THE NBA / MARK HEISLER : Keeping Barkley in the Game Is His Prime Concern

Charles Barkley alert: He’s heading for Scottsdale!

I, for one, am for anything that keeps Barkley in the game. Fortunately, Phoenix Sun Coach Paul Westphal thinks all of us can help.

Barkley, upset that his back hurts and he has to keep punching his way to the door in Scottsdale clubs, is talking retirement again. Once the Suns pooh-poohed it, but now Westphal is taking it seriously.

“I think Michael Jordan was run out of basketball and Charles might be next,” Westphal said. “Enough is enough. People don’t realize what they have in this guy.

“Charles enjoys being the center of attention, but he doesn’t enjoy the confrontations. Some people think he doesn’t have any feelings, but people can watch him ride off into the sunset if they want and then they can watch Malcolm Mackey play.”

Mackey, the Suns’ No. 1 pick, is not thought to be a threat to Barkley, basketball-, entertainment- or mayhem-wise.

Before scoring 13 points in a nationally televised rout by what’s left of the Chicago Bulls last week, Barkley said it was all getting to him.

“It’s been a great ride,” he said, “but sometimes it’s time to get off. When this season is over, championship or not, it’s time to move on. Like Larry Bird said, time for someone else to be the hero. . . .

“They weren’t fights. Fights are when people go back and forth. You didn’t hear people saying Barkley was involved in a fight. When I get in one good lick, it’s over. But just for the record, I’ve never been convicted of punching anyone.

“The prime of your life is between 20 and 35 so you don’t want to spend that shacked up in some hotel room or sitting at home. I’m not going to sit in my room and drink beer like some moron. But there are always three or four drunks out there who want their 15 minutes of fame. Maybe I should announce where I’m going all the time and announce all drunks should stay home.”

This would be easier if Barkley wasn’t going to bars all the time.

OK, he can be difficult, but he’s a national treasure, too. Here are some things we can all do:

You townspeople, post lookouts the way they did in the Battle of Britain. If Charles appears on the horizon, evacuate.

You ladies, don’t tear up his autograph. If you must, but you don’t want beer thrown on you, bring an umbrella.

You drunks, go find Malcolm Mackey.

You district attorneys, don’t bring any charges. Oh, you haven’t? Nice work.

It won’t be forever. Barkley is 30, only five years from the end of the prime of his life when things can be expected to quiet down considerably.

ROCKET ‘N’ ROLL: SO GO FIGURE

Who are these guys?

Three seasons ago, the Houston Rockets lost Hakeem Olajuwon for a while because of an eye injury, caught fire, got him back, won 52 games--and were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Lakers.

Two seasons ago, they accused Olajuwon of faking an injury, lost two games to the Dallas Mavericks in the last week and missed the playoffs altogether.

Last season, they almost traded Olajuwon to the Lakers, started 14-16, finished 41-11--but lost a game to the Mavericks in the last week that cost them home-court advantage over the Seattle SuperSonics. The SuperSonics then eliminated them, 4-3, with each team winning only on its home floor.

This season, they tied the record for the best start in NBA history, 15-0, before losing to Atlanta, 133-111, on Friday.

How did they do it?

By subtraction.

Coach Rudy Tomjanovich calmed his wild guards, Kenny Smith and Vern Maxwell, by placing them on the bench in fourth quarters in favor of reserves Scott Brooks and Mario Elie.

He turned the Rockets from a team with two good rebounders, Olajuwon and Otis Thorpe, into a good rebounding team where everyone helps.

He turned them from racehorses into the NBA’s top defenders.

Most of all, he turned them into a team.

“They were strangers,” Indiana Coach Larry Brown said. “Now they’ve developed a bench they’re comfortable with. They’re not the biggest name players but kids who accepted their roles like (Matt) Bullard, Brooks and (Carl) Herrera.

“Robert Horry doesn’t demand the ball. He’s an unselfish player, so now the guards have redirected their energies to getting Hakeem the ball. They’re realizing the more effective he is, the more effective they can be. And as a result, they’ve become a great team.”

They’ve even made a believer of Olajuwon.

“It works,” he said. “It makes it easier for everybody. So now I believe in defense, myself.”

IN NEW YORK, A WAKE-UP CALL

They were supposed to have a duel of the titans in Madison Square Garden, but only one titan showed up.

The New York Knicks talked it up before their game against the Rockets last week but turned turkey on game night. The biggest gobbler was Patrick Ewing, who shot four for 20, was outscored, 37-13, by Olajuwon, outrebounded, 13-8, out-assisted, 5-1, and out-blocked, 3-1. Said Ewing: “If I’d kept getting the ball, I’d have finished at four of 50. This was Hakeem’s night. He rolled.”

The problem is, Ewing hasn’t had many nights lately. From his neck injury Nov. 12 until Saturday, he averaged 13 points, eight rebounds and shot 35%. But when he scored 31 points against Sacramento, everyone in the Garden felt a lot better.

Even in a weakened condition, the Knicks overmatch the East, leading to a new problem: boredom. General Manager Dave Checketts was obliged to assure everyone the post-Jordan NBA was still fan-tastic.

“There have been some bad games in the NBA, I know that,” Checketts said. “But there were ugly games when Michael Jordan was here. People are just looking for something to say.”

The Houston game was supposed to be the antidote; the Knicks gave out 225 media credentials and went to playoff conditions, everywhere except on the floor.

At least they have something to play for now.

THE PLOT TO FREE WILLY

Our thanks to the NBA Players Assn. for the chutzpah grievance of the season.

John Williams balloons to 325 pounds or so, turns down the Clippers’ offer to send him to a fat farm, then accepts--the week before camp opens--trims down to 300, declares himself fit for work and protests the team’s suspension.

Williams’ contract says he must maintain himself in playing condition. At 300, Williams is 55 pounds over his too-pudgy weight when he entered the league. He has already eaten away what could have been a fine career and tens of millions of dollars. Now he wants to see an arbitrator over chump change.

Personal to JW: Wise up. The sand’s running out of the hourglass.

FACES AND FIGURES

Saint, Elsewhere? Gung-ho Sacramento Coach Garry St. Jean is on the hot seat after his team blew a 25-point third-quarter lead over the Indiana Pacers. St. Jean was called into a postgame meeting with General Manager Jerry Reynolds, owner Jim Thomas and Thomas’ “adviser,” Del Harris. Afterward Thomas delivered this vote of whatever it was on St. Jean’s fate: “Well, I mean, you know, I can’t speculate into the future, indefinitely.” . . . Offense of the ‘90s (points-wise): Remember when Chicago assistant Tex Winter said he was eager to see how his triangle offense would do without Jordan? The Bulls are averaging 99.4 points, 18th in the NBA. Quinn Buckner put the triangle in at Dallas, where the Mavericks are averaging 91.5, which would be the lowest in 39 years. . . . Dennis Rodman’s line of the week: 28 rebounds, 10 offensive, five shots, no baskets, no points in a victory over Charlotte. Said San Antonio Coach John Lucas in a rare understatement: “Dennis was great, but he’s almost in his role to a fault.”

Whichever of you barristers is handling this case, raise your dorsal fin: Former Trojan Robert Pack, whose points and assists per minute had the Nuggets drooling, ended his holdout and signed for the same money and fewer years than he was offered last summer. In three seasons, the undrafted free agent has held out twice, irritated two general managers, Denver’s Bernie Bickerstaff and Portland’s Geoff Petrie, and has been traded once. . . . The Celtics started 6-2, then went 1-5, losing to a Milwaukee team that shot 36%. Said Coach Chris Ford after Milwaukee’s Jon Barry, drafted No. 1 by the Celtics but never signed, made the winning layup: “I thought it was a fitting touch.” . . . Rise and Fall of the Third Rice: Famed in-and-outer Glen Rice of Miami averaged 28 points for a week after his brothers, Deron and Kevin, told him how bad he’d looked in one of his single-digit games. “That helped me a lot,” Rice said. “You can’t forget it if your brothers are on you.” . . .Trivia quiz (answer below): How long has it been since a center ended the month leading the NBA in scoring, as Shaquille O’Neal just did?

What did you do on your vacation? Cleveland’s Mike Fratello, out of coaching for three years, gave the Cavaliers a huge playbook but cut it back after their slow start. “Mike has about 150 plays,” Mark Price said. “He would be calling a play, I would look at Brad (Daugherty), Brad would look at me and we would be, like, ‘I don’t think I know that one.’ ” . . . Eric Leckner can’t consider this a compliment: The 76ers benched Shawn Bradley until Coach Fred Carter said he had earned his job back. In four games off the bench, Bradley made 10 of 32 shots. . . . The lion lies down with the lamb: Barkley, in Detroit for Bill Laimbeer’s first game as a civilian, saw him sitting courtside, walked up, shook his hand and whispered in his ear. . . . Laimbeer for the Hall of Fame (honest): Of 14 eligible players who retired with 10,000 points and 10,000 rebounds as he did, 11 are in the Hall of Fame. Yes, he belongs. As his old coach, Chuck Daly said: “He played for the right reasons, to win.” . . . Answer to quiz: Bob McAdoo of Buffalo at the end of the 1975-76 season, the last time a center won a scoring title. . . . Boston’s Sherman Douglas, playing an exhibition at his alma mater, Syracuse: “I’m going back to get my deferred money.”