Laker Reserves Take Heat Off Starting Five, 132-93

So nice of the Miami Heat to drop by Sunday night and afford the Lakers the opportunity to rest their starters, as well as exhibit their deep bench, in the midst of a stretch of four games in five days.

As close as it comes to a night off, and certainly less taxing than an average Pat Riley practice, the Lakers’ 132-93 victory before 17,505 at the Forum was virtually decided in the second quarter.

Therefore, what the rest of the night showed--other than the Heat’s glaring deficiencies--was the depth of the Laker reserves.

That second-quarter surge that buried the Heat was made possible by three Laker reserves, Orlando Woolridge, Vlade Divac and Larry Drew. They helped the Lakers build a 26-point halftime lead that was merely a prelude to a 30-something bulge in the second half. Divac, playing 26 minutes, had his best game as a Laker, 21 points and 14 rebounds. He added three blocked shots and two steals. Woolridge had another strong game, scoring 14 points. Drew (eight points, seven assists) and Michael Cooper (11 points, five assists) were steadying influences, and Riley even found some minutes for recently signed Jay Vincent, who had played a total of four minutes in four previous games.

Meanwhile, Laker starters basically put in cameo appearances, especially in the second half. Their full services were needed in Saturday night’s two-point loss to Golden State in Oakland and will probably be needed again Tuesday night when the Lakers play at Phoenix.

Magic Johnson played long enough to score 21 points. Center Mychal Thompson, still bothered by soreness in his left heel but able to play, put in only 15 minutes. James Worthy scored all 10 of his points in his first half, and A.C. Green had 13 of his 19 points in the first quarter.

The victory was the Lakers’ fifth in the last six games and improved their record to an NBA-best 23-7. The Heat ended a six-game trip without a victory, dropping its record to 7-27.

Sunday’s game, for lack of any other significant events, belonged to the Laker reserves. Johnson recently called this group of reserves the Lakers’ deepest. That is debatable, but Riley could use a 10-man rotation if he so desired. And Sunday, there was no reason not to go with a 12-man rotation.

Riley’s problem, it seems, is finding the minutes for all his reserves. Sixth-man extraordinaire Cooper showed his worth Saturday night against the Warriors by making four three-point shots. And Sunday, Woolridge, Divac and Drew were the early contributors to the victory.

The Lakers already had an 11-point lead when Riley sat down all of his starters except Worthy for the start of the second quarter. No loss there, however. The reserves responded by enabling the Lakers to take a 26-point lead into the locker room.

The high point came with 4:41 to play when Divac stole a pass and gave the ball to Drew to initiate the fast break. Drew then gave a no-look pass to Woolridge for a dunk.

It went on like that the rest of the night. The reserves played so well that it appeared the second five could have handled the Heat by themselves.

“I just thought tonight was a real good indication of our depth,” Riley said. “We had 12 of 15 possessions in the second quarter, with our second unit, when we scored buckets. That showed me a lot.”

Divac, whose minutes had been reduced to about 13 per game in the three previous games, had unquestionably his strongest showing.

“It feels good playing more,” Divac said. “It is very difficult (not knowing how many minutes he will play). The blue team (reserves) play very, very well tonight. Tonight, Miami play no good.”

Truer words have seldom been spoken. But the Lakers chose to emphasize the positives about their efforts rather than run down the Heat.

“I think it’s important for the bench to come in and play well,” Drew said. “When we get into the game, we’ve got to pick things up. As a unit, we did that tonight.”

Laker starters, naturally, were appreciative that the reserves not only maintained the lead but increased it.

“We’re a lot more versatile in what we can do with our bench,” Johnson said. “With Vlade and Cooper and Larry and O, those guys can not only come off the bench (as a group), but one or two of them can play as starters, too. That’s important to us.”

It is important because Riley will seldom play the reserves as a unit. Sunday night’s blowout was an exception.

“Our second group has to develop the pride as a unit,” Riley said. “I think they’ve done that. We’ve got some talent there, and they can benefit this team, give us a nice lift like tonight.”

But Riley stopped short of saying the bench might develop to the point where he can consistently play 10 men.

“You start going real deep like that, and you go into a platoon system,” Riley said.

“We don’t want that. But a lot of times we have four blues (reserves) out there with either James or Earvin, and they have to do the job.”

Laker Notes

Although Byron Scott says that his left hamstring no longer hurts, the Laker guard acknowledged that his left leg has lost considerable strength. “I’ve been lifting weights (for the hamstring) all year, but I’m not even half as strong as I was two years ago or even a year and a half ago,” Scott said. “It doesn’t hurt. It’s just weaker. I used to lift 60 or 70 pounds (on leg curls). Now it’s 25 pounds.” Going into Sunday night’s game, Scott had made only 37.6% of his field-goal attempts in road games, contrasting with 51.6% at home.

Center Mychal Thompson, who played only 15 minutes in Saturday night’s loss at Golden State, denied a published report that he took himself out of the game because of soreness in his left heel. “It wasn’t that at all,” Thompson said. “I didn’t play because Golden State had a small lineup, and Riles (Coach Pat Riley) wanted to go small, too. The heel didn’t bother me anymore than usual. It always bothers me, but not to where I couldn’t play.”