Foul Theory Has Lakers Laughing

Still no sign of Oliver Stone, but Game 3 of the first-round series between the Lakers and Houston Rockets, tied at 1-1, will go on tonight anyway at the Summit.

The Lakers come in with the momentum, having won Saturday at the Forum. The Rockets arrive with conspiracy theories, convinced referees were out to get Hakeem Olajuwon in Game 2, eventually fouling him out and prompting Olajuwon to say they will one day have to answer to a “higher authority,” not necessarily meaning David Stern. No word on whether the same goes for a superstar center who has five fouls and contests a drive down the lane with more than 10 minutes to play.

Elden Campbell of the Lakers was approached for comment before practice Monday.

“Who’s complaining about fouls?” he demanded.

The Rockets said Olajuwon didn’t get the proper respect from officials Saturday.

“Awwwwww, no they didn’t,” Campbell said, disbelieving. “They didn’t say that, did they?”

Did so. Not only that, teammate Sam Cassell served notice that Olajuwon will get the calls--”I know for a fact”--now that the series has shifted to Houston.

“That’s incredible,” Campbell said.

Especially to him. Especially considering the Lakers’ biggest matchup advantage coming in, Campbell vs. Chucky Brown at power forward, has been neutralized by . . . fouls!

In Game 1, Campbell had three personals in 11 minutes before halftime and played only 26 minutes in all. Less than 48 hours later, he picked up two fouls in the first quarter, played only 13 minutes before intermission and 27 in all before fouling out with 2:23 left.

So after averaging 13.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, a team-high 2.59 blocks and 32.9 minutes in the best regular season of his six-year career, Campbell is at 7.5, 7.5, 2.00 and 26.5, respectively. But there’s always the bright side.

“I’m well rested,” he said.

Some credit goes to the Rockets, skilled at double-teaming to help Brown. They sometimes send the especially formidable 6-foot-10 Robert Horry to give Brown a hand. And Houston has also moved back and forth Olajuwon between Vlade Divac and Campbell, causing problems for whomever he takes.

So Campbell has been taken out of his game and taken out of the game. Playoff successes against Charles Barkley in 1993 and Shawn Kemp and Dennis Rodman in ’95 are distant memories.

“The country hasn’t seen the real Elden Campbell yet,” Coach Del Harris said. “The Elden Campbell that they saw in the playoffs last year was terrific, and he played that kind of a season all year, but early foul trouble has hampered him in both Games 1 and 2. Hopefully, he’ll be able to break out and play one of his normal games for us the rest of the way.”

Right, said Campbell. “If I can stay in the game.”

Oh, that.

“Any time you have to come out that early, it sort of takes you out of the little roll that you thought you had going,” he said. “That’s when you want to set the pace. Then you have to go sit down. It’s difficult. But you still have to play anyway, so I just try to deal with it.

“All season, same story. I’m not even concerned with that. I’m just going to try and play the little time I’m in there.”

In the meantime, the Lakers don’t want to hear about Olajuwon getting more respect at the Summit. They may not know that he averaged as many fouls at home as on the road, 3.4 a game, but they think they know a con game when it sets up on the corner.

“It’s playoff basketball,” Magic Johnson said. “Everybody jockeys for position. You could see everybody hollering at [officials]. That’s going to happen. That’s the old set-up thing. Hakeem is a great player and he’s going to get his calls. It didn’t go his way on Saturday, but it didn’t go Elden or Vlade’s way on Thursday. Both were in foul trouble and it hurt us.

“I’ve been in playoff basketball too long. I know when people want those positions with the referees, want to put it on their mind. Hey, that’s what the coach should be doing, that’s what Hakeem should be doing, that’s what their players should be doing. Try to get that advantage, try to get that edge.”

Try to stay in the game.

*

Lakers vs. Rockets / Series at a Glance

Game 1 --Houston 87, Lakers 83

Game 2 --Lakers 104, Houston 94

Game 3 --Tonight at Houston, 6 p.m. (Ch. 9)

Game 4--Thursday at Houston, 6:30 p.m.

Game 5*--Saturday at Forum, TBA

* If necessary

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Foul Play?

Houston center Hakeem Olajuwon was upset after fouling out of Game 2 on Saturday against the Lakers at the Forum. It was the first time he has fouled out this season. He and his teammates said the referees were out to get him and that it would be different during tonight’s game at Houston. A look at Olajuwon’s fouling tendencies on the road and at home this season.

*--*

Home 37 games 124 fouls 3.4 per game Road 35 games 118 fouls 3.4 per game

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NOTABLE

Olajuwon has fouled out in 79 games in his career, counting Saturday, and it was the fifth time he has fouled out in the playoffs. By comparison, Patrick Ewing has fouled out 27 times (five in the playoffs) and David Robinson has fouled out 22 times (twice in the playoffs). Kareem Abdul-Jabbar fouled out 55 times in his career (seven), Bill Russell 32 times (eight) and Wilt Chamberlain never fouled out.