Hard Work Is Working : Young Lakers Find Right Combination: Tough Defense and New Attitude

He flew in from the right side, from out on the perimeter as if catapulted by a trampoline, plucked the rebound out of the air and, in one motion, rammed it down through the basket. It was a spectacular play, and even the fans in Reunion Arena were in awe.

But later that night, as the Lakers flew from Dallas to Houston and talked about the game against the Mavericks, rookie shooting guard Eddie Jones didn’t dwell on his 19 points or the play that will go nicely on the resume as he hopes to earn a spot in the annual dunk contest during All-Star weekend. He boasted about his six steals. About his defense.

Had this been a rare moment, that would be one thing. But quite the contrary. If anything, that scene on the charter a week ago was a moment that typified the Lakers of 1994-95, a microcosm of the improvement that has led to a 13-8 record and a tie for the fourth-most victories in the Western Conference.

They are a young team that uses defense as fuel.

They are a young team that doesn’t act young anymore.

And, yes, they are surprised.

“Very much so,” said Executive Vice President Jerry West.

It helps to have last season as a contrast, bad in the standings and even worse in appearances, with chemistry so bad it might as well have been toxic and too many players worried primarily about their shots and minutes. In other words, they had become the Clippers.

“It’s about attitude now,” said Nick Van Exel, who has developed into a leader in his second season. “We had a lot of chances to be a pretty good team last year, but everybody had coach problems, everybody was having a problem with playing time. This year, we threw all that out.

“It could have been us looking in the mirror. We were just tired of being talked bad about. We were tired of walking around L.A. and having people say we were not good and we didn’t try hard.”

Like fans?

“The fans. The owner,” Van Exel said. “We heard it from just about everyone.”

Change was evident from the start. Sedale Threatt, about to begin his 12th season, attended a mini-camp for rookies and free-agent hopefuls just before the regular training camp because he wanted to get a jump on learning the system of the new coach, Del Harris.

At training camp in Honolulu, the work ethic was intense. Sam Bowie said it was the first time in his pro career, which began in 1984, that no player had bailed out of any of the two-a-day sessions with bogus injuries or looked for some other shortcut. Nobody cruised. Cedric Ceballos, then a Laker for only about two weeks, slammed the ball onto the court inside steamy Klum Gym when his side lost a scrimmage, as if it meant playoff elimination.

When the games counted, they stared down a schedule that had 10 of the first 14, and 14 of 21, on the road. When people noticed that most of those were against the tame Eastern Conference and suggested the good start might have been little more than a fleeting aberration--remember blowing a sure victory at Milwaukee and getting drilled by the Clippers?--the Lakers beat Houston and Cleveland at the Forum, then knocked off the Rockets and Utah away from home.

Along the way, they had gone from No. 6 in the league in blocked shots last season to No. 3 in 1994-95, heading into Monday’s games, with Vlade Divac tied for fifth among individuals. From No. 7 in steals to No. 2, with Jones tied for 10th. From No. 9 in turnovers forced to No. 2. Numbers that were already good got even better.

“They are very quick and very fast,” San Antonio Coach Bob Hill said. “The defense has created this start for them.”

The young legs make a big difference. The Lakers have had great success with a variety of presses and traps, but the rub is that Van Exel gets the respect of a veteran by having the freedom to call the defenses during huddles at the free throw line. The coach retains the power of veto but rarely goes against his 23-year-old point guard.

How unusual a situation is it? Harris had coached a little more than eight seasons in the NBA before joining the Lakers, but this is the first time he has turned over that kind of decision to the players.

“This team likes it more,” he said. “Veteran teams don’t like to press as much. . . . You’re out there tired, and it hurts to go and do it. The worst defense in the world is a press when two or three of the guys aren’t committed. But these guys, when they go after it, they’re serious.”

None of the top six Lakers are plodders, even big men Divac and Elden Campbell, so this is their counter to getting beat on the boards, just as averaging the fewest turnovers helps make up for a poor shooting percentage. Harris figures the pressing has been directly responsible for five or six victories and gave them a chance in two other games that eventually became losses.

“I think guys are beginning to trust each other more,” Harris said. “That’s such a key word in team defense--trust. Nobody wants to look bad out there. If I run over to cover Player A, I want to make sure somebody will watch my back and cover Player B.”

So far, looking bad hasn’t been much of a problem.

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