He Weathers Highs, Lows on Even Keel

Mike Dunleavy might someday wear rings on all his fingers and have trophies in all his cases. Come the next century, Dunleavy could be in great demand for speaking engagements and clinics throughout the country, be asked to impart his wisdom and technique to his peers, be obliged to reflect upon the gay Nineties, back when the Lakers, right out of the blue, gave him his first command.

For now, however, Dunleavy remains a virtual NBA newcomer, a neophyte whose very first head-coaching assignment placed him in charge of one of basketball’s most famous teams.

At the Forum, his office, Friday night, the new coach on the block accepted his first official tribute for distinguished service. He was presented an award naming him the NBA’s coach of the month for January, a month in which his Lakers peeled out on a 16-game run without defeat.

Dunleavy acted as though he had done little.

“It’s a team award,” he said. “It’s not mine. We, as a team, dominated the month of January. The players won the award. I’m just lucky enough to be their coach.”

Far be it from any coach, particularly one so young, to go around saying that, yes, it was his sheer brilliance that made the Lakers what they are today. Even after championship after championship, Pat Riley’s contribution to the Lakers is an occasional subject of debate, to the point that Riley, like Sparky Anderson, might someday run another team just to prove to certain know-nothings that he can be successful wherever he works.

For the players’ part, they are more than willing to say the right thing, pass some credit. “It’s a great honor, and he deserves it,” Magic Johnson said of Dunleavy’s award. “He came in with a tough job and he has been outstanding.”

For a coach, this is gratifying to hear. Yet Mike Dunleavy has far more on his mind than being a success for one month. He has hard times ahead, including tonight’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, who continue to try to fend off the Lakers for home-floor advantage in the playoffs after an opening month that made it appear the Blazers could never be caught.

Unhappy about what happened to the Lakers on their home floor Friday, when the Boston Celtics made them look bad, Dunleavy is reminded of his first real week on the job, when, in the inner recesses of his mind, he must have wondered if he would be chased out of town, tarred and feathered.

“Obviously, being named coach of the Los Angeles Lakers was a great honor. And you want to live up to it,” Dunleavy said. “But when we got off to a slow start, there was a lot of pressure, a lot of stress. It became important to keep the players on an even keel. You get into a situation with a new coach, new players, new system, well, let’s just say it takes awhile to get to know each other.

“My basic philosophy was simply that you win with defense first. When you play good defense, you’ve got a chance to be in every game. As for relating to the guys who do the playing, I believe in trying to give a player confidence, in encouraging them instead of berating them all the time. I don’t believe in coming down too hard on someone to make him respond.”

With Dunleavy in Riley’s chair--or rather out of it, since neither one ever sits down--a somewhat remarkable transformation has taken place. The Lakers, with old, giraffe-like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the lineup, were a team known for fast-breaking and relentless offense. The Lakers, with young pup-frisky Vlade Divac in the lineup, are a team becoming known for low-scoring games and rugged defense.

We can remember when Riley started hedging about returning to the Lakers, and word got around that General Manager Jerry West already had a new coach in mind. One of the first names we heard was Mike Dunleavy. One of the first questions we asked was: “Mike Dunleavy?”

West saw something in Dunleavy that appealed to him, and, therefore, that 16-game winning streak must have felt as satisfying to West as to anyone in the arena. In a sense, it was the good-coaching seal of approval. It certified Mike Dunleavy as something more than a man who wouldn’t hold the Lakers back. It made him an authentic contributor.

That first week, with defeats to rugged Western Conference teams and to the New York Knicks, left the Lakers and their followers a little woozy. Dunleavy couldn’t blame them. He knew he was in for knee-jerk reactions that had nothing to do with the quality of the opposition. The Lakers were supposed to be winners, against anybody.

This current week reminds Dunleavy of that one. Since the All-Star break, the Lakers have lost to Phoenix and Boston and must confront Portland next. It is a buzz saw, but that’s NBA life.

“This is why you don’t get the big head about a 16-game winning streak,” Dunleavy said. “Because around the next corner, there’s always somebody who’d like to start you on a 16-game losing streak.”