THE NBA / 1993-93 SEASON PREVIEW : New Laker Outlook Starts With Youth : Pro basketball: Opening-night lineup has little experience, thanks to injuries, but at least the bench looks good.

Whoever said things were going to get worse for the Lakers before they get better must have had this day in mind:

--Antonio Harvey starting at power forward.

--Trevor Wilson starting at small forward.

--Tony Smith starting at shooting guard.

--Nick Van Exel starting at point guard.

When the season begins tonight at the Forum, the opening lineup, should Coach Randy Pfund stick with that probable plan he laid out Thursday, would have a combined 489 games of NBA non-playoff experience, 183 as starters. Take away center Vlade Divac and it’s 207 and 10.

You want more? The Lakers get the best in the West first, the Phoenix Suns, and then the Seattle SuperSonics on the road Saturday night, with the Portland Trail Blazers waiting in the wings.

“We’re heading off into new territory, all of us,” Pfund said the day before beginning his second season. “We’ve got to attack as though there is something good on the other side. We are well aware of the stormy seas and the obstacles, but that’s how we have to look at it. It’s more logical for us to say that than look at the number of wins.

“I think people realize what this is. It’s a really young group that will have to learn quick. So let’s get on with it.”

Injuries and the commitment to youth and a running game have brought the Lakers to this spot.

Anthony Peeler would have started ahead of Smith, but tendinitis in the right knee earned him a spot on the injured list. Elden Campbell, a standout against the Suns in the first round of the playoffs six months ago, would be at power forward were it not for a sprained left ankle that forced him to the injured list. Doug Christie’s sprained left ankle has improved enough that he will probably play, but not enough that he will start.

There were options, such as using Sedale Threatt, James Worthy or Sam Bowie in the opening lineup. But, barring any late changes, Pfund will go with speed over stability, Van Exel over Threatt, and youth over experience, Wilson over Worthy.

So is he scared?

“Not really,” Pfund said. “I was scared anyway.”

He has good reason to be:

--Youth. Even with the preferred starting lineup, Van Exel is a rookie, Peeler is in his second season and Christie his second after having played only 23 games last year because of a long contract holdout. Campbell and Divac are starting their fourth seasons. So, that group has 594 games of regular-season experience . . . 252 fewer--a little more than three seasons--than Worthy alone.

--Shooting. Peeler needs to improve on the 46.8% of last season. Likewise Christie and his 42.5%, although that wasn’t the fairest indicator of his skill because he had so little time. Although Van Exel can be valuable without being a great scorer, anything near the 38.6% he shot as a senior at Cincinnati won’t keep NBA defenses honest.

--Rebounding. It’s tough to get the running game going when you have to wait for the ball to come through the net. The Lakers finished 20th in the league in 1992-93, then lost their leading rebounder, A.C. Green, who left to play at Phoenix. Then they got beat on the boards in six of the eight exhibition games--on the offensive end in all eight.

“It already was a concern for this team,” Pfund said. “Now it seems to be more of a concern.”

The flip side is that the Lakers apparently will have a dependable bench. Most teams would love to have Bowie as a backup center, and Pfund has the option of playing him and Divac together to win some of the rebounding wars or go big for a stretch.

Threatt, the starter at point guard in all 164 games since he came in trade from Seattle, is really more of a scorer and can now be plugged into either backcourt spot off the bench. Worthy’s showing during exhibition play has been encouraging, so he will be counted on for scoring and experience, not to mention perspective.

“As a player, you always have to be positive,” Worthy said. “The only thing we can’t afford to do is look ahead. We have to have short-term goals, even shorter than before.”

Pfund said, “The only thing that I’m worried about is that in L.A., we’ve had such a rich tradition, I worry can our fans, can those who are behind the Lakers, embrace this challenge, one that is a little different than what we were involved in from ’85 through ‘90? Can they get behind it?

“If they can, I think it’s going to be an exciting team. We’ve got some good young players. If people are trying to relive the ‘80s with this team and that’s what they expect, unfortunately they’re in for a tough sell, because that’s not it. That’s not where we’re at.”

So where are they?

They’re at opening night, with Harvey, whose last non-exhibition game was with Pfeiffer College, preparing to go up against Charles Barkley and Shawn Kemp on consecutive nights.

Laker Roster

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. College Exp 31 Sam Bowie C 7-1 263 Kentucky 8 41 Elden Campbell* C-F 6-11 250 Clemson 3 8 Doug Christie G-F 6-6 205 Pepperdine 1 12 Vlade Divac C 7-1 250 Yugoslavia 4 53 James Edwards C 7-1 252 Washington 16 40 Antonio Harvey C-F 6-11 225 Pfeiffer R 24 George Lynch F 6-8 223 North Carolina R 1 Anthony Peeler* G 6-4 212 Missouri 2 30 Kurt Rambis F 6-8 215 Santa Clara 12 34 Tony Smith G 6-4 205 Marquette 3 3 Sedale Threatt G 6-2 185 W. Virginia Tech 10 9 Nick Van Exel G 6-1 170 Cincinnati R 7 Trevor Wilson F 6-8 215 UCLA 1 42 James Worthy F 6-9 225 North Carolina 11

* Injured list.

Head coach: Randy Pfund. Assistant coaches: Bill Bertka, Chet Kammerer, Larry Drew.