NBA PLAYOFFS : But if Seattle Is Rough <i> and</i> Ready, Beware

Has it come to this? Has it come to the point where the L.A. fans and media, and maybe even the Laker players, have such high expectations for this ballclub that they aren’t satisfied with an 11-point series-opening victory over a tough second-round opponent, the Lakers’ ninth consecutive win?

Indeed, has it come to the point that such a game is cause for grave concern?

Yes.

As the Bard said, uneasy lies the head that wears the National Basketball Assn. crown. Or was it the X-man who said that?

Xavier (X-man) McDaniel and his fellow Seattle SuperSonics made a strong run, put some physical hurt on the Lakers, but fell Sunday, 113-102, at the Forum.

Did this game reveal the Lakers as a beatable team?

“This game definitely got our attention where it should be,” Laker center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said. “We have to be emotionally involved in this series.”

Absolutely. This is not a one-night (or one-day) stand. The Lakers will have to respect the SuperSonics in the morning, especially after the Lakers check out their lumps and bruises.

There were encouraging Laker performances Sunday, like James Worthy’s 28 points and 12 rebounds, but let’s not dwell on the positive here. What about:

--The bench? Key subs Michael Cooper and Orlando Woolridge combined for four points and zero rebounds. Paging Bob McAdoo. Cooper did make a sensational block on Sedale Threatt layup to key the Lakers’ late surge, but I said we weren’t going to dwell on the positive, remember?

--Kareem? Would you believe zero rebounds in 28 minutes? This has to be a world record for a center. Looks like certain parts of Big Fella’s retirement are further along than other parts.

Kareem also shot zero free throws. Never a mix-it-up type, Abdul-Jabbar played this one far, far from the madding crowd.

--Magic Johnson? One rebound in 42 minutes. Not enough. Fortunately for the Lakers, Magic wasn’t reluctant to take the ball to the hoop, where the SuperSonics get nasty. Without his 14 free throws (and Worthy’s 10), the Lakers would have been in deep trouble.

--The Sonics? Too many uncontested, unmolested inside shots for Seattle’s interior thugs--er, players.

“They were being the aggressive ones,” Cooper said. “They let us know there would not be any layups. The first three or four, they hit us in the face, knocked us to the floor.”

Cooper emphasized that these tactics were not dirty. Heck no. And he emphasized that the Lakers would have to adopt a similar demeanor, without crossing over that fine line that separates gentlemen from common ruffians.

“We will make a better effort at contesting their shots,” Cooper said, euphemistically.

The Lakers will have to adjust to a slightly different style of play. In the Forum Sunday, the only thing uglier than the Seattle defense was the sight of porcine fight promoter Don King wearing a tight T-shirt and leather shorts. Lord have mercy.

(King was making a fashion statement. That statement was: “Stop me before I dress myself again.”)

The SuperSonics may have added a new phrase to the NBA lexicon, although they certainly didn’t invent rugged play. The phrase: Power fouls.

“Power fouls are one thing,” Magic Johnson said, referring to the Sonics’ philosophy of contesting layups. “You can deal with them. Their goal is to try to make you get upset.”

The enduring and endearing picture of the SuperSonics is the photo from two seasons back of X-man McDaniel with both hands wrapped snugly around the neck of then-Laker Wes Matthews. In one evening, Matthews went from a size 15 1/2 shirt collar to a permanent 14.

X-man is so intimidating that hair is afraid to grow on his head.

The Sonics’ make-’em-pay defense cost them in free throws--the Lakers shot 46, Seattle 25--but they left their calling card, establishing their style.

This is a team that has perfected the follow-through foul, where the defender makes contact with as many of the shooter’s body parts as possible.

Byron Scott did a quick tooth check after he was axed on one layup, and on other occasions he also was hit on the head and in an eye.

“I’m thinking about wearing goggles next game,” Scott joked.

Might as well, because the action from here on out, in this series and any subsequent series that the Lakers might find themselves involved in, will be lively.

“We’ve gotta flip the switch,” said Coach Pat Riley, “from a running and finesse team to one that’s going to be playing in the trenches.”

In other words, the Lakers have to sink to new heights, or rise to new depths. It’s an annual event: Finesse-prone Lakers sense need to drop facade of gentility, mix it up with brutish foe.

It’s an old story, but maybe the Lakers are an old team. Beatable, maybe. What will the Sonics do once they have a chance to rest and regroup?

*They Looked Beatable: To a man, the Supersonics believe the Laker win was an act of charity. Mark Heisler’s story, Page 13.