Tough Times for New Maverick Coach MacLeod

It’s not easy these days being John MacLeod, the man who replaced Dick Motta, the only coach the Dallas Mavericks had ever known.

Take it from Pat Riley, who played for MacLeod at Phoenix--in 1975-76, the season the Suns went to the National Basketball Assn. Finals.

Are the Mavericks, 4-3 going into tonight’s game against the Lakers (7-0) at the Forum, going through a shakedown period with MacLeod?

“Damn right they are,” Riley said Thursday while the Lakers were winding up practice by autographing a row of 100 basketballs at the Loyola Marymount gym.

“It would be the equivalent of another coach right now coming in to this team--as talented and mature and experienced as it is--with a different philosophy and a different system. It takes time.”

It’s not the same, however, Riley said, as when he replaced Paul Westhead as Laker coach five games into the 1981-82 season.

“I knew the players and I was with the system for two years, and we didn’t change anything,” Riley said. “We just sort of changed the leader. For almost a month, I hardly did anything. We just sort of stayed with it.”

The Mavericks won 55 games last season, a club record, then were abruptly bounced from the first round of the playoffs by the Seattle SuperSonics.

That shock was followed by another. Motta, an NBA coach for 19 seasons, the last seven with the Mavericks, resigned without explanation. He is spending his time fishing in Fish Haven, Ida., and doing TV commentary on Detroit Pistons telecasts.

Enter MacLeod, who was fired in the midst of his 14th season with the Suns last season. The difference in the Mavericks under the new coach?

“I never was at any Motta practices, but just from what I understand, he was twisting the screw--always,” said Riley, who had a couple of celebrated clashes with Motta in Laker-Maverick playoff series.

“He had them under his thumb, which isn’t bad,” Riley said. “John coming in may not be the same personality. John is a very stern, disciplined man, but his demands may not be like they were with Dick, so that could be sort of a feeling of release for the players.”

The player who may have benefited most from that release is forward Mark Aguirre, who was constantly at odds with Motta.

“He worked so hard this summer it was unbelievable,” said Magic Johnson, a close friend of Aguirre, who dropped more than 20 pounds in a conditioning program.

“He talked to MacLeod a lot during the summer. MacLeod told him what he wanted, what he expected--more of a leader--but told him he was just going to let him go and play his game.”

Riley said that the personality conflict between Motta and Aguirre tore at the fiber of the team.

“I think Mark Aguirre in the past is probably the same as he is right now,” Riley said. “I think he was just put under the microscope unfairly. The guy has had great seasons, wonderful seasons, and now he’s come back committed, and with a different attitude.

“Why go to war? Just come to play. The game can be very simple for star players if they don’t go to war with all the elements.”

Complicating life for MacLeod and the Mavericks--who have been booed loudly at home already this season--are high expectations, Riley said.

“Once they got there and won 55 games, everybody assumed they were going to beat us and win the Western Conference championship,” Riley said. “That was a given.

“That may have affected the players a little bit. They may have been looking ahead, and I think the one thing that can affect their team this year is going to be the pressure.

“Unless they win 55 games this year, they’re going to be considered a failure. That’s not true, but that’s the reality.”

Riley on his own team: “I don’t think we’re still sharp. Two of our key players aren’t there yet, and I’m talking about Earvin (Johnson) and Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar). They’re coming, they’re getting there.

“Even in the past, Earvin has generally been a slow starter. Last year, it wasn’t until Dec. 15 he really got going. And you have to remember he missed a whole month of not practicing this season.

“But I think we’re going to be better. I really do. We’ll be more efficient and we have more weapons: A.C. Green averaging 18 points a game, Mychal (Thompson) can get 24 points if he plays 30 minutes (as he did against Portland Tuesday), Kurt Rambis doing what he did in 19 minutes (12 points, 10 rebounds).

“We’ve got more weapons than we’ve ever had because of the (players’) familiarity.”

Abdul-Jabbar is averaging the fewest points of any Laker starter--14.5 a game, 3 below last season’s average, which was the lowest of his career--but he’s only playing a shade more than 28 minutes a game.

Johnson started the season with a rash of turnovers but is averaging more than 11 assists a game and has scored 20 or more points in all but two games.

“I’ve got to get in shape,” Johnson said. “And second, my foot is still sore. I’m trying to get it ready. But it’s good we’re 7-0, and I’m still not near where I can be. That’s a a good sign. A lot of guys are playing well.”