Lights, Camera. . .Action

There was a teenager on the Forum court Thursday after Laker practice, standing near halfcourt, looking up at all the empty seats and wondering what it would feel like to play there the next day, this being the season opener and all.

“Think this place is going to be rocking tomorrow night?” Kobe Bryant asked.

Just a little. Kind of like owner Jerry Buss spent a little money this summer. Like Laker fans have waited a little while for this game, not because the opponent is the Phoenix Suns, a good draw anyway, but because it’s the start of a new day for a team that’s no overnight sensation to begin with, coming off a 53-victory season.

Shaquille O’Neal is here now, after all, added to a starting lineup that was already potent. Bryant is here, 18 years old and even with his injured hip, making the Lakers happier every day that they got him this summer because it might have taken a top-three draft pick in ’97. Byron Scott is here--again--not merely a sideline ornament, as a fan favorite or a solid citizen for the locker room, but a real factor if his regular season is anything like his preseason.

The season is here.

“Every team I’ve been on, since junior high, there were great expectations, so I’m kind of used to it,” O’Neal said. “And I like it.”

Good thing. Saves him from having to get used to it.

“Any time you’ve got a team with a lot of talent, the expectations are going to be high,” O’Neal continued. “Especially with so many big names. I’m thinking the same thing you guys are thinking.”

Win.

Or else.

The edict has not come from above, at least not now, but it’s implied. Some $190 million in off-season expenditures, on to a roster that already had about $6 million committed to three other starters for this season alone, speaks with a more commanding presence than Lawrence Tanter on the public address system. Buss bought the franchise in June 1979, then bought The Franchise in July ’96.

Woe be the center drawing $17 million as the calendar turns to a new century and the only records he has to show for his time in L.A. are the gold ones on his wall. Or the coach left to explain a second-round loss, that and what time the moving vans are arriving at home.

“This is the overriding reason why I decided to come back to coaching and to Los Angeles,” said the coach, Del Harris, seeming to relish those expectations.

“Three years ago, I was at the crossroads--should I go into the front office or go back to coaching? I had opportunities to go either way. But I just felt here was one more chance for me to come to as a coach that would let me get back to this situation. Just to go some place to be a coach, just to be on a bench, that wasn’t the big appeal. But to come someplace that would find a way to find a place at the top is something I’ve wanted to be a part of.

“I just always felt the pressure to try and win every game, so from that standpoint it won’t be any different. These days, there won’t be anybody much to offer excuses for a failure to win. It’s just a simple matter that you didn’t get it done, either you got outplayed or outcoached or whatever. But I feel like its worth the extra pressure and so forth just to be in a high-expectation situation.

“It’s like, the greatest thrill for a gambler is watching that last card be turned when there’s a big pot out there. If you’ve never had the big chips in front of you and watched the card being turned, seeming like it’s in slow motion, with everything riding on it, then you’ve missed it as a gambler. It’s the same thing in coaching or playing. It’s been 16 years for me since I was in the NBA finals. This is just something I’ve wanted to have a shot at again. And here we are, starting to gather some chips, so it’s worth the extra scrutiny you have to go under.”

Added already-well-scrutinized Nick Van Exel, the point guard and emotional leader: “I’m confident we can do it, handle any situation thrown at us. But I also want to see how we respond to it.”

Boss Buss, aware that nine of the 14 players on the active roster or injured list weren’t Lakers last season, that he has a bench with plenty to prove, aware that 60 victories might get you second place in the Pacific Division, is the one urging patience. For now.

“I would like to think we can win it this year, but realistically I think the team has to play together for a while before you really get your expectations that high,” he said. “But about halfway through the season, I’m sure everybody is going to change their mind and say, ‘We can win it, we can do it.’ The players certainly seem to think that they can do it.

“But there’s some good teams out there. We’ve got to get by Seattle and Houston in the West and probably the magic Michael Jordan in the finals. So it’s anybody’s guess. It’s tough to win it the first year, that’s my feeling.

“Certainly, if we don’t win in the next few years it will be extremely disappointing. This year, I just hope we play well and the team comes together and we have a real good, successful year. But I think that it may be too much pressure, for everybody to expect them to win it right out of the gate.”

Fair enough. Give them a chance. Then the titles.

Or else.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

TONIGHT’S OPENER

Opponent--Phoenix Suns.

Site--Forum.

Time--7:30.

TV--Fox Sports West, TNT (subject to blackout).

Radio--KLAC (570).

Records (1995-96)--Lakers 53-29, Suns 41-41.

Record vs. Suns (1995-96)--3-1.

Laker update--Some statistics from the eight exhibition games: Shaquille O’Neal, a career 54.1% on free throws in the regular season and playoffs, made 52.1%; Nick Van Exel was a commendable 41.7% on three-point shots, but only 42.5% overall; Elden Campbell, the starting power forward, grabbed 30 rebounds in 173 minutes, but his backups were much better--Corie Blount, making a significant contribution, had 43 in 142 minutes and Sean Rooks had 35 in 148.

Sun update--The post-Charles Barkley era starts with two games each against the Chicago Bulls, Seattle SuperSonics, Houston Rockets and Lakers in the first month. It also starts with four key players probably on the sideline: point guard Kevin Johnson (hernia surgery), center John Williams (sore right foot) and power forward Mark Bryant (knee surgery) are on the injured list and guard Rex Chapman is expected to sit out the opener and maybe more because of bronchitis.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

ROSTER

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No Player Pos Ht Wt Birthdate School 43 Corie Blount F 6-10 242 1/4/69 Cincinnati 8 Kobe Bryant G 6-6 200 8/23/78 Lower Merion HS (Pa.) 41 Elden Campbell F-C 6-11 250 7/23/68 Clemson 23 Cedric Ceballos F 6-7 225 8/2/69 CS Fullerton 2 Derek Fisher G 6-1 200 8/9/74 Ark. Little Rock 6 Eddie Jones G-F 6-6 190 10/20/71 Temple 40 Travis Knight C 7-0 235 9/13/74 Connecticut 34 Shaquille O’Neal C 7-1 300 3/6/72 Louisiana State 20 Rumeal Robinson G 6-2 195 11/13/66 Michigan 45 Sean Rooks C 6-10 260 9/9/69 Arizona 4 Byron Scott G 6-4 205 3/28/61 Arizona State 9 Nick Van Exel G 6-1 183 11/27/71 Cincinnati

No Exp 43 3 8 R 41 6 23 6 2 R 6 2 40 R 34 4 20 5 45 4 4 13 9 3

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INJURED LIST

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No Player Pos Ht Wt Birthdate School Exp 12 Jerome Kersey F 6-7 240 6/26/62 Longwood (Va.) 12 24 Trevor Wilson F 6-8 222 3/16/68 UCLA 4

*--*

* Coach: Del Harris (11 seasons, 433-404 regular season)

* Assistant coaches: Bill Bertka, Larry Drew, Kurt Rambis

* Trainer: Gary Vitti

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Moving Along

After an off-season of unprecedented player movement in the NBA, there are many faces in new places this season. Here’s where the major free agents ended up .

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Player Pos New Team Former Team Kenny Anderson G Portland Charlotte David Benoit F New Jersey Utah P.J. Brown G Miami New Jersey Chris Childs G New York New Jersey Craig Ehlo G-F Seattle Atlanta Chris Gatling F Dallas Miami Armon Gilliam F Milwaukee New Jersey Derek Harper G Dallas New York Allan Houston G New York Detroit Don MacLean F Philadelphia Denver Dan Majerle G-F Miami Cleveland Vernon Maxwell G San Antonio Philadelphia Lee Mayberry G Vancouver Milwaukee Xavier McDaniel F New Jersey Greece Jim McIlvaine C Seattle Washington Oliver Miller C Dallas Toronto Dikembe Mutombo C Atlanta Denver Shaquille O’Neal C Lakers Orlando Robert Pack G New Jersey Washington Robert Parish C Chicago Charlotte Brent Price G Houston Washington Mark Price G Golden St. Washington Buck Williams F-C New York Portland Walt Williams G-F Toronto Miami Kevin Willis C-F Houston Golden St.

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* SCHEDULE: C8

* ROSTER: C8