Contented Kareem Doesn’t Look Back : Lakers: Club, still adjusting to his absence, will retire his number before playing Charlotte at the Forum.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, out of sight if not mind, will resurface publicly when his jersey is retired at halftime of tonight’s game between the Lakers and Charlotte Hornets at the Forum.

As much as some Laker followers might want him to wear No. 33 and don his goggles again for the team’s playoff run, Abdul-Jabbar is much too content in retirement.

By the same token, Abdul-Jabbar has resisted reveling in comments such as Coach Pat Riley’s statement in late December that Abdul-Jabbar’s absence was partly the cause of the Lakers’ offensive problems. Abdul-Jabbar has, however, noticed the irony. Some suggested last season that he retire early to avoid embarrassment. Now, some wish the Lakers still had him in the low post.

“A lot of people tell me they miss me,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “It’s nice to know they appreciate me. I try to deal with it positively. I don’t want to get into the perverse kind of thinking, like, ‘Yeah, they miss me.’ I don’t want to be egotistical about it.”

Even with the diminished skills of a 42-year-old last season, Abdul-Jabbar still gave the Lakers a low-post option they now lack, as well as a safety valve when the offense had broken down. Need a shot to beat the shot clock? Kareem always had the sky hook.

Mychal Thompson, Abdul-Jabbar’s replacement in the starting lineup, is not a low-post force. Rookie Vlade Divac still is adapting to the physical style of NBA centers.

“Having an effective low-post player, especially when I was at my best, that is a very comfortable security blanket,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “That’s the thing I see the most from the sidelines now. They double-team James (Worthy) in the post now. It more or less makes it impossible to score inside.”

Difficult, at least. The Lakers, after a rough early adjustment period, now have developed an inside game for Worthy and Magic Johnson but mainly have shifted the emphasis to a perimeter game.

Riley no longer says that, in offensive terms, the Lakers miss Abdul-Jabbar. Their 48-16 record is three games better than at this time last season.

“I don’t think there’s any way that you can say we don’t miss him,” Riley said. “He was Kareem. Even last season, he was always there, always a threat to score. Defenses had to honor him. We have had to learn to execute without him.”

Riley credits Magic Johnson with transforming the Laker offense after their problems in December.

“Earvin understands now who to get the ball to and where,” Riley said. “He’s running the offense now outside to inside, rather than inside to outside, like we did in the past, at the end of the shot clock.”

The Laker offense, at its best, now features more plays with players cutting to the basket, screens to free guard Byron Scott and the usual routine of a “two-man game” isolating Johnson or Worthy.

“Kareem wasn’t really the problem with our offense (in December),” Johnson said. “Our problem was that we weren’t shooting well, and we weren’t working hard enough to get open for shots.

“But at the start of the (season), all of us had to find out who does what, you know, without Kareem. Of course, we miss him. But we definitely have worked it out. All of us are doing slightly different things. I enjoy posting up more, because it helps the offense. I’ve learned how to shoot the hook.”

Thompson’s carefree nature makes him a good choice to replace the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Thompson says he has no intention of trying to do more to compensate. He said he leaves that to other Lakers.

“James and Magic are just as good as they were last year posting up low,” Thompson said. “They aren’t having any more trouble than last year. Magic justs posts low more now. Vlade, also, is getting good at it. He just doesn’t get many shots yet. I just think we had to move the ball around, get more people involved in the offense to make up for Kareem.

“But that doesn’t mean we don’t miss him. I miss him in the locker room. He was so knowledgeable. He had all of those old stories to tell. The only thing I don’t miss is his elbows in practice.”

Johnson said he has seen Abdul-Jabbar around town several times in the past two months. They have run into each other at a local sports club, renewing acquaintances and talking shop.

“He looks real good,” Johnson said. “He looks in good shape. I think he’s enjoying retirement.”

Actually, the Lakers will be seeing Abdul-Jabbar again in a professional capacity. As part of his contract agreement with the Lakers, signed two seasons ago, Abdul-Jabbar must give the Lakers 20 days as a special consultant.

He worked a week with Divac before practices during training camp in Hawaii. Riley said that Abdul-Jabbar will again work with Divac, aided as usual by assistant coach Bill Bertka, sometime before the end of March.

“As far as helping the team, it’s fun to be able to do it from beyond the grave,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “(Divac) is a talented athlete. When he learns how to play inside, he’s going to be a big help to the team.

“I’m certainly happy to do that. Dr. (Jerry) Buss (Laker owner) made my life very easy the last four or five years of my career, and Jerry West went to bat for me any number of times. I’m happy to be able to give something back.”

Abdul-Jabbar rules out returning to the NBA in some capacity, such as a coach, broadcaster or goodwill ambassador.

“I wouldn’t know how it could happen,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “I haven’t missed (the lifestyle) at all. For me, there was a whole lot of expectations. There were very high standards. It was very hard to live up to it, night in, night out. After a while, it got to be too much.”