Getting Up And Going After A Title

It was summer in Los Angeles, the season when the bad air always hangs heavy over the freeways and swimming pools, and the Lakers usually hire another new coach. Their latest choice, Bill Sharman, was explaining his system of game-day workouts to Guard Gail Goodrich (see cover).

"On the road," said Sharman, "I like to take the team out to the arena about 10:30 in the morning and just run through some of the things we plan to do that night."

"It sounds reasonable," answered Goodrich.

"Then about 10:45 we'll loosen up with a few exercises and shoot some baskets," Sharman continued.

"Nothing wrong with that," replied Goodrich.

"What do you do at 11?" inquired a bystander.

Goodrich, a quick learner, beat his coach to the answer. "I know." he said. "Then we all go back to the hotel and wake up Wilt."

In Los Angeles, NBA championships are like the smogbound San Gabriel Mountains northeast of the city: they are always close at hand but no Angeleno has ever seen one. This curious disappearing act has led the Lakers to try some strange things in recent years. But none of them was seemingly more bizarre than hiring Sharman a precise organizer, avid practicer and hugely successful leader of other pro teams—to coach that noted insomniac and reluctant exerciser, Will Chamberlain.

The widely predicted clash of personalities was expected to jolt Los Angeles like another tremor along the San Andreas Fault, creating so fierce a ruckus that the Lakers, who already looked a bit worn from old age and injuries, might fail to make the playoffs for the first time since they came to Southern California 11 seasons ago. The forecast was correct, in a way, but badly misguided. The Lakers can indeed be found amid a swirl of mayhem—but this time they are inflicting it right and left on the rest of the NBA.

With three victories last week, Los Angeles increased its string of consecutive wins to 17 games, just three shy of the record streak compiled last season by the Milwaukee Bucks. During the run the Lakers not only throttled lesser teams b) an average of 15.6 points but also defeated the Bucks once and their strong Pacific Division rivals, Seattle and Golden State, four times. By remaining unbeaten through November they became the first NBA team ever to go across a calendar month without a loss. Now there is no longer the question of whether they will make the playoffs—they have a six-game division lead and the best record (23-3) in the pros.