NBA CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES : Lakers to Battle Detroit in a Title Rematch Redux : Animosity of 1988 Stirs Memories as Teams Meet in Game 1 Tonight

To bring the Lakers to just the right degree of simmering animosity for this rematch, Coach Pat Riley has dusted off old videotapes and retrieved yellowed newspaper clippings from last season’s rumble against the Detroit Pistons.

All the cutting remarks and elbows, missed shots and supposed cheap shots during the Lakers’ seven-game series victory have been exhumed for their motivational value, because the teams will meet again tonight at 6, PST, in the Palace for Game 1 of the National Basketball Assn. championship series.

As if the Lakers’ bid for a third consecutive championship--dubbed the three-peat-- and their desire to have Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retire on top were not enough, Riley has conveniently jumped upon the Piston-baiting angle.

“You’ve got to stimulate their minds about what happened last year, bring it back to them or they sort of forget,” Riley said. “Then, after the first or second game, they’ll realize what it was like. We have a point to prove to them. They thought they should’ve won last year. Shoulda. Coulda. Woulda. We’ll see now, won’t we?”

So, as they say on TV, let’s go to the videotape:

Open with Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas kissing at mid-court. ... Cut to Johnson and Thomas trading elbows and shoves in Game 4 .

The only problem with Riley’s ploy is that some Pistons say they never called the Lakers’ title last season a fluke, never thought that the better team did not win and, despite their thuggish play, never lacked respect for their counterparts.

“Pat Riley’s been lying to his guys,” Thomas said Monday. “They beat us. We all said that after the finals. We never said those things. We just congratulated them.”

Yet, not all Pistons share that belief.

“This year, we have a chance to take what we thought we should’ve won last year,” forward John Salley said. “The difference now is that we know what’s behind the black door. We’ve been there once, but this time it’s about winning the championship.”

Whatever the sentiment last season, both teams said Monday that they expect another long, contentious and physically demanding series.

“Everybody on our team wants to play Detroit, because of all their excuses from last year,” said Byron Scott, who is questionable for Game 1 after straining his left hamstring Monday in practice. “This time, there can’t be any excuses. They’ve got the home-court (advantage). Everybody on their team is healthy. So, now we’ll know.”

For all the posturing and mental games, such ordinary elements as defense and bench strength figure to decide whether the Lakers will win their sixth title in the 1980s or the Pistons will win their first.

Defense, not surprisingly, has enabled the Pistons to advance to the NBA Finals again. And somewhat surprisingly, it also has been an important component in the Lakers’ three-team sweep through the Western Conference playoffs.

No team has scored 100 points against Detroit in 13 playoff games. Tough defense by guard Joe Dumars enabled the Pistons to somewhat contain Chicago’s Michael Jordan, and Detroit’s swarming, persistent, physical team defense has made opponents’ offenses seem disorganized. The Laker offense may provide the Piston defense with its biggest challenge. But by the same token, the Laker offense has not faced such an intense, relentless defense.

As shown earlier in the playoff victories, the Lakers have been equally effective scoring on the fast break or in half-court situations.

Worthy has averaged 24.5 points a game in the playoffs, scoring both from the perimeter and the low post. Magic Johnson has averaged 20.3 points and 12.8 assists. Scott has added an average of 19.9 points, including a 35-point effort in Game 4 of the Phoenix series.

Unlike the Chicago series, in which stopping Jordan basically stopped the Bulls, the Pistons cannot concentrate on shutting down Worthy or Johnson. The Lakers have six players averaging double figures in the playoffs and also have received bursts of points from reserves Michael Cooper and Orlando Woolridge.

“We can’t double down on people as much as we did in other series,” said Dennis Rodman, Detroit’s defensive and rebounding forward. “We have to play straight man (defense) more.” Don’t expect the Pistons to change defensive strategies much. The Lakers still can expect to go into summer vacation with a collection of welts and bruises.

Rodman has promised as much.

“We’re going to have to come out in Game 1 and hit people early,” Rodman said. “Not flagrantly. But you gotta say, ‘Hey, you come in the lane, you’re going to pay for it.’ We don’t want them to think they can drive on us.”

Told of Rodman’s comments, Riley smiled.

“That’s not a news bulletin or anything,” Riley said. “Maybe (Rodman) ought to be over there with Sugar Ray (Leonard) and (Thomas) Hit Man (Hearns), instead of here. But he said that, and I’m sure that’s what it will be like.”

No Laker figures to be immune to the Pistons’ physical tactics. But Worthy may bear the brunt of it. After all, he averaged 28.5 points in the four games the Lakers won over the Pistons in last season’s series, 13.3 in the three losses.

“We can’t let (Worthy) go inside, so we have to force him out,” Salley said. “He creates two problems when he does that. One, he makes you rotate your defense. Two, he creates foul problems. Also, he can really embarrass people when he dunks over you.”

Chuck Daly, the Pistons’ coach, coyly said he has not determined defensive matchups for Game 1.

Most likely, though, Mark Aguirre will start off guarding Worthy, with considerable relief from Rodman and Salley. Dumars figures to be on Johnson, with aid from Rodman. And Isiah Thomas will guard Scott, with Rodman filling in. Rick Mahorn and Bill Laimbeer will take on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and A.C. Green, and they will probably get only rebounding help from Rodman.

Johnson said that, all things considered, the outcome may come down to reserves.

“The bench is probably the biggest key in this particular series,” he said.

The Pistons certainly would seem to have an advantage there. They normally bring four players off the bench--Rodman, Salley, James Edwards and Vinnie Johnson--who sometimes log more minutes than the starters.

The Lakers, meanwhile, have received strong play from Mychal Thompson in relief of Abdul-Jabbar, Cooper as either a forward or a guard, and Woolridge.

Riley acknowledged that bench play and defense are important but said the determining factor for the Lakers will be desire.

“If you think winning the championship is the top priority, you’re missing out on the challenge,” Riley said. “They are challenging us more than anyone has, and we’ve got to want them more than they want us. That’s the most primal instinct of what competition is about.”

Laker Notes

Before he injured his hamstring, Laker guard Byron Scott predicted to a reporter from the Detroit News that the Lakers would win the series in six games. . . . Magic Johnson said he plans to visit his family in Lansing, Mich., Monday night. “I don’t know the menu yet,” he said, referring to his mother’s dinner entree. Johnson said he is trying to “get as many (tickets) as I can get,” for family and friends for tonight’s opener. . . . The most frequently asked question of Johnson, however, was whether he will kiss both Isiah Thomas and Mark Aguirre on the cheek before tipoff, as he did with Thomas last season. “I have to,” Johnson said, smiling. . . . For maximum privacy, the Lakers have closed off a floor of their hotel and will not even allow phone calls. Coach Pat Riley had a similar policy last season.