Rambis on Sideline as Lakers (9-1) Play Host to Hawks (9-2)

There’s a double feature, direct from Atlanta, playing at the Forum tonight: Dominique Wilkins, the human highlight film, and Spud Webb, the human highlight short.

Showings of Rambo, the Kurt Rambis version, have been postponed, however, until further notice.

The 6-8 Laker forward cut and dislocated his right index finger in practice Monday and is expected to miss at least a week, according to the Lakers’ Dr. Stephen Lombardo.

Six stitches were required to close the wound in the finger, which was immobilized in a splint.

Thus, the Lakers will be missing their leading rebounder--Rambis was averaging 8.4 rebounds a game--tonight when they face the Atlanta Hawks, who in addition to their two celluloid stars, Wilkins and Webb, have three 7-footers, a former Laker gunner and a Dodger batboy seeking to end the Lakers’ nine-game winning streak, longest in the NBA this season.

The Hawks last won Saturday night against the Boston Celtics, a couple of nights after Larry Bird chided Atlanta for a lack of defense in a loss at Boston.

“I was disappointed that we didn’t have a little more respect from (Bird),” said Atlanta Coach Mike Fratello.

“I guess when you’re world champions you look at things differently than people who are trying to get there.”

Count the Hawks among those making dramatic strides to get there, too. They were the most improved team in the league last season, when they won 50 games, a 16-game swing from the previous season.

And they’ve started this season 9-2, a record surpassed only by the Lakers’ 9-1.

Besides Wilkins, last season’s scoring champion with a 30.3 average, and Webb, the 5-7 king of the dunks, the Hawks have 7-foot forward Kevin Willis, who is leading the league in rebounding with 13 a game.

“Willis is more consistent this year but he can’t give us flashes,” Fratello said of the former Michigan State star.

“One night he had 31 points and 20 rebounds, the next night 4 points and 3 rebounds,” Fratello said. “But this is only his third year.

“He’s a wonderful person, with a great work ethic, tough and combative.”

The other 7-footers, Jon Koncak and Wayne (Tree) Rollins, divide the center position. At 31, Rollins is the only Hawk over the age of 30.

The batboy is Fratello, a buddy of Tom Lasorda. The other night, Fratello was teasing the Dodger manager for losing a one-on-one game against Ann Meyers, the former UCLA women’s basketball star.

“I told him I wanted to know why he got his butt kicked by Ann Meyers,” Fratello said. “Tommy said she took his strong hand away. ‘I couldn’t go left,’ he said.”

And the former Laker gunner is Mike McGee, who went to the Hawks in a draft-day trade that brought Billy Thompson to Los Angeles.

“We needed more offensive punch,” Fratello said. “We couldn’t let people double- and triple-team Dominique without paying the price.”

McGee, who was with the Lakers for five seasons, has played both the shooting guard and small-forward positions for the Hawks. He is averaging 8.7 points and 19 minutes of playing time a night for Atlanta.

“I’m playing every night,” McGee said. “In L.A., I’d play one night, then the next night I wouldn’t play.

“Basically, (the Lakers) were using a three-guard rotation--Byron (Scott), (Michael) Cooper and Magic (Johnson).”

McGee, who filled in nicely when Scott was injured last winter, was odd man out. To Fratello, however, he has been something of a revelation.

“To me, McGee had a very unfair label,” Fratello said. “He had the label of long-range bomber, shooter, instant scorer.

“I’ve found he’s got an all-around game. He can defend, pass the ball, rebound, and shoot. I like him, the more I see of him, for his total game.

“He dove across the floor 15 feet to save a loose ball in Boston. That’s big for me.”

It’s uncertain who will take Rambis’ place in the starting lineup. A.C. Green would be a logical choice, but the cast on his left thumb makes him a liability offensively. Frank Brickowski is a possibility, but he has a tendency to get into foul trouble.