Bullets Stand Guard Against a Letdown

The Washington Bullets beat the team with the best record in the National Basketball Assn. Saturday, but the big question on Coach Wes Unseld’s mind is can they beat the Charlotte Hornets, who have the worst.

Washington upset the Los Angeles Lakers, 103-101, only the Lakers’ fourth loss in 18 games. And the Bullets did it without forward John Williams, their most versatile player, who is out at least 12 weeks following knee surgery.

Now, with their record two games below .500 at 9-11, Unseld’s Bullets take on Charlotte (3-15) at the Capital Centre Thursday.

“I felt good about everything Saturday,” said Unseld. “But we’ll know more about how important this win is psychologically next Thursday.

“The thing that most concerns me is our attitude and our approach,” Unseld continued. “For now, this win will help our attitude. But it was a big game. It was at home, in front of a sellout crowd. It was emotional. You’re playing the Lakers. But what happens when we play Charlotte?”

It is every coach’s burden to have to look to the future. But for the casual observers Saturday, there were exhibitions that could only make them watch in wonder. For instance:

Charles Jones had the best of it against James Worthy, even though Worthy led the Lakers with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

“We couldn’t get past C.J.,” said Lakers Coach Pat Riley. “He made Worthy work for every one of those points and it made it impossible for us to sustain our play.”

Forward Mark Alarie (14 points, 12 in the first half) was promoted to a starting role because of Williams’ injury and showed a hot hand early, opening up the inside, a little, for Jeff Malone and Bernard King. And then he came through under pressure with the winning layup, when King was double-teamed.

But perhaps most surprising and pleasing aspect, from Unseld’s point of view, was that the Bullets were able to sustain the effort until the final buzzer.

Three nights earlier in Detroit, the Bullets had lost the lead and the game during the fourth quarter. It has been a familiar refrain in this early part of the season.

The lack of a killer instinct and telling scoring droughts are two of the few deficiencies Unseld has publicly noted.

But Saturday, the Bullets started strong in the first quarter, sagged a bit in the second but rallied from an 11-point deficit, 64-53, in the third and maintained the effort throughout the fourth.

“We’ve had a lot of close losses,” said Walker. “But this was really a team effort. It really was. Guys stepped up and made really big shots. That’s what we have to continue to do. We didn’t have any droughts this time. This is the time for us to make up ground. Time to get back toward .500.”

The Bullets are home against Charlotte Thursday, Dallas Saturday and Minnesota Dec. 19 -- three teams that are a combined 21 games under .500. But still, Unseld is worried.

“The dry spell didn’t happen against the Lakers,” he said. “But I didn’t see anything that tells me they’re over.”

One of the reasons the dry spell may have been averted Saturday was that Unseld alternated rest periods for Malone and King, leaving one in the game at all times.

Confidence has to be up following a victory over the Lakers, but like Unseld, Malone was hesitant to put too much stock in the victory.

“I’ve seen this team play like this and then have a letdown,” he said. “We can’t do that. We can’t be sluggish when we play Charlotte.”

Alarie, who believes his game is more suited to a starting role, said he doesn’t believe the Bullets will have an off night this Thursday.

“It was really important for us to win this game,” he said. “We’re not as good without John Williams, but we’re still good enough to win and we needed this. You lose a bunch of close ones and you start thinking about it.

“But I don’t think we’re the kind of team that has real letdowns,” he said. “I think we got that out of our system last season. We’ve matured a lot. Charlotte is a game we need to win and I think we have the maturity to approach it that way.”