Those Laker Kids Drive Philly Silly

The Laker youth movement came not by choice but by necessity Tuesday night. That or desperation.

The entire starting frontcourt was in early foul trouble. Jerome Kersey was out because of a strained right Achilles’ tendon. Nick Van Exel was also hurting, but not physically. Hurting the team.

So in went Derek Fisher . . . and Kobe Bryant . . . and Travis Knight. In the first quarter. It was left to all three rookies to play 20-plus minutes, most notably the guy who should be a college rookie, and to help keep the Lakers afloat long enough for Shaquille O’Neal and Eddie Jones to lead the way to a 100-88 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers before 20,652 at the CoreStates Center.

It came disguised as a homecoming parade, this kiddie litter. Bryant spent the previous 4 1/2 years in nearby Ardmore, Pa., about a 30-minute drive, and single-handedly contributed about 100 tickets to what became the largest crowd to watch a basketball game in Pennsylvania, buying or swapping with teammates to accommodate family and friends. Jones, the Temple product, took care of another 45 or so, before he took care of the 76ers. Even, in a sense, for O’Neal, who spent much of his youth next door in New Jersey.

“I know he’s feeling excited,” Jones said of Bryant. “We talked coming in on the plane about how we wanted to show them.”

Them?

“Philly,” Jones said. “You know what I mean?

“I wanted to put on a show for them. We wanted to let them know Philadelphia isn’t anything to us. We’re from Los Angeles, we’re coming here and we’re coming here to win.”

In that case, they got the win and the show. Jones had 23 points, six rebounds, six assists and a career-high eight steals, one game after getting six. Bryant, in such media demand that a pregame news conference was called, scored all 12 of his points in the second half, seven in the fourth quarter, going 21 minutes in all.

He played well after a poor start, then played down the significance of the night.

“You’ve just got to keep it in perspective,” Bryant said. “I know I’ll be playing in Philadelphia for a lot of years to come. I can’t be overwhelmed by one game.”

It may have been merely another game to O’Neal--another 20-20, with 23 points and 20 rebounds, his second in three outings. But not to Fisher or Knight, both of whom turned this opportunity, an especially unlikely one for Knight, into promises from Coach Del Harris about increased future minutes.

Knight’s one contribution the first 14 games, during which he got seven appearance and 14 minutes, was the hold-the-fort three minutes against Hakeem Olajuwon in the second overtime Nov. 12 at Houston after O’Neal and Sean Rooks had fouled out. When O’Neal got his second Tuesday only 6:27 in Tuesday, about two minutes more than Elden Campbell needed for his first two, Knight got another opportunity.

He played 20 minutes, 13 in the second half when the game was close to the end, and made three of four shots for six points and grabbed seven rebounds. Likewise, Fisher’s numbers were not as overwhelming as they were helpful--27 minutes, 10 points, two assists--but he wasn’t merely getting Van Exel’s leftover time.

He was getting Van Exel’s fourth-quarter time.

“Today, I thought that I wouldn’t finish a game with him for, oh, another month or so,” Harris said of Fisher, whose playing time had decreased of late as the starter had finally hit his stride. “So much for planning. It just seemed like the right thing to do.”

Particularly with Van Exel en route to two points on one-of-seven shooting, six assists and five turnovers in 21 minutes. So Fisher started the fourth quarter--along with Bryant and Knight--played until 5:18 remained, came out for a brief rest, and went back in with 3:45 to play.

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A Season of Expectations

The Lakers acquired nine new players this season, including Shaquille O’Neal and his $120-million contract. In turn, with big acquisitions come big expectations. Throughout the season, The Times will monitor O’Neal’s numbers along with how the team compares to some of the best Laker teams in history.

GAME 15 OF 82

* Record 10-5

* Standing 2nd place

Pacific Division

1996-97 LAKERS VS. THE BEST LAKER TEAMS

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Year Gm. 15 Overall 1987-88 10-5 62-20 1986-87 12-3 65-17 1984-85 10-5 62-20 1979-80 11-4 60-22 1971-72 12-3 69-13

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Note: The five teams above all won NBA championships

THE SHAQ SCOREBOARD

Basketball Numbers

* Tuesday’s Game:

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Min FG FT Reb Blk Pts 38 9-15 5-12 20 2 23

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* 1996-97 Season Averages:

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Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 38.7 .603 .454 13.6 2.5 25

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* 1995-96 Season Averages:

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Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 36.0 .573 .487 11.0 2.1 26.6

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Money Numbers

* Tuesday’s Salary$130,658.53

* Season Totals $1,959,877.95

* FACTOID: Game 15 of the 1984-85 season featured the first meeting between the Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers. James Worthy scored 27 points and Magic Johnson had 14 assists in a 108-103 Laker victory. Norm Nixon led the Clippers with 20 points and Bill Walton had 11.