NBA PLAYOFFS : A Day After Revival of the Fittest, Lakers Rest

All seems well for the Lakers, who have not lost since April 15, when they were struggling to win the Pacific Division title. Since then, they have hardly been challenged in seven playoff games unless, of course, you count that measly 29-point deficit they overcame on Sunday in Seattle.

So now, the Lakers must once again play the waiting game as they prepare for their eighth consecutive trip to the Western Conference finals. The Phoenix Suns, who hold a three-games-to-one lead over the Golden State Warriors, are the most likely opponent.

If the Suns wrap up the series in Game 5 tonight or Game 6 Thursday, the first game of the conference finals will be Saturday at the Forum.

Content with the four-game sweep of Seattle, Coach Pat Riley canceled practice Monday.

Because the Lakers’ playoff record is 7-0, Riley seemingly could not help but take a shot at critics who predicted his team would struggle in the early playoff games. Sports Illustrated, for instance, predicted before the season that the Seattle SuperSonics would oust the Lakers in the conference finals.

“There are a lot of teams that were supposed to be here,” Riley said Sunday. “Utah, Dallas, Portland. But we’re here again. The final four.”

Riley’s boasting can best be justified by the Lakers’ play. They swept the Portland Trail Blazers by a three-game total of 36 points. Then they swept the SuperSonics in four games by a 10-point average.

The Lakers, despite winning 12 consecutive games dating to the regular season, are not without a few trouble spots.

For instance, there was the inability to handle Seattle’s frantic half-court trap in the fourth quarter of Game 3 that caused them to nearly lose a 13-point lead.

And, there was their horrendous play--coupled with Seattle’s inspired effort--that led to a 29-point deficit in Game 4.

Individually, the Lakers’ backcourt of Magic Johnson and Byron Scott had only mediocre series against the SuperSonics.

Scott averaged only 13.3 points, six below his season average. He made just 35.8% of his shots, including one of 12 from three-point range. After making only one of nine shots midway through the third quarter of Game 4, Riley replaced Scott with Michael Cooper for the remainder of the game.

Johnson had a routine (for him) series against the SuperSonics. He averaged 15 points, seven below his season average, made just 40% of his shots and averaged 4.8 turnovers.

However, Johnson also averaged 12.3 assists, had nine rebounds in each of the final two games of the series and, along with forward James Worthy, was a prime mover in Sunday’s comeback.

“I’m not worried about my game,” Johnson said Sunday. “They double-teamed me so much, trapped me whenever they got the chance. They concentrated on me. My thing was just to get the ball to the man.

“I wasn’t surprised. I knew it was going to happen. So, what I was going to do was just be a passer and not worry about shooting.”

The Lakers’ inside game was not expected to be a factor against the SuperSonics, who adopted a strategy of clogging the middle and making the Lakers make shots from the perimeter.

As a result, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averaged just 10 points and 3.3 rebounds while playing only 22.5 minutes per game. But Abdul-Jabbar had six of his seven rebounds Sunday during the Lakers’ third-quarter comeback.

Power forward A.C. Green had 25 of his 36 rebounds on the defensive end and shot just 38.2%. But Sunday, Green sank a baseline jump shot with 32 seconds to play to help clinch the victory.

Positives, however, still easily outnumber negatives.

Worthy alone made up for Johnson’s decreased point production. Reinforcing his reputation as a big-game player, Worthy averaged 27.8 points and eight rebounds. He sank 66.1% of his shots and also made 16 of 17 free throws. At one point Sunday, Worthy made eight consecutive shots. Rare for him, he also sank a three-pointer.

“James is a great shooter,” Johnson said. “We know that. I think a lot of the fans and maybe some (teams) don’t think he can make the outside shot. But he plays in those three-point (shooting) games we have (before practice) and he does all right.”

The Laker bench was clearly superior to Seattle’s. In the final two games of the series, Laker reserves had a 55-14 advantage over their counterparts.

Mychal Thompson, filling in for Abdul-Jabbar and Green, was particularly effective. Thompson was the Lakers’ fourth-leading scorer in the Seattle series with a 13.8 average. He also averaged 5.3 rebounds and shot 58.3%.

Orlando Woolridge contributed averages of 7.8 points and four rebounds and shot 53%. Woolridge, an average free-throw shooter, made five of six in Sunday’s victory.

And Cooper, along with Worthy and Scott, helped contain high-scoring Seattle guard Dale Ellis, especially in the first two games of the series.

On Sunday, Ellis, Xavier McDaniel and Derrick McKey accounted for Seattle’s first 61 points, through nearly 2 1/2 quarters. They finished with 84 of Seattle’s 95 points, not exactly a tribute to balanced scoring.

“They’re so experienced,” SuperSonic point guard Nate McMillan said of the Lakers. “It’s going to be difficult to beat them. Once the playoffs come, they get that look like they’re on a mission.”

Next up for the Lakers figures to be the Suns, who recorded three double-figure victories over the Lakers at Phoenix this season.

“From what I understand, they (Phoenix) want to play us bad, real bad,” Riley said. “But our players are just playing colors right now. Just whatever color jerseys are out there, they’ll play.”

Laker Notes

Laker assistant coach Bill Bertka, who suffered a fainting spell early in the third quarter of Sunday’s game after he was assessed two technical fouls, was examined again Monday by Dr. Michael Mellman in Los Angeles and was said to be fine. Bertka complained of flu symptoms before Sunday’s game, which may have caused his dizziness. “We’re calling him day-to-day,” Laker publicist Josh Rosenfeld joked.