Lakers Don’t Have to Look Deep to See What Their Problem Is : Bench: Substitutes haven’t been making much of a contribution. Teagle hasn’t been a factor since first game of the series against Portland.

In these NBA finals built on such familiar terms that everyone seems to work from a first-name basis, maybe it’s time for some much-needed re-introductions.

Terry Teagle. The Lakers traded for him to provide scoring off the bench, mostly in the half-court formations during the playoffs.

The Laker reserves. Not the cutesy name of some deli sandwich, but the ingredients should include more than something Green, as in A.C.

In the olden days of this series, say Tuesday, the concern around Chicago was getting more than one player, Michael Jordan, to become a regular contributor. Wednesday night, with a 107-86 victory at Chicago Stadium in Game 2, the Bulls forced the same question on the counterparts, but with a twist: How to get more than six players to join in.

Laker Coach Mike Dunleavy has received 41 points from his bench the past four games, 27 by Green.

“Any time production is off, I’m concerned,” Dunleavy said. “But I don’t think it would have mattered tonight. They (the Bulls) played that good a game.”

But this is not a new thing, especially not for the most noticeable absentee, Teagle. No thanks for the memories:

Wednesday: zero for two from the field, six points, all on free throws.

Game 1: One for three.

Game 6 against Portland: 0 for two.

Game 5: One for eight.

Game 4: Three for 12.

Game 3: Four for 10.

Game 2: Three for eight.

Game 1, the last significant production: Seven of 15 for 14 points in 17 minutes.

“When I don’t score, I’m always disappointed, especially since that’s my strong point,” he said. “It’s always been my strong point. At this stage, that may be my weakest point.”

That was Teagle sitting alone in a corner of the Laker locker room late Wednesday. The guy sitting with a towel wrapped around his waist and one around his shoulders. The guy feeling, well, exposed.

“Every day, I come in here and feel like, ‘This is it,’ ” he continued. “Today, I got to the free-throw line, and that was something I haven’t been able to do. I don’t know. It’s a tough situation. I’ve just got to keep working. I can’t stop now.

“I felt like it’s been a key for us offensively coming off the bench. But it’s just not happening right now. Hopefully, I’ll get it going once we get home.

“I’m not getting any shots. It’s frustrating, but what can you do about it? The playoffs are more of a slow-paced game. That has eliminated a lot of shots. I get a lot of my shots in the faster pace.”

Is he pressing, perhaps?

“I don’t know if I’m pressing until I’m able to take a certain amount of shots,” came the reply.

Teagle, who averaged 9.2 shots an outing as one of four Lakers to play all 82 games, has had 7.3 in the playoffs and a total of seven the past three games. That drop, however, pales compared to the contrast to the ending of his regular season. Eleven games, 17.2 points, 49.3% shooting.

From that to this?

Teagle entered Game 2 at the outset of the second quarter and had the first Laker shot. A jumper in the lane barely ticked the front of the rim. A few minutes after that, he was called for traveling. The next possession, he was stripped by Jordan. Finally, a couple of free throws. And then he came out, not to return until the Bulls had a 14-point lead late in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Green was contributing seven rebounds and six points, but on two-for-11 shooting. That’s the good news for the Laker bench. Aside from Teagle’s six points, Larry Drew had four, and Mychal Thompson none in 10 minutes. Likewise for Elden Campbell in four minutes of garbage time. Welcome to the Laker version of championship-caliber depth.

“It’s not necessarily our only assignment to explode,” Green said. “We just need to be able to contribute in some positive ways. We need to make sure we don’t lose any leads, things like that.”

Asked what positive way the bench contributed Wednesday, Green paused.

“I’ll have to look at the tapes,” he said. “But I don’t think the bench hurt us by any means. We didn’t lose any leads. I just think it is important to focus on the future and what might be ahead.”

The Lakers, whose future begins again Friday night at the Forum, can only wonder, too.