‘It’s About the Purple and Gold’ : Lakers: Trail Blazers don’t want to hear about who won’t be playing for L.A. in first-round series.
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Lakers are coming! The Lakers are coming!
The longtime scourge of the Portland Trail Blazers returns for an unexpected call, starting tonight at 7:30. You know what that means: Representatives of an overheated citizenry running to Trail Blazer Coach Rick Adelman for reassurance.
When was the last time you won a postseason series from the Lakers, a television reporter asked Wednesday.
“I really don’t know,†Adelman said. “And I don’t care, personally.â€
News travels slowly sometimes but. . . .
Has anyone checked the Laker lineup recently?
“It’s not about their three big guys,†Portland forward Buck Williams said. “It’s about the purple and gold. That’s what it’s all about. I don’t care what’s in the purple and gold.â€
Here’s what will not be in the purple and gold this time around:
Magic Johnson.
James Worthy.
Sam Perkins.
A year ago, they accounted for 60 points, 22 rebounds and 17 assists a game as the Lakers surprised the Trail Blazers in the West finals, 4-2. (The Trail Blazers have lost their last four playoff series to the Lakers, by a combined 11-4, dating to 1977.)
On the other hand, this is definitely not last season.
“I felt like I had a little more firepower last year at this time,†Laker Coach Mike Dunleavy said, grinning at the understatement. “I felt pretty good. We’d won two series, and we had some good momentum, some good wins. I felt good about the way we played them last year. All the ballgames were pretty close.
“I had a lot more confidence last year in our ability because of our depth and our power. I felt like we would win last year. This year, coming in, the only way we’re going to win this series is if we play great and they play, you know, below what they can do.â€
This season, the games between these teams weren’t as close.
The Lakers seemed to keep vanishing as the season progressed. The Trail Blazers still had the league’s deepest, most physical roster, and it told.
The Lakers lost their first four games to the Trail Blazers.
The Trail Blazers went 2-0 in the Forum, winning one game by 10 points, the other after leading by 17 after three quarters.
They routed the Lakers in the first meeting here, 131-92.
The Lakers surprised them in the second, holding the Trail Blazers to a 105-101 victory.
Had the Trail Blazers won the final game last Saturday, they would have become the first team ever to sweep the Lakers, 5-0.
Unconcerned with their place in Laker history, they rested Clyde Drexler and Jerome Kersey. The Lakers, given a reprieve the day before when the Houston Rockets lost to the Dallas Mavericks, came up with a big effort and won, 109-101.
Drexler and Kersey are back. Tonight the motivation will be even.
That’s as far as the players are concerned. As far as the townspeople go, this is a holy war.
“There’s no doubt, because of (the Lakers’) success,†Adelman said. “Not only their success against us, just the success they’ve had. The fact they knocked us out last year has been a big item. I think there’s something to be said about that, but obviously this is not the same team that knocked us out. Neither are we. It’s a different year. But there’s definitely a different flavor, being it’s them again.
“It’s not really a grudge thing. I think we really respect the Lakers. I do. Just what they’ve done this year--you’ve got to give Mike, his coaching staff and his team tremendous credit. No one expected them to be here. Their veterans stayed with it. They fought their way down the stretch and they deserve to be here. That’s the team we have to beat to advance.â€
It may not really be a grudge thing but. . . .
The Trail Blazers thought they would be opening against the Rockets.
They are happy the way things worked out.
“I prefer playing the Lakers,†Williams said. “After watching them over the years and them beating us last year, I think it’s really appropriate that we play the Lakers.
“We need to beat them and put that scenario behind us. Everybody was really depressed last year after they beat us. . . . But this is a new year. This is a year we’re going to make sure we take care of business and try to close this series out as soon as possible.
“This year we get a chance to go back and right a wrong, take care of business this year we should have taken care of last year.â€
It’s not as if the Lakers are without hope.
Thirteen-point underdogs tonight, they hope to keep it close and see if the pressure of expectations caves in on the home team.
It’s not much, but they would like to throw a scare into the Trail Blazers. Just for old times’ sake.
Laker Notes
The Laker game plan remains the same: Deny the Trail Blazers the easy baskets they feed on by keeping them off the fast break and the offensive boards. “If you don’t do those two things, then they just walk away with it,†Mike Dunleavy said. “They’ll destroy any team that they play if they own the boards and the break.†. . . Clyde Drexler, who sat out most of the last two weeks because of a sore right knee, has practiced for the last three days and says he’s OK. “I don’t know if I’ll be 100%, but I’ll play,†he said. Said Rick Adelman: “If he was 75%, I’d as soon have him in there.†. . . Jerome Kersey, who has a sore left shoulder and right ankle, sat out Tuesday’s practice but returned Wednesday and will be ready. All the remaining Lakers are free of injuries.
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