THE NBA : Slumping Trail Blazers Still Confident

Rick Adelman’s preferred scenario would have had his Portland Trail Blazers storming into tonight’s game against the Lakers on a 13-game winning streak and only a game or two behind.

Instead, the Trail Blazers have lost two of three--including a five-point loss at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday night--and trail the Lakers by four games in the loss column. Their recent 10-game winning streak seems ancient history.

Now, what the Portland coach had figured would be a two-game showdown against the Lakers this week has become a salvage operation. Adelman calls tonight’s home game against the Lakers and Friday’s rematch at the Forum the most important games of the season.

“We have to put that game behind us,” Adelman said. “We can’t let (the Minnesota loss) affect us. It’s a big game coming up, and we have to be ready if we’re going to have any chance to catch them.

“We’ve been trying to stay close all season, and this is our time to make the move. It’s been our goal all season to get to the point where we’re playing well going into April.”

Until Sunday, the Trail Blazers were headed that way. But Adelman, ever optimistic, still likes his team’s chances. The Trail Blazers used to think they could beat the Lakers; now, they know they can.

That confidence boost came on Feb. 14 at the Forum, when the Trail Blazers repelled several Laker threats and emerged with a 132-128 double-overtime victory. It was the first time in 10 meetings that Portland had beaten the Lakers.

In fact, had guard Terry Porter not missed a free throw with less than a second left in regulation, the Lakers would have lost a week earlier in Portland. Instead, they pulled out a 121-119 overtime victory.

“I don’t know if we sent a message to the Lakers by winning that game,” Adelman said. “I think we sent a message to ourselves. We lost that tough game up here (in Portland), then a week later we go down there (to the Forum), and that win told you what kind of character we had.

“That win was a big turning point. It made us realize we could beat anybody anywhere. Our confidence soared after that.”

The Lakers, winners of eight consecutive Pacific Division titles, have taken the Trail Blazers seriously all season, and the double-overtime loss did nothing to change that.

In fact, the Lakers might be disheartened to know that Adelman believes the Trail Blazers are a better team now, despite their recent slump.

“I think we definitely are,” Adelman said. “Our younger people are more consistent. We’re better on the road. Our bench had been up and down. Lately, it’s been more consistent.

“During that 10-game winning streak, we played as well as any team. A couple of those games, we weren’t at the top of our game, but we took control in the fourth quarter. That’s what good teams do. You can’t always play your best, but you’ve got to take control.”

James and Diane Perkison have Laker season tickets in Section 31, Row 8 of the colonnade seating at the Forum. Are these seats each worth $14.50 a game?

Sure.

Is each worth $60 a game?

“We don’t think so,” Diane Perkison said. “Maybe corporations can afford to pay that, but not the individual fan.”

As reported last week, Forum officials are once again changing some season-ticket seats into Senate seats. The Senate program entitles the seat holder to attend all Forum events--Lakers, Kings and most concerts--for a total of $8,150 a year.

For next season, 455 colonnade seats and 190 loge seats are being converted to Senate seats. Laker season ticket-holders were informed of the change in a March 6 letter. The Perkisons and others in colonnade seating were told they could keep their seats by paying $60 a game--a $45.50 increase. One alternative is relocation to seats farther away, for either $22.50 or $11.50 a seat. Another alternative is to purchase Senate seats for $8,150. The final alternative is to drop the season tickets.

Disgruntled King fans had their say last week. Now, Laker fans are speaking up. Charles L. Kreindler, a season ticket-holder, recently wrote in a letter to The Times’ sports editor: “Jerry Buss . . . has essentially ensured that only the ‘elite’ people of L.A. will be able to see the Lakers (and the Kings) live.”

Bob Steiner, a spokesman for Buss, said Senate seating is an important revenue-producer. But Steiner also said the Lakers do not make a profit merely from gate receipts.

“For 11 years, Jerry Buss’ revenue from ticket income and his payroll for the front office and players has been a wash,” Steiner said. “It has not been a haphazard increase. The Lakers clearly have the highest payroll in the league, and many people don’t realize what it costs to operate a highly expensive franchise.

“Forty-five percent of (Laker) seats will have no increase next season. Forty percent of those seats still cost $11.50 or cheaper. Of the seats that have had a price increase, 21% of those seats had an increase of $5 or less. So, the only people really heavily hit are the 455 in the colonnade. We can understand the unhappiness of those people.”

The Perkisons said a petition was recently passed around Section 31 of the colonnade. But they say they realize it will not prevent the increase.

“As for me,” Kreindler wrote in his letter, “Sports Arena, here I come.”

NBA Notes

After several games in which he had fewer than two assists, rookie center David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs was criticized by Coach Larry Brown for his stinginess in passing. “He gets tangled up with double-teams and sometimes triple-teams and forces the ball up,” Brown told a San Antonio reporter. After Robinson totaled 11 assists in two games last week, Robinson reportedly approached Brown on the bus heading to the team’s hotel in Seattle. “All right,” Robinson said, jokingly, “now what more do I have to do to get rid of that black-hole nickname?”

Atlanta Hawk Coach Mike Fratello, whose contract expires after this season, has long been rumored on his way out. But Stan Kasten, the Hawks’ president, said he has yet to decide Fratello’s fate. “I can tell you categorically that there is only one man who will make the decision on whether Mike Fratello is offered a new contract, and I am that man,” Kasten told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “If (owner) Ted Turner wants to know if Mike will be back, he will hear it from me. Anyone who tells you that Mike is gone is a liar. I make the decision and I haven’t decided what I’m going to do.”

Near the end of the first half of last Wednesday’s game between the New Jersey Nets and the Washington Bullets, Net Coach Bill Fitch summoned forward Chris Morris to the sideline. According to the New York Daily News, Morris let loose with a string of invectives directed toward Fitch and team management. At halftime, in the privacy of the locker room, Fitch reportedly asked Morris to repeat what he said, then yanked Morris’ jersey and suspended him for two games.

Indiana Pacer forward Chuck Person, upset with his team’s Central Division collapse, recently chartered a deep-sea boat in Miami, where the Pacers had three days off. Person called a team meeting at sea and, according to the Indianapolis News, the Pacers returned with two barracuda and a new attitude. Chartering the boat cost Person $2,000. It was money well spent, apparently. The Pacers have won three consecutive games.