Who’s in Charge? : Too Many Go-To Guys May Be Spoiling Lakers

Nick Van Exel thinks the Lakers should give the ball to Eddie Jones more. Magic Johnson says Nick’s the point guard, so if Eddie should get the ball more, Nick’s the one who should call the plays and give Eddie the ball.

Van Exel thinks Sedale Threatt was hot and shouldn’t have come out of Tuesday’s game when he did. Johnson says he was the one calling the plays for Sedale when Sedale was hot. Coach Del Harris says he took out Sedale because Sedale asked to be taken out.

Harris takes a deep sigh, then says, “We’ve got a lot of coaches on this team, don’t we?”

Welcome to make-or-break night for the Lakers. Among the many questions on the Lake Show talk network tonight are: 1. Will this be the last Laker game of the season? 2. Will this be Magic’s last game as a Laker? 3. Who’s running the Show here?

We are not talking turmoil, not talking panic. We are talking about a team playing very good basketball, which happens to be playing against a team, the Houston Rockets--”the double defending champions,” as Cedric Ceballos calls them--that knows exactly what to do when a game / series / season is on the line, as will be the case tonight.

Whereas, the Lakers aren’t sure what to do.

“Go-to” guys? Houston goes to Hakeem Olajuwon. But to which go-to guy do the Lakers go? The man with the hot hand during the series? (Jones.) The man with the hot hand during that night’s game? (Threatt in Game 3.) The man with the hot hand during the season? (Van Exel.) Or, do they put their hand in the hand of the man with five diamond rings? (Johnson.)

Furthermore, the most dangerous outside-shooting squad in Laker history is also a post-up team come crunch time, looking for Elden Campbell, Vlade Divac, Ceballos and even Johnson down low. This versatility makes the Lakers deep and difficult to scout. However, it also leaves them uncertain where to look when time is running short.

Van Exel, at practice here Wednesday:

“We have a lot of post players that we go to. I like Eddie Jones. Eddie Jones has really played great. We’ve got to find a way to get him the ball in that fourth quarter, instead of just the first and second quarter.

“I’m not saying he should be the go-to guy, but he should get more opportunities in the fourth quarter. Eddie Jones has been good all three games. We have to get him the ball more in isolation situations.”

Now, Johnson, on that very subject:

“If Nick feels we should call plays for Eddie, then he should call the plays. Nick’s our point guard. He has that control.”

The catch here is, Johnson’s the one who craves that control, who misses that control. He is having a wildly schizophrenic series: 26 points one day, seven another. Three assists one day, 13 another. One game, Magic is in a “Give me the ball and get out of my way” mode. Next game, he professes to be the old unselfish Magic, saying it’s Nick who “has control.”

This isn’t complicated. The Lakers have two point men, Point Guard Present and Point Guard Past. They can coexist, but it is confusing. Johnson still spreads his palms, waiting for the in-bounds pass after an opponent’s basket. But the pass goes to Van Exel instead. Johnson is still on the bench at the opening tipoff, even though he is a Hall of Famer who was averaging 23 points after Games 1 and 2 of the playoffs.

Johnson second-guessed Harris’ strategy after the Game 1 defeat, saying he needed the ball to be effective. However, looking back on the Game 3 loss, Magic said of Van Exel, “He doesn’t have to go to me. If Eddie’s hot, go to Eddie. I’m basically the guy who sets picks for Eddie Jones.”

To which Eddie Jones threw in his two cents’ worth:

“We do stand around and watch a little too much,” Jones said.

Such a headache, Harris must be getting.

The coach sided with Johnson, saying that if Van Exel feels another play should be called, then, “Please call it. I only call around 30% of our plays. The players call the other 70%.”

Then there was Van Exel’s observation that Threatt was so sharp in Tuesday’s second half, “He could have carried us. I thought Del should leave him in.”

To which Johnson said, “I was the guy telling Sedale to shoot.”

To which Harris said, “I took Sedale out because Sedale was tired and asked to come out. Man, oh, man.”

The coach can’t be concerned about the future, because too much is at stake during the next several hours. But this could get interesting. Magic will become a free agent. His return has been fun, but his experiment at forward has not. Nor has his experiment coming off the bench. Winning is fun, and makes situations tolerable. But situations change.

Even that newer, larger Magic who needs to be a power forward is no more. Johnson says he has lost 15-20 pounds.

“I am not complaining,” he says. “Please don’t write it like I’m complaining. I’m adjusting, and it’s hard. This is all new to me. Maybe you can’t break the old horse.”

Pat Riley would let him play the point in Miami. Harris happily urged Johnson to return, but doesn’t need dueling point guards. Magic wouldn’t want the Lakers to lose Van Exel. See the potential Catch-32 here? If the Lakers lose tonight, Johnson could return to the Forum next season dressed as a Miami Heat.

All that money the Lakers will have to pursue a Juwan Howard, or even a Shaquille O’Neal, they won’t have if Johnson stays.

“Has my comeback been great? Yes. The way everything has unfolded, it’s been positive,” Johnson said. “I know that I want to continue playing and go to training camp and play a full season.

“After this season, I really don’t know what will happen. It probably won’t happen fast. A lot of things I want to say, I can’t say. We have to step back and see what happens. Michael [Jordan] is going to get paid the highest, and you [I] have to be right up there with Michael, Shaq, whatever.”

But first, time out for tonight’s gigantic Game 4.

According to Johnson, the Lakers are playing “incredible” basketball--as well as the Rockets, the Bulls, anybody at present.

He said, “Right now, the only reason we’re down 2-1 is Houston’s will to win. We’ve played just as hard. We’ve played just as well. Their know-how in the fourth quarter is the only thing that’s beating us. We’re right there with them talent-wise, but we may not be there mentally.”

On the Lake Show, that is today’s hot topic.