Let’s Focus on Just How Good Lakers Are

First let’s get all the necessary disclaimers out of the way.

--It’s only February, and the National Basketball Assn. regular season doesn’t drone to a close until what? Thanksgiving? The 12th of Never?

--The Lakers’ scariest rivals, like the Pistons, Hawks and Rockets, all have more room to improve. The Lakers have been together longer and are more in sync than the Royal Shakespeare Company.

--In the Lakers’ recent eight-day streak of monumental, memorable wins over Boston, the Clippers, Houston, Atlanta and Detroit, their two toughest opponents had to play in the Forum, in a league where the home court is worth 30 or 40 points.

--So many things could happen to derail the Lakers. If Pat Riley runs for President, as suggested by actress Terri Garr on a recent David Letterman show in a flash of lucid inspiration, it might interfere with Riley’s concentration and adversely affect the Lakers’ delicate chemistry.

-- No team is this good.

Those items duly noted, let’s say what needs to be said: The Lakers are the greatest basketball team of all time.

They are the state of the art in basketball evolution.

They beat the Detroit Pistons by 7 in the Forum Sunday after trailing by 12 at halftime, during which the Lakers had the team dentist come into the locker room with a crescent wrench and tighten their teeth. The Pistons play hard.

The Lakers are 42-9, their best record at this point since the 1971-72 Lakers were 44-7 and finished with a league record record of 69-13.

The Lakers are advancing up the Richter Scale, from impressive, to awesome, to scary.

Another word that comes to mind is cosmic, which is what Piston assistant coach Dick Versace called the Lakers last year when scouting them during the playoffs. Sunday Versace saw nothing to diminish his opinion.

“Collectively, they believe in miracles,” said Versace, who is not related to Al Michaels. “Any time there is a significant achievement, in world history or in athletics, it comes about because the participants believe they can do it, and that’s the feeling you get from these guys.”

In other words, Dick?

“The Lakers get into the gig and concentrate as well as any team I’ve ever seen in sports.”

Riley refers to that concentration as “focus,” which he probably got out of a book somewhere, and the Lakers players just shrug and call it basketball.

This is a team that professes great respect for its opponents, but shows those foes a game face of unmistakable disdain.

“That your best shot? Got a big enough lead now? Feelin’ good? OK, here’s a little something to remember us by.”

Sunday the Lakers were down by a big 12 at the half. The Pistons, as cocky and frisky and physical a team as you’ll find in the NBA, were being fired to inspiring heights by Isiah Thomas, playing one of the great games of his little life.

Maybe the Pistons were also inspired by their recent induction as honorary Raiders. Al Davis, hearing of the Pistons’ reputation as bad boys of basketball, sent a box of Raider sweaters to the Pistons.

Never mind that Al has Laker courtside seats and now faces keelhauling by the L.A. City Council on treason charges.

“Nobody has attacked us that way in a long time,” said Riley, referring to the Pistons, not to Al Davis, who probably drinks Florida orange juice.

But the Lakers’ players--what, them worry?

“Well,” said James Worthy with a straight face, the only one he has, “we were only 12 down at the half.”

Or as Byron Scott said, “They shot 60% and we were only down by 12.”

Hey. Only 12.

The Lakers brush aside 12-point leads like lint on their tuxedo lapels.

“It’s experience,” Riley said. “We know if we all get on the same wavelength, we can make it happen. Once they got that challenge (by halftime), they got focus.”

I don’t understand physics, but Riley translated his team’s attitude into terminology that even a Raider fan could understand.

“The disposition to dominate,” said Coach-in-Chief Riley.

That’s what comes over the Lakers so often these days, causing them to grip opposing teams firmly by the throat and shake well.

Sunday it was the NBA pretty boys vs. the NBA bad boys, and the pretty boys committed more fouls, held their own on the boards and even notched a few takedowns. And Laker tough guy Michael Cooper wasn’t even suited up.

In the key moment of the game, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the gentle and aging giant, stepped forward and sent a northbound Isiah Thomas jumper due south.

The message to the Pistons and the rest of the basketball world was clear: “Just leave, baby.”