NBA CHAMPIONSHIP : LAKERS VS. CELTICS : Weary Celtics Appear to Be on Last Legs : Well-Rested Lakers Favored in Finals Starting Tuesday

BOSTON â€”  Isiah Thomas said he had no plans to impart advice to Magic Johnson before the Lakers meet the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Assn. finals.

“No,� the Detroit guard said Saturday, “(Pat) Riley gives him enough.�

Thomas also gives the Celtics, who on Saturday eliminated the Pistons in the seventh game of the Eastern Conference finals, no chance.

“They might win one game,� he said.

Boston’s Larry Bird wouldn’t have minded if Saturday’s win had been the Celtics’ last.

“I wish this were the end of it,� he said wearily. “But we’ve got another step in front of us.�

“They’re the best team, they’ve been the best team all year . . . They’ve been playing themselves.�

Asked how he liked Boston’s chances, Bird said: “I always like our chances.�

What about fatigue?

“I’ve been tired since January. We could have quit a long time ago. We’re not gonna quit now.�

The Celtics will have to step lively if they intend to keep up with the Lakers, according to Detroit’s Dick Versace, whose shock of white hair makes him one of the NBA’s most visible assistant coaches.

“When I scouted the Lakers, they looked like eight guys playing from the planet Krypton,� Versace said.

“They have a greater commitment to running than any team that plays the game of basketball. Their speed is going to cause a lot of problems.

“And they have more players on their team than we do that require defenses to double-team them.

“When we lost Adrian Dantley (he suffered a concussion Saturday), it really affected us. They didn’t have to double us down low.

“But the Lakers will create multidimensional problems for them.�

One thing that might work in Boston’s favor, Versace said, is that the Lakers have not played since last Monday, when they closed out the Seattle SuperSonics in four straight games to win the Western Conference finals.

“Early in the series, the layoff is going to hurt a little bit,� Versace said. “I know it hurt us. We were on such a roll after we beat Atlanta in five (and had to wait for Boston to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in seven).�

Sam Vincent, a Celtic reserve guard, doesn’t expect to see the Lakers and Celtics beating on each other the way Boston and Detroit did.

“I think it will be less physical than this one,’ said Vincent, who was usually out of harm’s way on the bench. “James Worthy or Mychal Thompson aren’t going to be looking to bang you as much as a Rick Mahorn. It should be more of a running, finesse-type series.�

Even though they’re coming in as defending champions, Kevin McHale acknowledged that few people are casting the Celtics in the favorite’s role.

“Right now I’d say they’re the best team in the league,� McHale said. “No one’s given them a run for the money in any way, shape or form.

“Underdog or overdog, it doesn’t matter to me. So far, we’ve just accomplished half our goal. It’ll be good to go out there and see how good they are.�

Boston Coach K.C. Jones said it doesn’t take an advanced degree in hoopology to detect the difference between this Boston team and last season’s.

“I look at the players on our team and ask them, ‘Are you hurt? Are you hurt . . ?’ And I go from there.

“Last year, we were healthy. Now, it’s the red bandage around the head, Band-Aids, and someone beating on the drum.�

Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by the Celtics’ battered state, Versace warned.

“The Celtics are a smart basketball team,� he said. “They’ll find a way to be in the game.

“I think this will be a more interesting series than a lot of people think. But in the end, I think the Lakers’ speed and depth of talent, along with the home-court edge, will be too much.�