Cook, acquired from New Jersey.

Another big trade that probably will have less effect on the balance of power in the East saw Adrian Dantley go from Utah to Detroit for Kelly Tripucka and Kent Benson.

The surprise of the East last season were the Atlanta Hawks, who made a modest run at Milwaukee in the Central Division. NBA scoring champion Dominique Wilkins, given respect by his peers and the media for the first time, got ample support from Kevin Willis, Glenn Rivers, Randy Wittman and tiny Spud Webb.

Also hoping to improve are the New Jersey Nets, who acquired Orlando Woolridge for scoring help up front, and Cleveland, which gave up Hinson for the right to draft North Carolina’s Brad Daugherty No. 1.

Bringing up the rear are Indiana, Chicago and New York. The Pacers and new Coach Jack Ramsay look for improved play from Wayman Tisdale but still have Clark Kellogg on the sidelines with a bad knee; the Bulls and new Coach Doug Collins need Michael Jordan to win a scoring title to stay afloat in the standings; and the Knicks still are worrying about knee injuries, not only Bernard King’s, but also Patrick Ewing’s.

In the West, Riley says the Lakers still have an outstanding team, but admits that the days when the Lakers are obvious favorites are over.

“Contrary to the belief of a lot of people who follow the Lakers that we are over the hill, I think we will surprise them,” Riley said. “But we no longer are a step ahead of the posse. Houston proved that last season. We no longer have the cushion where we can play less than our best and still win. But we still have the type of team that will compete for the championship.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar starts his 18th season in the upper echelon of NBA centers, and since this could finally be his final year, Magic Johnson was prompted to say, “We want to send the Big Fella out the way he’s supposed to go out.”

Actually, the Lakers didn’t do badly in 1985-86, starting 24-3 and coasting to their fifth straight Pacific Division title. It was the way the season ended--with a five-game loss to Houston in the Western Conference final--that hurt.

With Akeem Olajuwon on the verge of becoming the best active center, many believe the Rockets are on the verge of dominating the conference the way the Lakers have.

“Last season gave us confidence and showed us what it’s like to get to the final series,” Houston Coach Bill Fitch said. “We’ll tinker a little here and there, but there won’t be any major overhaul.”

Joining Olajuwon in a frontcourt that only Boston’s can rival in talent are Ralph Sampson and Rodney McCray. Robert Reid sparkled in the playoffs as the team’s quarterback guard, but it’s not his natural position.

Also challenging for supremacy in the West are Denver, Dallas, Utah and Portland.

The Mavericks did a lot of housecleaning, dumping forwards Dale Ellis and Jay Vincent, which means Coach Dick Motta is counting on second-year man Detlef Schrempf and rookie Roy Tarpley to help out high-scoring Mark Aguirre. Motta hopes Al Wood will be the much-needed backcourt backup behind All-Star Rolando Blackman.

Denver is high on rookie Mo Martin as a backcourt scorer to help out the forward duo of Alex English and Calvin Natt. Coach Doug Moe also is hoping to move center Wayne Cooper can move to power forward, making room for Blair Rasmussen, who was a playoff surprise for the Nuggets.

At Portland, new Coach Mike Schuler, who fell out of his chair at his coming-out press conference, needs a healthy season from center Sam Bowie, who can provide defense around the scoring prowess of Kiki Vandeweghe and Clyde Drexler. If Darrell Griffith rebounds from injury and Kelly Tripucka can keep scoring, Utah will be tough despite the loss of Dantley.

New coaches also reside in San Antonio and Golden State. The Spurs’ Bob Weiss has a strong nucleus in Alvin Robertson, Mike Mitchell and aging center Artis Gilmore. George Karl has individual talents like Joe Barry Carroll, Eric Floyd, Purvis Short, Chris Mullin and rookie Chris Washburn, but he must find a way to mold them into a team.