THE NBA: 1991-92 PREVIEW : He Can Dig Deeper Now : Lakers: After going to the NBA finals with six solid players, Mike Dunleavy has more quality depth.

It’s not every season you can say you left your franchise on the Champs Elysees, but the Lakers did.

Instead of Chanel No. 5 or a toy Eiffel Tower, Magic Johnson brought flu home from Paris, knocking him out of action.

Enthusiastic about their prospects in camp, the Lakers find themselves short of guards at an inopportune time: tonight’s opener against the Houston Rockets.

Tony Smith is out because of a sprained ankle. Terry Teagle, who played 18 minutes in the first six exhibition games and was expected to be cut, is back in the rotation. So is rookie Demetrius Calip, who was cut. He was en route to a Continental Basketball Assn. team in Columbus, Ohio, when the Lakers reeled him back in.

Calip won’t sit at the end of the bench, either. He is the backup to point guard Sedale Threatt.

This all has a familiar ring to Coach Mike Dunleavy, who starts this season as he did his first, with problems.

On the other hand, he likes his team.

The Lakers went to the NBA finals last spring with an aging team that was only about six deep in solid players: the starters plus A.C. Green.

The acquisition of Threatt and the development of Smith and Elden Campbell give the Lakers the possibility of going nine deep, a vast--not to mention necessary--improvement.

“I felt a lot better about this year’s team than I did last year’s team until about four days ago,” Dunleavy says.

“I like the guys we have and the possibilities we can create. With Tony and Sedale, we have the ability to pick up full-court and put big-time pressure on guards, make ‘em use the clock, generate some steals and easy baskets.

“We can also give our main guys the opportunity to rest. Playing Magic at small forward, we’ll have three ballhandlers out there to push the ball. Eventually, it’ll happen that way again. But it’s going to be a little bit tough at the start.”

Here’s how they looked in the exhibition season:

Johnson--He’s still Magic Johnson. He was cold on three-pointers, though.

James Worthy--Good preseason.

Vlade Divac--His sore back slowed him, but he was OK. He is far ahead of where he was a year ago at this time, or as Dunleavy said, “He’d have to be.” Divac still coasts some nights, especially when his mentor, Johnson, isn’t around to apply the prod. Benoit Benjamin badly outplayed him last Saturday night.

Sam Perkins--Last year’s phenomenal pickup, he had a veteran’s preseason. “He needs to turn it up a notch,” Dunleavy said.

Byron Scott--OK. Dunleavy wants him to start driving the ball to the basket, as he did before his hamstring went three years ago.

Smith--He had a big preseason, even shooting well. “He’s had the biggest improvement by far in our camp,” Dunleavy said. “He was just about our best player day in, day out (in) doing everything--defending and scoring.”

Threatt--Announcer Chick Hearn already is calling him the best defensive Laker guard ever. He didn’t shoot well but scored 27 points in the exhibition finale.

Green--It was thought he would be traded during the summer, but he is still here, still battling.

Campbell--Last spring’s sensation, he had an indifferent summer league performance after reportedly telling the Lakers he didn’t want to play. He was off to a slow start in camp until Jack Haley, the new resident bouncer, injected a bumper-car element into Laker practices and got Campbell’s attention. “I think Elden has made a move,” Dunleavy said. “But he’s not anywhere near where his potential is. He has the ability to be a really good player in this league, particularly at the defensive end. I think he can be a first- or second-team all-defense player.”

Teagle--After his season-long slump, he looked all right in his few exhibition minutes. His future remains in doubt.

Calip--He is probably here for two weeks, but he will remember them. Dunleavy cut him because of the numbers crunch at point guard but liked him. He is small, quick . . . and inexperienced.

Haley--The former UCLA emergency stopgap project center has become an NBA journeyman. Extremely colorful and enthusiastic, he may not play a lot, but you will know he’s around.

Keith Owens--Surprise of surprises, the former UCLA walk-on made the NBA. He has a fine body for a small forward and actually shot the ball a little. If he develops confidence in his jump shot, he can be something.

Now, to style. . . .

Last season, the Lakers averaged 106 points, their low in Los Angeles. Dunleavy wants to get back to running.

He will probably wait until the missing guards are back. With injuries and 15 of the first 25 games on the road, and six of the first 10 against Western 50-game-winners, he has his work cut out.

Ask Dunleavy. The next time he sees Paris, it’s going to be in the summer, at his own expense, without his team.