Trail Blazers Can Stick Lakers With 0-2 Start

If that was a statement the Lakers delivered to Portland in Hawaii, what additional words would they like to whisper in tonight’s home opener?

“They’re all statement games now,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said.

“It’s big. They’re all big. San Antonio was a game we really wanted to win. Tonight is a game we really want to win.”

The Lakers have to win or be 0-2 for the first time in 12 seasons.

These teams started the exhibition season playing two consecutive games in Honolulu. The first night, Dunleavy and Portland’s Rick Adelman looked into one another’s eyes, threw away their take-a-look-at-everyone plans and let the regulars slug it out.

Magic Johnson went 42 minutes, James Worthy 39 and all five Portland starters logged 30 or more as the Lakers rallied to win.

The next night, with a normal training camp rotation, the Blazers ran away and hid. They looked good enough that Dunleavy and Johnson conceded that Portland deserved its team-to-beat status.

The Lakers opened for real Saturday at San Antonio, shot 67% in the first quarter but 35% after that and surrendered a 14-point lead.

Many of their shots flew from the outer reaches--of the 35 they made, 13 were inside 15 feet--and Dunleavy was called upon Monday to explain, no, that’s not how his new offense is supposed to work.

“I think what happened, we hit so many outside shots early, guys had confidence they could shoot outside,” he said. “As the momentum of the game changed, we started missing and (the Spurs) got back into it. What we preach is, you’ve got to know what the situation is to take those shots.

“We want to take advantage of our people in the low post. Our low-post players are Sam Perkins and James Worthy, Earvin (Johnson), even Vlade (Divac) if he doesn’t get in foul trouble. James had it going good (35 points) so he stepped outside a bunch.”

The Trail Blazers are 2-0 but struggled to edge the Houston Rockets at home, 90-89, and the Sacramento Kings on the road, 95-93 in overtime.

The Blazers are blazing away at 35%. Danny Ainge is at 52.4 and the rest are a combined 33% with no one else higher than 42%.

Buck Williams, scoreless Friday night, said they might have been overcome by the emotion of their banner-raising and taken out of their game by Akeem Olajuwon’s shot-blocking.

And Saturday night? “I have no answer for you,” Williams said.

In Portland, there are questions about the Trail Blazers’ response to being made the favorite.

Around here, they’re asking different questions. Everyone gets more data tonight.