Nuggets Threat in Wide-Open West

When Michael Adams pushes up that quirky 3-point shot, you don’t expect it to go in. Just as you don’t expect a 5-foot-11 guard to carry a team into the NBA Finals.

Well, Adams has proved the doubters wrong on the first count. The Denver guard had struck for at least one long-range basket in a league-record 41 straight games through April 20.

But can the little guy slip the Nuggets past the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, Portland, Dallas, Houston and Utah Jazz and into the championship series? Why not?

Denver has many weapons. Blair Rasmussen has blossomed into an effective center, Lafayette Lever remains a most confounding triple-double threat, Jay Vincent is explosive off the bench and Alex English has been as steady as ever.

But make no mistake: Adams, averaging about 14 points and 6 assists a game, is the primary reason the Nuggets have established a team record for victories (they had 53 with two games left) and were on the brink of winning the Midwest Division.

“He’s the difference in our team compared to last year,” said Coach Doug Moe. “You look at our record last year (37-45) and this year, and he’s the reason why.”

Said Adams: “That’s nice coming from the coach. The (fastbreak) style we have here is my game. I just try and be a catalyst and get us started.”

Coach Pat Riley got the Lakers started on their quest to repeat as champions with the champagne from last year’s celebration still dripping off the walls of the Forum locker room.

After last June’s triumph over Boston, he “guaranteed” Los Angeles would become the first to capture consecutive crowns since the Celtics in 1968 and 1969. The Lakers then got off to a 49-10 start and appeared virtually unbeatable.

However, Michael Cooper suffered a sprained ankle and Magic Johnson a strained groin, and Los Angeles stumbled. At one point, the Lakers lost five straight road games, including one by 22 points at Sacramento.

The Lakers still managed to secure the homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs and win at least 60 games for a record fourth straight season. But injuries might catch up with them in the postseason.

James Worthy has tendinitis in his knee, A.C. Green is bothered by a sore back and Byron Scott has a strained neck. Plus, Kareem Adbul-Jabbar recently turned 41.

“The injuries are so disappointing,” said Riley, whose team opens against the San Antonio Spurs. “They’ve given opponents the sense they can beat us. We’ve lost that aura of invincibility we had built up.”

Denver won three of five games against Los Angeles this season, and they could meet again in the conference final. But no one is taking anything for granted. In the wide-open West, anyone -- outside of the Spurs -- is given a legitimate shot at making the NBA’s Final Four.

Portland’s Clyde Drexler will be among the finalists for the Most Valuable Player Award, but the success of the Trail Blazers can be traced to the contributions of Jerome Kersey and Kevin Duckworth, who excelled after replacing injured Kiki Vandeweghe and Steve Johnson.

Since slimming down to 260 pounds, Duckworth has given the Blazers an agile, physical presence in the middle. Portland won 20 of the first 28 games that Duckworth started.

“He’s so much different now,” Seattle’s Olden Polynice said of the former 360-pounder. “He used to be fat. Now he’s real strong and he’s always been real quick. He’s just become a terror.”

The Dallas Mavericks won the Midwest last year but were upset by the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round. But this season, they have Roy Tarpley, the league’s premier sixth man, healthy and ready.

Many in the West fear Houston and Seattle because of their unpredictability -- they can go from awful to awesome within minutes.

Houston Coach Bill Fitch, whose job may be on the line, is relying on Akeem Olajuwon and Eric Floyd to jell in the postseason. Seattle, with Dale Ellis, Tom Chambers and Xavier McDaniel each a 20-point scorer, hopes to build on the success of last season, when it advanced to the conference final.

“But we can’t depend on last year,” Chambers said. “We are still an immature team that’s learning how to win. We haven’t proved anything yet.”

Power forward Karl Malone and point guard John Stockton -- who with two games left needed 29 assists to break the NBA season record held by Isiah Thomas -- are possibly the top players at their positions. They could transform Utah into a playoff surprise.

The Spurs, led by Most Improved Player candidate Frank Brickowski and Alvin Robertson, should not beat the Lakers. That’s OK. They’re looking ahead to 1989-90 -- when David Robinson comes aboard.