Christie No Longer on Hold : Lakers: Rookie doesn’t know all the plays, but he will make his debut against 76ers tonight.

With two weeks to cram for a test other rookies had a month to prepare for, Doug Christie doesn’t have every lesson down pat.

But he’s as ready as he can be to make his NBA debut tonight, given that he signed with the Lakers 14 days ago and hasn’t played in a game since last spring, when he was still at Pepperdine.

“This is like a midterm for me,” Christie said. “I’m just going to try to play my game and not force anything.

“I still don’t know the plays all too well, but I know the sets and I know they want me to push the ball up court. Eventually, I’ll be at point guard, but wherever they play me now is fine.”

Mitch Kupchak, assistant general manager, confirmed that a roster spot would be opened for Christie today, but he wouldn’t specify whether someone would be placed on the injured list or waived. Forward Alex Blackwell, who has played only 25 games--and has recently had back problems--fits either category.

Kupchak said the Lakers are hoping chiefly that Christie will use the rest of this season to gain experience for next season.

“Jim Jackson is in a tougher spot because of the exposure he got and he was the holdout of the draft,” Kupchak said of the Dallas rookie, who has gotten considerable playing time since he signed last week.

“Doug is a player we wanted and pursued, but he’s not a savior. It’s going to be hard to get him in there and his minutes will be limited. All we expect is for him to learn our plays and sets and to make a contribution when he does play. This fellow is not going to lead us to wins in 20 of (the team’s last) 24 games. That isn’t how we’re looking at him.”

While Christie learns the Lakers’ plays, they are learning about him. Watching him Thursday in scrimmages, Coach Randy Pfund noticed new aspects of Christie’s talents.

“I saw some things today I’d never seen before,” Pfund said. “He looks up the floor with the ball when he’s handling the ball as a point guard. He made three or four passes with a flick of the wrist to people who were open. The more I see of Doug, the more I see there are some point-guard tendencies, even though when we do activate him, he’ll play (small forward).”

Kupchak said Christie’s twice-repaired right knee and his stamina pose some concern, but assistant coach Bill Bertka said Christie has held up well during regular and extra practice sessions.

Pfund plans to use Christie to back up James Worthy, which would mean more rest for A.C. Green, who averaged 47 minutes over the last five games.

“The one thing we need to do this season is find out what Doug Christie is,” Pfund said. “Maybe he’s a Michael Cooper, a three-position player. Maybe he’s a starter. Maybe he’s better coming off the bench. The better the idea we get, the better idea we’ll have how to build this team in the off-season.”