Magic Is Now a Man With Golden Gun

He is only 27 years old, but he’s no kid. His pro career started back in the previous decade, remember. His knees creak and throb, his ice bags need ice bags, the other players keep getting younger and bigger and faster, and his contemporaries are talking retirement.

So what does Earvin (Magic) Johnson do? He moves his game up another rung on basketball’s ladder of evolution. Who even knew there were more rungs up there? The ladder goes up into the clouds, where only a few Birds and Magics and Jordans can go.

This season, at the request of his coach and with the blessing of his teammates, Magic Johnson has became a scoring threat.

His career scoring average is 18.3, but this season Magic is at 23.9, and climbing. He still leads the league in assists, but now he’s ranked 11th in scoring, too.

In a not-unrelated development, the Lakers are the talk of the NBA. Many experts say this is the best team in the sport at this moment.

What’s the story on this new, improved Magic? What’s with the more frequent power drives, tiptoe jumpers, junior sky hooks? How did Magic Johnson, the ultimate passer, suddenly become a gunner?

“You could kind of sense it was coming after the Houston series,” Johnson says, referring to last season’s playoff embarrassment at the hands of the Rockets. “They really focused in on James (Worthy) and Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar), and I had to do a little more scoring.

“Coming into this season, I was going to play my same (lower-scoring) role, but about a week into training camp, Coach (Pat) Riley came to me and wanted me to start shooting more and being more aggressive offensively.

“There were times in the past where he asked me to score more, but you didn’t sense it was really good for the team at that particular time. I’d start shooting, and some of ‘em (teammates) might not get into the flow of the game.

“Now I’ve got the confidence from Coach Riley and the guys, and that’s the difference. I think now they saying, ‘Hey, it’s definitely making us a better team, so go ahead.’ If they had not gone with it, I would’ve gone back to my same role.”

Riley, to impress upon Magic the need for him to score more, did something new. He officially included Magic in the offense, other than as the disher-offer.

“We’ve got a lot more pick-and-roll plays, things getting me into the offense,” Magic says, then laughs. “They got some plays for me now. Before, they told me to shoot, but they didn’t have no plays for me, so I knew they didn’t really want me to shoot.”

What about the big fella--Kareem? His scoring role has been cut down. Does he mind?

“This has taken the pressure off him, having to deliver all the time, every night,” Magic says. “And you can sense he’s feeling good about it. It’s not something we ever sat down and talked about. I think it was a mutual feeling that we had. He just like gave the nod.”

Kareem also gave Magic the sky hook, the in-your-face, post-up shot the 6-9 Magic has used to great advantage this season. The hook shot is a dinosaur, a stone-age tool, all but extinct, but graceful and effective.

“I can’t do a turnaround jumper, because I’d get it blocked too much,” Magic says. “The hook is one of the hardest shots in basketball to block. I seen the goggle man shoot it, so I went to trying to get a hook of my own. I used to shoot one, and it was all right, but now it’s better.

“I went to Kareem earlier in the season, asked him what is the key to his thing. He said ‘The wrist.’ I said, ‘OK.’ Now I work all the time with (assistant coach Bill) Bertka.

“There’s no question Kareem was an influence. I don’t understand why more guys don’t use that hook. Guys now are so much into not wanting to copy other players. They want to have their own name and their own game. ‘I’m no copycat, I’m my own man.’ Well, of course. But ain’t no harm in stealing something from Larry, Kareem, Isiah, Jordan, Barkley, and putting it into your game.

“I’m definitely a thief. I’ll steal whatever can make me a better player. I see something I like, I’m gonna put it right into my game.”

Old dog, new tricks. But how long will Magic go on? Magic and Larry Bird hit the NBA the same year, 1979. Bird has announced he’ll play this season and two more, then walk--or limp--away. What about Magic?

“I’m gonna go four more, I think,” Johnson says. “That’s gonna be it for me. If I feel it in three, then I’ll leave in three. I think when Larry leaves, it will be hard for me the other two years. It’s like he keeps me going. You have that guy that you compare yourself to, you have that rivalry.”

Their respective games have never been better, but they talk of retirement. You picture Bird and Magic climbing higher and higher up their ladders, then finally, a few years from now, stepping off the ladders onto a cloud and walking away together, flipping a ball back and forth, horsing around, and laughing.