PREVIEW : Pistons Wait for Others to Take Best Shot

Like a day in the life of Alice in Wonderland, things tend to get curiouser and curiouser in the National Basketball Association.

In these heady days of glasnost and perestroika, the NBA is setting its open-door policy this season by welcoming the likes of former Soviet Union stars Sarunas Marciulionis and Aleksandr Volkov and Yugoslavia’s Vlade Divac and Zarko Paspalj to test themselves against the best basketball players in the world.

While sportscasters’ tongues trip over these names, it will seem just as strange seeing the Los Angeles Lakers without Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the first time since 1975, the Milwaukee Bucks minus backcourt leader Sidney Moncrief and the New Jersey Nets without Buck Williams.

Abdul-Jabbar and Moncrief have retired, and Williams, the backbone of the troubled Nets the last eight seasons, will try to bring order to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Then there was the news from Detroit, where the defending champion Pistons say they have discarded their “Bad Boys” image that helped sell thousands of T-shirts and souvenirs. In the words of captain Isiah Thomas, “From now on, we’re going to let our basketball speak for itself.”

The departure of Rick Mahorn may have something to do with this transformation, but it still is difficult envisioning Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman as Boy Scouts.

Also unnerving is the strong possibility that, for the first time since 1979, the 1989-90 NBA Finals may not have at least one of the two perennial powers -- the Lakers or Boston Celtics -- as a participant.

Detroit, with its matchless depth, is the early-line favorite to repeat, but the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls are making threatening noises in the Central Division, and the Phoenix Suns quickly are rising out of the ashes in the Pacific Division.

In other words, there are few guarantees this season, save for the certainty that the expansion Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves will replace the Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets, new teams last season, as the NBA’s favorite whipping boys.

Expansion may have hastened parity in the National Football League, but the NBA basically remains a league of haves and have-nots, with little hope for such traditional also-rans as the Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers and Nets to emerge suddenly as league powers.

But there always are surprises, such as Phoenix last season, and there is a great feeling of anticipation around the San Antonio Spurs this season. After winning only 21 games in his return to the pros, Coach Larry Brown disassembled his team and acquired parts to better suit his taste.

With the discharge of former Naval Academy star David Robinson, trades that landed All-Stars Maurice Cheeks and Terry Cummings and the drafting of All-American Sean Elliott, the Spurs are regarded as the sleeper team this season.

Said Brown, “It would have been very unfair to have the same team as last year and have Robinson and Elliott carry us. We’re going to be much better. I’ll be disappointed if we don’t make the playoffs. We could be a very dangerous basketball team.”

The Pistons already are considered a dangerous team, and Coach Chuck Daly’s biggest concern is having to reshuffle his two units.

“We had something special last season in bringing John Salley and Dennis Rodman off the bench,” Daly said. “Now, we may have to break that up.”

For Detroit, defense still is the name of the game. Last season, the Pistons went 36-2 when holding teams to fewer than 100 points. Intimidation contributed heavily to their defensive prowess. They were assessed a league-high $26,500 in fines for fighting.

The Pistons’ toughest challenge in the Eastern Conference should come from the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Bulls. But the Knicks (Stu Jackson) and Bulls (Phil Jackson) have new head coaches, and the Cavaliers, who were ousted in the first round of the playoffs after winning 57 games, will have to start the season minus injured Brad Daugherty and Larry Nance.

In the Western Conference, the Lakers will be hard-pressed to hold off the Suns and Utah Jazz, another first-round playoff bust.

Utah Coach Jerry Sloan said the real Jazz was the team that won the Midwest Division rather than the one that lost to the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs.

“We had a pretty good season, and then, in a 10-day span, all of a sudden we all got worse?” Sloan said. “I think, in the long run, we’ve got as good a chance as anyone to get to the final gun.”

Phoenix Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons takes a more cautious approach.

“Obviously, we can’t improve by 27 games again this year,” he said. “I think our goal is to win the Pacific Division. A year of playing together will help everybody. Expectations will be high. But this time last year, we didn’t have any expectations.”

Last season, the Pistons proved a team could win a title without a dominating center. With few Abdul-Jabbars, Ewings or Olajuwons on the horizon, NBA coaches such as Golden State’s Don Nelson and the Washington Bullets’ Wes Unseld are opening the floor and employing passing games to take advantage of slashing forwards and guards.

As Daly said, “Defense has caught up with the low-post players. Everybody double-teams now. A center still can be a factor on defense and rebounding. But he doesn’t have to carry the scoring load. We’ve now seen that.”

The pro game is becoming faster and more exciting, leading to attendance records each season. Phoenix, Utah and the Seattle SuperSonics are planning new arenas to meet the growing demand.

The players are reaping the benefits. In 1967, the average salary was $9,400. By 1990, the projected average will be $600,000, despite the salary cap.

In today’s prospering NBA climate, as Air Jordan has demonstrated, the sky is the limit.