NBA PREVIEW : No Guarantee to Repeat by Lakers : Plenty of Contenders, but Champions Will Have a Say

No guarantees, but no pressure, either.

This is Detroit’s year, Atlanta’s year, the Mailman’s year, Portland’s year, maybe even the Boston Celtics’ year.

Anything but another championship year for the Lakers, who last season made good on Pat Riley’s vow to win consecutive titles but can’t possibly be foolhardy enough to believe they can win three in a row. Right?

Let everybody think that, Riley said. When the National Basketball Assn. season opens Friday, the Lakers will have a clear idea of their intentions, Riley said, even if no one else does.

“This team doesn’t want to win because they’re expected to win, they want to win because they have to win for themselves,” he said. “This team knows how miserable it is around here when they don’t win. They know how miserable they get.

“They’re addicted to winning.”

And that addiction, like any other, won’t be easily surrendered. That said, let’s throw up the first ball for the coming season:

Best reason why the Lakers are looking over their shoulders: Eight teams won 50 or more games last season for the first time in NBA history.

Pat Riley’s list of potential challengers in the West: Utah, Dallas, Portland, Denver, Houston and Seattle.

Biggest reason the Lakers should respect Utah: The Jazz held opponents to a field-goal shooting percentage of 44.9%, lowest in the league in 11 seasons.

Magic Johnson’s case for why Portland--despite the presence of center Kevin Duckworth, Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, and Jerome Kersey--may fall short this season: “The Kiki (Vandeweghe) thing is a problem. Kiki’s tough. He’s a shooter. People think they can play without him, but Kiki opens up everything for them. It’s a whole different game without him.”

Vandeweghe, at odds with Trail Blazer doctors about the condition of his back, may wind up being traded.

Best reasons to pick Atlanta to replace Detroit as Eastern Conference champion: Moses Malone and Reggie Theus. Malone signed as a free agent, Theus came in a trade to the Hawks, who won more than 50 games in each of the last 3 seasons.

Malone averaged 20.3 points and 11.2 rebounds last season, compared to the center he’s replacing, Tree Rollins, who averaged 4.4 points and 6 rebounds.

Theus checked in at 21.6 points and 6.3 assists, numbers that easily eclipse those of Randy Wittman, the man he replaced, who averaged 10 points and 3.7 assists.

Best reason not to pick Atlanta: Dominique Wilkins may have a tough time adjusting to having Moses and Theus around. Last season, Wilkins missed 1,048 shots, which is more shots than any other Hawk attempted .

Best reasons to write off Boston: Robert Parish is 35, Dennis Johnson 34, Larry Bird 31, and Kevin McHale will be 31 in December.

Best reason to watch out for Boston: Because Magic Johnson says so. “Boston is going to sneak up and surprise a lot of people,” Johnson said. “Everybody’s saying Boston is heading over the hill, they’re all washed up. I think Larry (Bird) and them love that.”

Best reason to believe the Celtics are greening as much as graying: For the second straight season, but for only the third time since 1970, three rookies have made the Celtic roster: guard Brian Shaw of UC Santa Barbara, center Ramon Rivas of Temple, and forward Ron Grandison of Tulane.

Best reason Detroit will repeat as a playoff finalist: The Pistons are as nasty as ever. “We’ve got to be the same guys who were hated by everyone except our parents, wives and girlfriends,” Bill Laimbeer said. “That’s the team that reached the finals and it’s the team that could win a championship.”

Best reason to still doubt Thomas (Isiah, that is): In games that the Detroit guard shot 16 or more times, the Pistons were 26-23. When he shot fewer than 16 times, they were 27-5. In the playoffs, they were 4-6 when he shot 20 or more times, 10-3 when he shot fewer than 20.

You can’t see the basket for the trees: When the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Tree Rollins as a free agent, that gave them 3 of the league’s top 10 shot-blockers. The other Cavalier shot rejectors are Brad Daugherty and John (Hot Rod) Williams.

The only clothes Kurt Rambis owns that have a designer label: His uniform. The Charlotte Hornets hired fashion biggie Alexander Julian to create their coming-out look, which features pleated boxer-like shorts and V-neck shirts, done in white and teal with hints of purple, Kelly green, and Carolina blue.

“Fine with me,” Rambis said. “I’ve played in everything from old blue jeans and a long-sleeved shirt to swimming trunks and bare feet. I’m ready to play.”

Best potential shootout--or rumble: The first time Phoenix plays Seattle. Ex-SuperSonic Tom Chambers signed as a free agent with the Suns, and left more than his share of bad feelings behind.

Said Seattle forward Xavier McDaniel: “We were like a balloon almost filled with air and ready to pop. Tom wanted his spotlight. He got it here and he’ll get it in Phoenix. Now, Dale (Ellis) and I can have ours.”

Chambers had this zinger for Seattle Coach Bernie Bickerstaff, referring to the SuperSonics’ loss to Denver in the playoffs: “We had that series and Bernie let it off the hook.”

Best quote by an expansion team coach: Ron Rothstein, Miami Heat. “I had a great lawyer who negotiated my contract,” Rothstein said. “In that contract it says, ‘Three wins.’ ”

Best quote by a rookie: Will Perdue of Chicago, noting that his size-18 sneakers cost $150 a pair: “If anybody is going to rob me, they’d be better off taking my shoes than my wallet.”

Best reason why Michael Jordan shouldn’t be put in the same class as Larry Bird and Magic Johnson: Bird’s teams averaged 60.5 wins in his first 4 seasons. Magic’s teams averaged 57.3. Jordan’s teams averaged 39.5. Magic won 33 playoff games, Bird 26, Jordan 5.

Best reason why the above argument should be ignored as much as anything Wilt Chamberlain says about Kareem: Unlike Jordan, Bird and Magic never played with teams that had Granville Waiters, Earl Cureton, Dave Corzine, and Mike Brown as centers. Both Magic and Jordan played with Mike Smrek, however.

Best reason not to get excited about the New York Knicks: Even with All-Star center Patrick Ewing, last season’s rookie of the year Mark Jackson, new power forward Charles Oakley, and overachieving Coach Rick Pitino, the Knicks still won’t go anywhere with Johnny Newman at small forward and a woefully inadequate bench.

Best darkhorse team: The Cleveland Cavaliers. With Daugherty, Williams, point guard Mark Price, shooting guard Ron Harper and power forward Larry Nance, this team is loaded but inexperienced. Runner-up: The Denver Nuggets, now that they’ve added Walter Davis as a free agent from Phoenix.

Best team likely to self-destruct: The Dallas Mavericks, who took the Lakers to 7 games in the Western Conference finals, for the same reason as always: Mark Aguirre. His talent is matched only by his inability to focus on winning.

Best team with the worst chemistry: Houston. New coach Don Chaney inherits the league’s best center, Akeem Olajuwon, but it will take time to blend in newcomers Otis Thorpe, Mike Woodson and Bernard Thompson, Tim McCormick, Tony Brown, Frank Johnson and Lorenzo Romar.

Non-expansion team most in need of a program: Phoenix Suns. Jeff Hornacek is the only player back from the ‘86-87 team, and Cotton Fitzsimmons is the fourth coach in 3 years.

Early front-runner for most-improved-player award: Dennis Rodman, Pistons, if for no other reason than he apparently has learned to shoot a free throw. Rodman, who shot 53.5% from the line during the regular season and 40.7% during the playoffs, made 11 of 13 free throws in one recent exhibition and said it wasn’t a fluke.

“I worked with a shooting coach and he broke down all my bad habits,” Rodman said. “My confidence is high. I think I can shoot 80%. Wouldn’t that be something.”

Worst attempt at establishing good community relations: In Miami, the city council will vote today on an emergency ordinance allowing police to jail anyone found sleeping on the street. According to Brother Paul Johnson, director of the Camillus House, a homeless shelter that is near the new $47.5-million Miami Arena, the ordinance is designed to clear the homeless from the streets in time for the Heat’s home debut on Saturday.

Coach most resigned to a long season: Wes Unseld, Washington Bullets. Asked what he would put on his wish list for the season, Unseld said: “Peace on earth, good will to men.”

Best reason why Frank Layden shouldn’t visit the Alamo: Last season, the Utah Jazz were 9-0 at home in games against the three teams from Texas--San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston. In Texas, the Jazz were 0-9.

Player best suited for getting his chance with the Bay State Bombardiers: Michael Adams. The Nugget guard must have learned something in the Continental Basketball Assn.: When he got to Denver, he made at least one 3-pointer in 43 straight games.

It’s even older than Kareem: The Boston Garden will be observing its 60th anniversary this season.

Best reason not to give Ralph Sampson the ball outside the paint: From 5 feet and in, Sampson shot 79% last season. From 6 feet and out, he shot 23%.

Best sideshow to be broken up: Washington’s Manute Bol, 7-foot-7, and Muggsy Bogues, 5-foot-3. Bol now forms the Thin Towers with 7-4 Sampson in Golden State. Bogues is just another midget in Charlotte.

Best player to feel sorry for: Buck Williams, who is stuck with the 19-63 New Jersey Nets. Said Williams: “I think about James Worthy. He won a championship at North Carolina and then got drafted by the Lakers. He was in the right place at the right time. I say to myself, ‘Buck, what have you done wrong?’ ”

Best achievement by a little man: Utah’s 6-foot point guard John Stockton set an NBA record for assists, led all guards in shooting from the floor with a 57.4 percentage, was third in steals, and outplayed Magic Johnson head-to- head in the playoffs.

“He has a lot of things going for him,” Utah Coach Frank Layden said. “He’s Irish Catholic, he laughs at my jokes, and his dad owns a bar.”

Best reason to envy Donald Sterling: Danny Manning.

Best reason to feel sorry for Donald Sterling: Danny Manning. And you thought Benoit Benjamin had this category locked up forever.