Old-Timers Game

One week into the abbreviated NBA season, it’s clear that the old folks haven’t forgotten how to play.

Charles Barkley, almost 36, is leading the league in rebounding. Derek Harper, 37, is thriving with the Lakers. Terry Cummings, 37, is putting up his best numbers in seven years.

Chris Mullin, 35, has been nearly unstoppable in the first quarter, and Terry Porter, 35, got Miami its first victory by sinking three game-breaking circus shots.

“Those old guys can still play,” said 20-year-old Kobe Bryant of the Lakers. “They seem to get stronger.”

The younger players may have the legs and the moves to make the highlight reels, but the guys who have been around since the early ‘80s are playing some of the league’s most solid basketball.

Harper, for example, has been getting almost 30 minutes a game in his first season in Los Angeles and is leading the team in assists and 3-point accuracy. So quickly has he gained the respect of his younger teammates that the Lakers have already made him an assistant captain.

“Nothing takes the place of stability in this league,” Harper said. “Regardless of young talent you have, I think you need experienced guys to sort of control and keep that young talent under control.

“That is why there are some veterans still around contributing.”

And many of those veterans will be around a lot longer.

Harper is playing under a two-year contract, and 38-year-old Dale Ellis signed a three-year deal with Seattle before the start of the season.

“I don’t think of Dale as 38. He’s in fantastic shape,” Sonics coach Paul Westphal said of Ellis, a 3-point specialist. “When he shoots the ball, the other team cringes.”

Leaguewide, there were 37 players who had turned 35 as of Thursday. The oldest was Herb Williams of the Knicks, a 17-year veteran who will turn 41 on Tuesday.

Last season’s oldest player, Charles Jones of the Houston Rockets, finally retired at 41. Rick Mahorn, 40, also called it quits after last season. Alton Lister, 40, was cut by the Portland Trail Blazers at the end of camp.

Danny Schayes, 39, continues to contribute for the Orlando Magic, and A.C. Green, 36, is due to play in his 1,000th consecutive game March 13.

But by far the most productive of the geriatrics is Barkley, who grabbed 15, 20, 19 and 16 rebounds in Houston’s first four games. That came after he missed the first few days of training camp so he could play golf with Michael Jordan and Payne Stewart in the PGA Tour’s Bob Hope Desert Classic.

Barkley has been playing with a partially torn meniscus in his knee, and the wear and tear of playing 50 games in 90 days could take a toll on him and some of the other older players.

Teammate Hakeem Olajuwon is 36, and Scottie Pippen is an old 35 after playing in 178 playoff games with Chicago.

“The major thing is you have to stay injury-free as long as you can,” Porter said. “Once you start having injuries, it gets tougher and tougher to come back as you get older. Your body doesn’t respond the way it does when you’re younger.”

Porter hit three fourth-quarter jumpers on national television last weekend against the Knicks, helping Miami win its first game.

He has been bumped up in Miami’s rotation because of injuries to Voshon Lenard and Jamal Mashburn. Porter hasn’t been counted on this much since 1991-92, when he helped the Portland Trail Blazers reach the NBA Finals.

“It’s a matter of having the fire to compete and chase the ring--I’m missing that championship ring, and that’s what you compete for,” he said. “I’m not saying it gets any easier. Mentally you have to be in it a lot more. You don’t have that youth or that speed. Mentally you have to try to make up for that and see some of the angles and figure out how to beat your opponents.”

Cummings, who was traded by the Knicks to Golden State in the Latrell Sprewell deal, has been one of the main offensive weapons for the Warriors. He had 23 points and 15 rebounds in a victory over Dallas, then added 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench Wednesday night against Seattle.

“We knew Terry Cummings would have a role on this team,” Golden State assistant coach Paul Westhead said. “He has been a surprise to me. He’s in great shape and has probably been our best offensive player so far. He’s got his ‘A’ game and he is making big shots all over the floor.”

Another 35-year-old, Mario Elie of San Antonio, was leading the league in field goal percentage through Wednesday.