NBA PLAYOFFS : Lakers Dream of the Possible

Right about now would be a good time for the Lakers to start humming the theme from “Rocky,” or to learn the lyrics to “The Impossible Dream.”

Cue the music as Coach Randy Pfund acknowledges that his team will have to be “pretty perfect” Sunday to beat the Phoenix Suns.

Strike up the band as Pfund seeks ways to free Byron Scott from the clutches of Dan Majerle, breathe life into James (21 for 63) Worthy and improve his team’s .441 shooting percentage.

Take a deep breath as the Lakers, outstripped by the Suns in losing Games 3 and 4 at the Forum, attempt to duplicate their winning formula of the first two games at Phoenix by playing a deliberate, half-court offense and ferocious defense.

“I think our guys like this role and realize it’s viewed as an impossible task, but I don’t think they think it’s impossible,” Pfund said after Friday’s 90-minute practice at the Inglewood YMCA.

“Let’s face it. This makes for a better scenario. Either (Sun Coach Paul) Westphal will have made a great guarantee and the Suns come back from 2-0-- the Phoenix Suns, a team of destiny --or we’re going to be the greatest underdog of all time and come back and win. It sounds like a pretty good scenario to me.”

If it makes for nervous fans, it also makes for great theater.

The Lakers, 39-43 during the regular season, get one last chance to become the first eighth-seeded team to defeat a top-seeded team and they get that chance at the America West Arena, scene of their two stunning upsets last week. The home court was no advantage to them at the Forum, where they sensed the crowd’s impatience with their plodding offense and responded in the worst way: by speeding it up.

“We were trying (to slow the Suns down) but at times, the fans got into the game and got us going a little bit faster than we wanted,” said Scott, who made three of nine shots in Game 4. “I don’t think that will happen on the road. I think we’ll calm down.

“In my opinion, the pressure is on them. They know they’re in the most important game of their lives. There’s no pressure on us because we got them into a five-game series when they were supposed to sweep us in three. I think we were a little tense, a little tight at home because we were trying to do so well, and I don’t think that will happen Sunday.”

For the Suns, it’s a chance to reward another sellout crowd by becoming the first team to rally from a 2-0 deficit after losing the first two games at home, and only the fourth to win a best-of-five series after trailing, 2-0.

“We’ve worked too hard to let it slip through our hands now,” Majerle said.

The Lakers’ hands have been tied whenever the Suns stepped up the pace, and the Lakers have been further stymied by Phoenix’s solid defensive effort. They still intend to slow down offensively and go to Vlade Divac and Elden Campbell down low on the left side, but they might add a wrinkle or two to counter the Suns’ quickness.

“James (Worthy) continues to get some fairly good looks and I’m still hopeful James is going to shake loose for us and have a big game,” Pfund said. “Sedale (Threatt) has had some pretty good looks and hasn’t been able to hit them. Our advantage in all that is still against (Richard) Dumas and (Charles) Barkley in the post.

“They’ve gone a little less to the post game. They’re not pouring it into Barkley as much (as in Games 1 and 2). The area where the game’s gotten away from us is the running game. The difference there is when we don’t shoot the ball well.

“It’s almost as if for us, everything has to be perfect because we’re allowing them to defense us. We’re taking it into the post and because of that, we’re not getting anything easy. They are going to get some easy ones . . . and when they shake loose for some easy ones, that presents a problem because we are not going to get the same easy ones. But to a man, we feel like that’s still the way to play them.”

To a man, they agree.

“I’m optimistic,” Divac said. “Maybe people around the Lakers think we can’t win, but I believe 100%. We are in the same position we were before the series, tied, 0-0. We were big underdogs and everybody says, ‘Impossible!’ but we came back with two wins, so we know everything is possible.”