Laimbeer's `Game Face' Is Plastic -- Piston Veteran Expects Tough Battle From Sonics

Some players stop talking to teammates or lock themselves in dark rooms in order to get their ``game face'' ready.

But Detroit center Bill Laimbeer, who will be with the Pistons when they take on the Seattle SuperSonics tonight at a sold-out Coliseum, just opens a bag and pulls his out.

Laimbeer will be wearing a clear plastic mask to protect a fractured cheekbone, injured when his face collided with the shoulder of Seattle's Olden Polynice in an exhibition game in Lansing, Mich. last month.

The 6-foot-11 Laimbeer, a 10-year veteran from Notre Dame, refuses to call the mask, which makes him look like a creature from the movie ``The Abyss,'' a protective device.

``I wear a new form of athletic attire,'' he said, repeating the answer he's given since the injury. ``I'll wear it as long as the company that makes it continues to pay me.''

In the same game, which Seattle won 101-82, Sedale Threatt poked Detroit guard Isiah Thomas near his left eye and tore a tear duct. Thomas wears goggles to protect the area from further damage.

Even though tempers flared when Laimbeer and Thomas were injured - and both needed surgery - both teams minimized the game's retaliation potential.

Laimbeer and Detroit Coach Chuck Daly said the injuries were accidents.

``They were freak incidents in both cases,'' Daly said. ``Polynice turned his shoulder and Bill got pushed from behind, pushed right into his shoulder. Then there was some clawing at the ball by Sedale and he got (Thomas) in the tear duct, which would be very hard to do if you tried to do it. Seattle's just a very physical team.''

Much like the Pistons, who are also known as the Bad Boys.

Both teams are expecting a spirited battle tonight, but not because of what happened in Lansing.

``Road games are road games, it's going to be tough,'' said Laimbeer. ``Every team is looking forward to playing the defending champions. They've been waiting a long time for this game.''

Seattle Coach K.C. Jones said Detroit has the talent and experience to win a third straight NBA title.

``Their chances are very good, but it depends on how they do during the regular season,'' Jones said. ``If you limp into the playoffs with a so-so record, then the chances aren't very good. But if you go racing into the playoffs, with 60-62 wins, then your chances are damn good.

``They've got `three-peat' aspirations, so every ball game means a great deal to them, particularly road games on the West Coast.''

Tonight's game is the first of three on the Pistons' brief West Coast swing. Detroit plays 13 of its next 20 games away from its home court, the Palace in Auburn Hills.

Notes

-- Sonic trainer Frank Furtado said guard Dale Ellis will miss tonight's game because his sore right foot (tarsal tunnel syndrome) has not improved. Furtado said Ellis' condition, which is being treated with anti-inflammatory drugs, will be evaluated daily.

-- Ellis and Nate McMillan (knee) both missed Saturday's season-opening victory over Houston, but McMillan is expected to see some action tonight.

-- Detroit forward Dennis Rodman missed yesterday's practice session at the Coliseum because he remained in the Motor City to have his sore left ankle examined. Rodman was sidelined for much of the exhibition season, but played in both of the Pistons' victories. He is expected to rejoin the team in time for tonight's contest, which is sold out and will be televised locally (Channel 5, 7 p.m.).

-- Laimbeer said he had trouble tolerating comments made by teammate James Edwards, a former star at Seattle's Roosevelt High School and the University of Washington.

Laimbeer and some other Pistons took exception to Edwards' assertion that the Washington football team should be ranked ahead of Laimbeer's Fighting Irish in the latest college football polls.

``I talked to them about it on the bus ride today and everybody said the Huskies played a weak schedule,'' said Edwards. ``I said that's not the case. We shouldn't have lost the game we did, or we'd be No. 1 now.''

But Laimbeer countered, ``James is full of it. He's got rain on the brain. The only reason he's saying that is because he's out here. Back in Detroit, he wasn't saying boo-hoo about (the Huskies).''