For Game 6, Call Him Big Sprain James : NBA playoffs: All eyes on Worthy’s injured ankle. He says it has improved and Trail Blazers expect him to play.

They don’t call him Big Game James because he spends big games in the whirlpool.

So, will James Worthy play in Game 6 at the Forum tonight when the Lakers, up 3-2 in the NBA Western Conference finals, try to put the Trail Blazers away?

Maybe.

The Lakers, taking a cautious line, sent Worthy for X-rays on his sprained left ankle Wednesday--they showed no fracture--and refused to commit themselves on his availability.

Worthy said his ankle was “getting better and better with treatment” but wouldn’t make a prediction.

“I will say this, it’s a different situation than the regular season,” he said. “That definitely goes into the decision-making.”

A suspicious person--a Trail Blazer, for example--might suspect a playoff mind game. However, a Laker official said there is real concern that Worthy’s sprain is worse than it looks, that even if he plays, he may not be 100%.

In any case, Portland isn’t buying the prospect of no Worthy.

“Yeah, right,” Terry Porter said, rolling his eyes. “I believe that one.

“The playoffs, that’s what it’s all about--challenge. Worthy’s been through it more than any player on our team. If he can crawl, I believe he’s going to be on the floor.”

Said Danny Ainge: “A sprained ankle, that’s nothing. He’ll be there. I don’t think he’ll be limping, either.

“I’m sure Terry Porter’s shoulder is worse than James Worthy’s ankle.”

Worthy hurt his ankle in the first quarter of Tuesday night’s 95-84 loss in Portland, stepping on Kevin Duckworth’s foot. It was called a minor sprain, but several taping jobs, a compression bandage and an electronic nerve stimulator under his sock couldn’t put James together again. He played 14 minutes after the first quarter.

“He doesn’t have an apparent injury,” trainer Gary Vitti said. “There’s no hitch in his gait. But as soon as he starts to bear weight, to explode off it, that’s when the trouble starts.

“As far as him playing, we feel comfortable with where he is right now, but he’s going to take a lot of treatment between now and game time. . . . We’re not going to put him at risk, but if he can play, he will play. James is that type of guy.”

Worthy’s importance can hardly be minimized.

Until Tuesday, he was the leading scorer in the series. He guards Clyde Drexler, the big Portland gun, and is doing well at it.

What would the Lakers do without Worthy?

“Nothing I’d be willing to say right now,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said.

Contingency planning can wait. Dunleavy made Wednesday’s practice optional, and most of the regulars opted to stay home.

A.C. Green, the worker bee, practiced, as did Terry Teagle, trying to shoot his way out of a four-for-20 slump. Sam Perkins came in for treatment of a bruised thigh, which Vitti said was responding nicely.

The Trail Blazers aren’t exactly red hot or rolling, themselves. They shot 40% Tuesday, 44% in Game 4 and 37% in Game 3.

Drexler is at 37% over the past three games; Porter is at 37% over two games; Duckworth is at 24% over three games, with 12 turnovers, and Ainge is at 33% over three games.

Portland is shooting 21% on three-point attempts since Game 1.

The Lakers are packing the lane, foiling the Trail Blazer attempts to spread the defense. The Trail Blazers, the NBA’s three-point leaders this season, haven’t been able to punish the Lakers from the perimeter.

The Laker challenge is to beat Tuesday’s 33 rebounds and 84 points.

“This is what it’s all about,” Dunleavy said. “This is the home-court advantage. This is what we fought so hard for those first two games up there. Here’s where it has a chance to pay off.”

Here’s where it pays off, or it’s back to Rip City, for real.

Laker Notes

Portland Coach Rick Adelman, on reports of NBC-TV’s glee at a Chicago-Laker series: “It’s kind of understandable. The Bulls swept the Pistons; we were down, 3-1, and it looked like a lock for a Michael (Jordan)-Magic (Johnson) series. I do think they jumped the gun a little. At least, let us finish.” . . . Said Danny Ainge: “It’d be fun to disappoint NBC.” . . . In the three Lakers victories, they have been outrebounded, 126-116. In the two losses, they have been outrebounded, 103-51. . . . Laker trainer Gary Vitti’s wife, Chris, gave birth to their second daughter, Amelia.