OH, O : Orlando Woolridge Could Be the Key to Lakers’ Success Against Pistons

Orlando Woolridge wears a big “O” on his uniform. His name isn’t the only thing it brings to mind.

“O” stands for offense, the strong point of his previous seven National Basketball Assn. seasons.

“O” stands for zero, the approximate size of his contribution to the Los Angeles Lakers at times this season.

“O” (as in “oh, my!”) stands for a simple review of his recent improvement.

And “O” the player stands tall in the Lakers’ plans for a third straight NBA title.

After two consecutive seasons in which his career plummeted dramatically, Woolridge was a significant contributor to the Lakers’ sweep of Phoenix in the Western Conference finals. With Michael Cooper and Mychal Thompson, he gives Los Angeles a potent bench to challenge Detroit’s in the best-of-seven NBA finals.

Los Angeles rallied from a 3-2 deficit to beat the Pistons in last year’s title series. Woolridge is the only major addition to this year’s squad.

“He’s the reason we’re better this year than we were last,” Cooper said.

“I’m just going out and working as hard as I can,” Woolridge said.

He used to just go out and shoot as much as he could.

In five of his previous seasons, he was one of his team’s top two scorers. After five years with Chicago, he led New Jersey in scoring in 1986-87 before injuries and a stay in a drug treatment center limited him to 19 games last season.

The Lakers, who already had enough scorers, signed him as a free agent last summer.

“My whole game was to score and it takes a while (to adjust). It took me a season, almost, to not think offense first,” Woolridge said.

“People wonder how it takes so long. I make the parallel: when you’ve been writing with your left hand all your life and, all of a sudden, somebody tells you to write with your right hand, it just doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time.”

During the regular season, the 6-foot-9 forward averaged 20.1 minutes, 9.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He also was benched by Coach Pat Riley for poor production.

In the first two playoff rounds, his averages were 15.3 minutes, 6 points and 3.7 rebounds. But against Phoenix, he averaged 10.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 20.5 minutes.

In the first seven playoff games, Woolridge had 42 points and 5 blocked shots. In the last four, he had 42 points and eight blocked shots. Five of his blocks came in the clinching game against the Suns when he also had 14 points and seven rebounds.

“Orlando has done everything we’ve asked him to. More than that,” Thompson said. “He’s been the difference.”

Woolridge has repressed his offensive instincts to become a more well-rounded player.

“I was forcing the action too much. When I started concentrating on just going out there and working hard and doing the other things, the offense had a tendency to come,” he said. “It was a gradual thing.

“Once the playoffs started, I made more of a focused effort to do the little things. I just said that I want to get involved in every play.”

Throughout the regular season, “we were trying to get to know him and he was trying to get to know us,” Cooper said. “I’m just so glad he’s playing well. He’s put more confidence in myself and Mychal Thompson with him playing that way.”

Detroit coach Chuck Daly wondered how the NBA champions could add a player with a 17.9-point career scoring average without giving up anything.

“He’s come on to play like gangbusters off the bench,” Daly said. “He rebounds. He runs the court. He plays defense.”

And, now and then, he still shoots.

“I’ve learned to differentiate when they need me to score and when they need me to do other things,” Woolridge said. “I don’t care what it takes (even) if I have to dive out of bounds.

“Since I’ve had that attitude, good things have come.”