Quick-Change Artists : NBA’s Pacific Division Makes Moves to Stay Strong

Nov. 1, 1991. The NBA woke that morning for the dawning of its 46th season with Magic Johnson still a Laker, Mitch Richmond a member of Run TMC, Billy Owens the King of holdouts, the SuperSonics wondering how good they could be and the Suns being unable to fathom their depths.

And then the Pacific Division got knocked on its compass.

A few hours before the opener, Golden State broke up its big three--Richmond, Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin--by sending Richmond to Sacramento for the rights to Owens, the unsigned Syracuse All-American. Don Nelson, the Warrior coach and general manager, said it was the toughest trade he ever made and admitted it was a gamble that might not pay off for years. So they have only started 9-4.

A bigger shock came the next week when Johnson retired, saying he had tested positive for HIV. The Lakers were without their leader and, if common sense came into play, without much of a chance to be a real factor in the division. They lost the first game without Johnson by 28 points and then won nine in a row, three against teams that had the best record in the league at the time.

Not much else has gone according to plan. The SuperSonics broke out to a fast start, despite not activating Shawn Kemp, the expected starting power forward, until this week. The Suns broke down. Portland labored on the road against teams it should have beaten easily, but has since rallied. The Clippers beat the Lakers at the Forum for the first time in nearly 10 years, but lost to Sacramento and Dallas.

The division, it is a ‘changin. All in less than a month.

“One thing about sports, year to year teams are not the same,” said Jack Schalow, an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers. “Now, it’s already a whole new year.”

What hasn’t changed is the strength of the Pacific. Take away Johnson, watch the Suns set as fast as they rose three seasons ago and let Sacramento advance by getting a player of Richmond’s talent. But dare say parity should be confused with a notion that this isn’t the strongest of the four divisions?

“I still think so,” said Jerry Reynolds, the Sacramento Kings’ director of player personnel. “The only way you can say otherwise is if you live in New York and have a drinking problem. . . . It is very hard to look comparatively at the rosters and not say this is the strongest.”

So whatever happened to the class of ‘91, October edition?

PORTLAND

Much attention has been focused on the Trail Blazers supposedly going more to a half-court offense, an early preparation for the playoffs. Most around the team dismiss that and say they are only emphasizing execution when forced into a slow-down style.

What they don’t deny may be even more painful than a running, athletic team having been held to fewer than 100 points three times in the first 14 games. The Trail Blazers are not rebounding and playing consistently hard-nosed defense, both trademarks.

“It’s a shock to us,” Schalow said. “We’ve been trying to figure out what to do. We don’t seem to have the same intensity and concentration to play defense and rebound like we want. Once we do that, I think we’ll turn this thing around.”

They quickly realized Johnson’s retirement helped the Blazer cause the most, because the Lakers were supposed to be the biggest challengers for Portland in the Pacific and the Western Conference. Now, there is a sense that the new worries are Golden State, Seattle, and, believe it or not, Phoenix.

“Even with the Lakers having Magic, we felt this was pretty much going to be our year,” Portland forward Buck Williams said.

LAKERS

Who needs Magic Johnson?

“I used to think he was worth an awful lot,” Schalow said. “We’ll see. They have players like (James) Worthy and (Sam) Perkins and Byron Scott, who are either all-stars or very good players. They are still awfully good, and maybe they’ll work harder now. Those guys have a lot of pride. They don’t want it to look like the only reason the Lakers won championships was because of Magic.”

Now they have to play without their starting center, Vlade Divac. The challenges grow.

The new Laker philosophy, born of the emotional effect of losing Johnson, is to take it one game at a time. They are a much quicker team on defense without Johnson, and defense has been the spark.

GOLDEN STATE

It’s one thing to get immediate production from Owens, starting at shooting guard but playing several positions. It’s another to start as the Warriors have while playing two rookies, Owens and Victor Alexander, and a second-year player, Tyrone Hill, who got minimal time last season.

Mullin and Hardaway are still there. But could the difference to a surprising start be Hill at power forward and Alexander at center?

“That’s the real key,” Schalow said. “You used to say, ‘They can hurt us outside, but not for 48 minutes.’ Now, they can beat you inside and outside.”

This is the time to do the beating. The Warriors play at Utah tonight and then have seven consecutive home games, five of which are against teams that have losing records.

SACRAMENTO

Last season at this time, they had Bobby Hansen and Rory Sparrow in the backcourt. Now it’s Richmond, in the top 10 in scoring in the league, and Spud Webb.

“I think everyone would agree we’re better there than last year,” Reynolds said. “Well, Mrs. Sparrow and Mrs. Hansen, maybe not. But most would.”

The results are showing, also aided by having Wayman Tisdale healthy after he played in only 33 games last season because of a foot injury. The Kings started 1991-92 by winning five of their first 14 games. Hardly momentous, but consider it took them 20 to get the fifth victory a year ago.

Everyone would agree that is better. Well, most would.

CLIPPERS

Told before the season they would be only one game under .500 the night they got Charles Smith back, most in the organization would have gladly taken it. And that’s the situation if the Clippers beat Washington tonight and Charlotte Saturday, with Smith, their leading scorer in 1990-91, expected to return Wednesday.

So why aren’t these people smiling? Maybe because players have at various times complained about disappearing enthusiasm, games where the full effort was AWOL, teammates who are too selfish and distribution of playing time. The front office is trying to ride it out and stay with the coach, but it can’t help but notice the poor play during crunch time.

Unlike many of their Pacific counterparts, the Clippers have not changed during the first month. All that means is they are the same team as Nov. 1--all potential.

The Clippers have only five road games in December, so that much is in their favor. In January, they have three home games.

PHOENIX

A true story: the Suns were practicing their motion offense last week without facing a defense, and they couldn’t get a shot off. The five players kept passing the ball. Finally, Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons blew his whistle and quizzed the group as to who is the first option and who is the second. A lot of the players shrugged.

Phoenix has had a questionable heart but never any doubts about its offense under Fitzsimmons. But the team that averaged 114 points a game last season was at 102.2 before blowing out Sacramento Wednesday.

So why do the Trail Blazers still consider the Suns a potential force? Maybe something to do with them taking three of five from Portland last season and averaging 119.2 points in the process.

SEATTLE

There is one school of thought that the SuperSonics are better without Kemp in the starting lineup because Michael Cage is more consistent, if not as spectacular. Agree or not, it is an indication of the depth and athletic ability on the front line. That, combined with outside shooters such as Ricky Pierce and defenders such as Nate McMillan, is why no one is surprised the SuperSonics are doing well.

The surprise is that they are doing this well--5-2 on the road and 8-5 overall. The most recent impressive showing was in a home game, an overtime victory against Golden State, with Kemp scoring 21 points in his season debut.

“Winning five of their first six on the road was a very positive sign for them,” Clipper Coach Mike Schuler said. “I’m sure a lot of people said they were a good team, but there weren’t a lot of people to say they would go out on the road and win all those games.”

More will be known soon. After tonight at Denver, the SuperSonics’ next six road games are at San Antonio, Chicago, New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Portland.