Lakers, Their Fans Have One <i> Big</i> Worry

Let’s say you like the Lakers. You’re a Laker liker. What you would like most is to see your heroes win the pro basketball championship one more time. You just don’t know if they can. No matter how great they still look, you are worried something will go wrong. You are worried that nobody can win three in a row.

But what worries you most?

Detroit?

Well, maybe. The Garbage Pail Kids are as deep as any team in basketball. They are lean, mean and cocky, and even lead the Lakers in TV talk shows, 1 to 0. (Now that “The John Salley Show” is a big hit in Motown, eat your heart out, Mychal Thompson.)

Still, Isiah Thomas has an injured hand. As we saw a year ago, you can’t get Isiah out of the Piston lineup if you drop a 2,000-pound safe on top of him. But, his bad hand does bother him, so maybe the Pistons are vulnerable.

So, no, it’s not Detroit that should worry the Lakers.

How about Phoenix?

After all, the Suns have made one of the quickest turnarounds in National Basketball Assn. history. Tom Chambers is reborn. Kevin Johnson is so good, you just say “K.J.” and everybody in the league knows who you mean. Dan Majerle is looking so good, they ought to call him “D.M.,” particularly since nobody knows how to pronounce his name.

But, never forget, the Lakers have E. (M.) J., who has been around a lot longer than Kevin or any other Johnson that gets in his way.

So, no, it’s not Phoenix that should worry the Lakers.

Seattle?

Oh, yes, mustn’t forget Seattle. If you try to forget Seattle, Xavier McDaniel will come around and put his hands around your throat.

But the best three-point shooter on the SuperSonics, Dale Ellis, is wearing one of those contraptions on his broken nose, so we figure when the game’s on the line, the scent of victory will elude him. Besides, the Sonics didn’t offer any evidence Sunday that the Lakers should lose any sleep.

So, no, it’s not Seattle that should worry the Lakers.

New York?

Well, Patrick Ewing presents a definite problem. He’s the best center still in the playoffs. But the Knicks are too proud of themselves, showing up Philadelphia the way they did by sweeping the court with a broom. Any team this arrogant is bound to get too big for its basketball britches.

Chicago?

Michael (Magic?) Jordan is up to his old tricks, scoring in the 40s and 50s. Whatever happened to that point-guard role of his, wherein his points would go down while his assists went up? Anyhow, yes, Magic Jordan is very scary. No way the Bulls will get by the Knicks and Pistons both, though.

So, isn’t there anything out there in playoff land that should scare the Lakers?

Yes, there is.

It is something only one team has, and that team is the Golden State Warriors.

OK, I know, I know, the Warriors got pounded at Phoenix in Game 1 of their current series. But look out for these guys, regardless. Because, they still have The Thing.

Is it Chris Mullin?

No. Mullin may be scoring around 33 points a game during the postseason, and he may look like a 1950s highlight film with that haircut, but he shouldn’t scare the Lakers.

Is it Mitch Richmond?

No. Richmond may be the NBA’s rookie of the year, and he may be throwing down around 26 points a game in the playoffs, but he shouldn’t scare the Lakers.

Is it Ralph Sampson?

No. The only thing that should scare the Lakers about Sampson is the prospect of having him as a teammate someday.

The scary thing about the Golden State Warriors is . . .

They’re playing Manute Ball.

Yes, Manute Ball. It’s the kind of ball being played by Manute Bol, who, as you know, is the only player in NBA history who is closer to 8 feet tall than to 7 feet.

When Manute Bol was just going around swatting shots, snatching rebounds and sinking the occasional five-footer, he didn’t really scare any opponents. About the only thing that scared you was the thought of Manute, in a really tight game, reaching up and re-setting the 24-second shot clock by hand, without the referee seeing him.

But now, the Warriors have The Thing. And they bring it out when you least expect it.

The Thing is Manute’s three-point shot. At will, the 7-foot, 7-inch man from Sudan has the coach’s permission to lock and load. At any time, he can strike. From 23 feet. From 25. From 30. Any range is his range. Manute takes ‘em and makes ‘em.

You haven’t lived until you have seen this human daddy long legs stand beyond the three-point arc and let one fly. It’s like watching a pebble from a slingshot. Bol stands out there on those rubbery legs of his, looking like Gumby, and shoots the shot no man can block. Mark Eaton on a trampoline couldn’t block this shot.

Manute and The Thing should be the only serious worries the Lakers have during this postseason. If Golden State gets to play in Inglewood, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s resuscitated skyhook will have to take second billing. Manute Bol might shoot the lights out--literally, unless, of course, the Forum raises the fixtures.