NBA PLAYOFFS : To Lakers, Suns Have Nothing to Prove

Sun worshipers, they are not. But no longer do the Lakers simply dismiss the Phoenix Suns as merely a nuisance. Not after spending most of the regular season unsuccessfully trying to make them go away.

The Lakers say they are not surprised that the Suns are challenging them in the National Basketball Assn.’s Western Conference title series, which begins today at 12:30 in the Forum. As persistent as they are productive, the Suns unexpectedly emerged from the depths of the Pacific Division this past season and seriously challenged the Lakers as early as December. The Suns loomed as close as a half-game behind in February and March and could not be repelled until the season’s final week.

As a result, the Lakers do not expect to brush the Suns aside as easily as they did Portland and Seattle in their two playoff sweeps.

The Lakers say they know better.

“I think we just underestimated them in the regular season,” Laker guard Byron Scott said. “That’s not an excuse. The fact is, they are a good team or they wouldn’t be here now. A lot of teams gave us problems in the regular season. This is a different season now.”

Perhaps, but the Suns pose the same problems for the Lakers that they did during the regular season, when the teams split a six-game series.

“We had to prove ourselves to people,” Sun guard Kevin Johnson said. “I don’t blame anyone for thinking that. But they have to take us seriously and think we’re legitimate now, because we’re still here playing.

“We’re back in the underdog position again. We’ve got to prove ourselves. I think what this series is about is breaking new ground.”

Some Lakers say they see themselves, a few years and championships ago, in the Suns. “It’s like looking at a mirror image,” guard Michael Cooper said. “They are similar in that they like to bring it up the floor, have extremely quick personnel from one to nine players, and they can score.”

The Suns have a point guard named Johnson who can take control of a game with his passing and scoring ability. They have an all-star forward who can score inside and from the perimeter. They have a sixth man who specializes in three-point shots. And they like to fast break as often as possible.

At their best, the Suns have shown they are not merely a knock-off version of Showtime. They have convincingly beaten the Lakers three times in Phoenix--by 15 points in December, by 17 in February and by 23 in April.

Kevin Johnson nearly matched the Lakers’ Magic Johnson in offensive production during the season and has surpassed him in the playoffs.

At 6 feet 2, seven inches shorter than Magic, Kevin Johnson averaged 22.5 points, 16 assists and shot 53% in the six games against the Lakers this season. He has been even more effective in eight playoff games, averaging 24.3 points.

Scott and Cooper will try to contain Johnson, probably overplaying him and forcing him to pass. However, penetrating and passing are among Johnson’s specialties.

“(Kevin Johnson) maybe can be better than me,” said the Lakers’ Johnson. “He can get there quicker than I can. He’s a great penetrator as well as a scorer. He does it all. He could be better than me, but we’re different players. He’s got strengths I don’t have, and I’ve got strengths he doesn’t.”

What they share is the ability to dictate the game’s pace and provide teammates with easy scoring opportunities.

Chambers, the Suns’ leading playoff scorer with an average of 26.1 points a game, has been a beneficiary of many of Kevin Johnson’s assists. The matchup between Chambers and the Lakers’ James Worthy, who have similar offensive styles, might be the fiercest of the series.

“He’s versatile,” Worthy said of Chambers. “You have to keep the ball out of his hands. He likes that turnaround shot in the post, but he can go out on the (fast) break for the alley-oop or shoot the jumper.”

Said Chambers of Worthy: “I think we do a lot of things the same. He just does a tremendous job on me defensively, with his quickness. We’ve both raised our level of play (in the playoffs).”

Even if the Lakers contain Johnson and Chambers, as they did Seattle scoring threats Dale Ellis and Xavier McDaniel, it won’t necessarily stifle Phoenix’s offense. Sixth man Eddie Johnson, voted best in the NBA, averaged 22.4 points against the Lakers. In the playoffs, he has made 11 of 30 three-point shots.

Support also has come from forward Tyrone Corbin, who has averaged 9.4 points and 2.3 steals in the playoffs, and reserve guard Dan Majerle, the Suns’ fourth-leading playoff scorer with a 14.9 average.

“Majerle is (similar to) John Havlicek,” Riley said. “Corbin’s been a revelation in the playoffs. Majerle, (Mark) West and Corbin are the X-factor. They are their warriors.”

Riley said it was difficult to contain the Suns, who are averaging 122 points in the playoffs, when they go to a smaller lineup after Eddie Johnson comes in. “You need help on Eddie, but you need help on Kevin, too,” Riley said. “That takes away some of the help from Eddie. So, when Chambers goes to center, we have a problem of who to play where. But Kevin is the point of their attack. He’s the guy we first and foremost have to contain.

“They play sort of a center-less ball. It’s an open offense where they exploit defenders and drive to the basket. You never see anybody in the middle of the lane. It’s open for Kevin, (Jeff) Hornecek and Tom . . .

“It’s going to be determined how aggressive and dominating our big men are going to be rebounding and shot-blocking. And, No. 2, how our intermediate-size players, from 6-5 to 6-8, come out on the perimeter and defend.”

Riley said, however, that the Suns will have to adjust to the Lakers’ style of play, too. In the first two rounds, Phoenix played running teams, Denver and Golden State, that had no inside games.

He said he wants to force the Suns into a mismatch in the low post when Chambers is at center, which usually is more than half the game.

For the most part, however, the Lakers will have to revert to running after playing physical, half-court series against Portland and Seattle.

“We can adapt,” Cooper said. “It’s more to our liking, anyway.”

Worthy flourished in the first two rounds. He averaged 24.3 points in seven games, including a game-high 33 in last Sunday’s comeback victory over the SuperSonics in Game 4 of the semifinals.

Magic Johnson has averaged 20.3 points and 12 assists in the playoffs, but barely made more than 40% of his shots against the SuperSonics, who double-teamed and muscled him when the Lakers were in a half-court offense.

Johnson figures to have more space to roam against the Suns, but he said he is not sure that will translate into more scoring. The Suns have had success using T. R. Dunn against Johnson. “It’ll be a little freer than Seattle,” Johnson said. “Every series is different. What I have to do is just come out and see what they give me. I may end up passing more.”

The Suns seem just as concerned about stopping Johnson, Worthy and the rest of the Lakers as the Lakers do about stopping the Suns’ offense.

Kevin Johnson said, however, that burly Sun forwards Armon Gilliam and Andrew Lang, seldom used against Denver and Golden State, will be factors against the Lakers.

“We’re going to have to adapt the other way,” Johnson said. “It may be difficult for us to dictate the offense as much as we did in the other two series because of (matchups). Armon and Andrew Lang, we’re going to need those guys in this series.

“The Lakers still like to run off missed shots and turnovers, but I think they may try to get us into the half-court game and match up against us. We’ve been a little weak in (half-court) defense, so that will be important. We have to play good defense if we’re going to win, especially (in Los Angeles).”

Laker Notes

The Suns face some daunting statistics. No Phoenix team has won any of five playoff series against the Lakers, losing in 1970, 1980, 1982, 1984 and 1985. The Suns were swept in three straight games when the teams last met in the playoffs, in the first round in 1985. Also, teams coached by Cotton Fitzsimmons--Atlanta, Buffalo, Kansas City, San Antonio and, now, Phoenix--have not won at the Forum since the 1973-74 season, a 37-game losing streak.

The Suns have won nine straight road games, dating to the regular season. . . . . . . Laker guard Byron Scott’s sore right wrist improved Friday, and he practiced without needing to be taped. . . . Laker rookie point guard David Rivers, who has been playing the role of the Suns’ Kevin Johnson in practice, suffered a jammed left ankle. The Lakers say Rivers’ playing status is questionable.