Lakers’ Extras Mostly Special

Two rooks are in the rotation, and neither of them is Kobe Bryant.

But there is no Rooks in the rotation.

There is a new guy who is also the old guy.

There is the extra who has emerged in a starring role. And the former star, if only for an instant, who has become an extra.

They are the Laker newcomers not named Shaquille O’Neal, and they account for more than half the roster of an 18-7 team, including the injured list, and they are mostly surprising at every turn.

Bryant, the most highly touted of the rookies, is struggling to get into games, whereas Travis Knight and Derek Fisher, picks No. 24 and 29, respectively, are rotation regulars.

Sean Rooks, signed to a seven-year, $13.4-million contract last summer? Barely seven minutes a game.

Byron Scott is back, more popular than ever at 35, and making a nice contribution. Trevor Wilson was back, too, also in his second stint with the Lakers but he was waived Monday after having spent all season on the injured list because of tendinitis in his left knee.

Jerome Kersey has not only become the starting small forward because of Cedric Ceballos’ injury, but has regularly responded with positive contributions no matter the role. Meanwhile, Rumeal Robinson, a lottery pick with Atlanta in 1990 and a key in Portland’s second-half kick to the playoffs last season, has gone from the end of the bench to the opening lineup to third string in a matter of weeks.

These are the seven “other” new Lakers--unpredictable in their contributions from week to week, some just beginning promising careers, some at the end of successful long runs, some in between.

KOBE BRYANT

The Lakers and Bryant both raised the level of expectations about how good he could be now, not eventually, so they have been left to deal with the matter of why this 18-year-old in the NBA is playing like an 18-year-old in the NBA.

Injuries have been a major problem, especially the broken wrist and strained hip muscle that cost him most of training camp, a loss that became magnified when November’s hectic schedule left few chances to practice. That meant that working into the system was, and is, being done in real games. Opposing teams have scouted him or are already playing him for the second time, so moves that were there in high school aren’t there in the Delta Center.

What has followed is occasional frustration among teammates seeing him waste a possession, 13 assists against 26 turnovers, 5.3 points a game, 38.2% shooting overall, but an encouraging 41.9% on three-pointers. Bryant is getting only 10.8 minutes a game and Harris and General Manager Mitch Kupchak have noted signs of frustration, even if he says a positive attitude has never wavered.

“Certainly, Kobe’s development has been hampered to a degree by the injuries and the missed training camp,” Kupchak said. “But when you take a step back and maybe compare him to the other high school players who have gone right to the NBA, there’s not much more to say about what he could be doing.

“He’s already helped us win a couple games and has already shown flashes of brilliance. I think we all agree he gets a bit reckless at times. But 25 games into the season, I don’t know what anybody realistically expected, other than some form of contribution.”

Harris is concerned enough with the mistakes--fouls, forced shots, turnovers--that he has taken to playing Bryant only in blowouts. Bryant, who has played mostly shooting guard but has gotten some brief looks at small forward, said he’s being patient. The Lakers, of course, are too.

“We all, including Del, would like to see all the younger players playing more, including Kobe,” Kupchak said. “But Del, his job is to win games. We support whatever he decides to do in order for him to do that. We support him 100%.

“And I think Del would like to play Kobe more. A young player that talented? It’s just a matter of time before he gets over some of the jitters, some of the transitional stages you go through.”

DEREK FISHER

Having spent much of his time feeling his way into the role of an NBA point guard, learning when to be more aggressive with his shot and when to pass or penetrate, Fisher is showing promise in making the jump from Arkansas Little Rock and the Sun Belt Conference to the Lakers and the Western Conference. Just as many NBA scouts had predicted he would do, despite having averaged only 5.1 assists in 34.7 minutes as a senior.

As a rookie, he’s averaging four points, 1.5 assists and one turnover, although he is shooting only 36.6%. But the most telling number is his 12.6 minutes--because he has been getting many of them in close games as the only real backup for Nick Van Exel. Robinson, the veteran brought in largely because he can play both backcourt spots, rarely plays point guard because of Fisher.

“Travis and Derek have been, without a doubt, pleasant surprises,” Kupchak said. “We liked them, which is why they’re here. But you never really anticipate rookies playing significant minutes early in the season of their first year.”

JEROME KERSEY

He came to training camp a bit out of shape, then suffered a broken left foot that cost him the first nine games of the regular season. He wasn’t in game condition when activated, but was needed because of the injury to Ceballos. He played well, then lost two more games because of a strained Achilles’ tendon. He came back and played even better.

In other words, Kersey has made a considerable contribution without being 100%. At 34, and playing for the veteran minimum of $247,500.

He has played two positions--small forward and power forward when Harris opts for a quick lineup--and in pain. And he has played well, using his 28.9 minutes to average 8.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.93 steals. He is shooting 50% and becoming a favorite of Harris.

“The impact is immeasurable to younger players, when they see a veteran work that hard and do all those things,” Kupchak said.

TRAVIS KNIGHT

“We brought him in as a quote-unquote project,” Kupchak said. “We knew him well enough from scouting the last several years, a big guy who needs some strength and some playing time and has to grow into his body. We thought, ‘That’s a player who can develop in the next two or three years.’

“It’s hard to say why he suddenly developed in the last four or five weeks. Maybe he was that good all along. Certainly, we didn’t expect him to play the significant minutes at this time of the year.”

Significant minutes? The 7-foot, 235-pounder from Connecticut has become the first big man off the bench since anchoring the end of the same bench for several weeks. No one is more surprised by the ride than he.

There is nothing in the numbers to indicate his contribution, which is fine, since Harris likes what doesn’t show up in the stats: Knight, while sometimes overmatched physically because of a lack of strength, doesn’t make many mistakes. He is smart. He plays hard all the time. He is active, which sometimes allows him to compensate for 183 minutes of experience.

“He has a knack,” the coach said. “He has a feel for the game.”

RUMEAL ROBINSON

He was the starting shooting guard for three games, but in name only--backup Scott got 12 more minutes and nine more shots. Then, back to the end of the line.

There are two players ahead of him at point guard and two at off guard, but that versatility, the ability to play both, will keep him around. Then too, Fisher has never played more than 30 games in a season and will need to be ready for three times that many, and Scott is 35.

“Going into training camp, we had some uncertainty with Byron and Kobe and thought Rumeal would give us something to lean back on, and we still do,” Kupchak said.

SEAN ROOKS

In training camp, Harris predicted Rooks would be invaluable. Did he mean invisible?

Rooks quickly went from being the top big man off the bench, the role he was expected to fill after signing the big contract, to the biggest man on the bench. Knight has played 183 minutes, Rooks 130.

“Quite frankly, we expected that he’d play a little more at this time,” Kupchak said. “He hasn’t. We have not made a mistake. He can play and we know he can play. When things are not going well and the schedule is the way it is now, you may not get the consistent chance to play, but we think as the season goes on he’ll be able to show us he can be the type of player we brought here.

“We’re not concerned at all. My best guess is he’d like to play more and is a bit frustrated. He will play a role on this team, you wait and see. It might not be two days from now or next week, but you’ll be able to look back at some point and see he made a real contribution.”

It probably won’t be two days from now--though no one can ever be sure with Harris’ substitution patterns--because Rooks fell out of shape when the minutes dried up. Before, Harris didn’t play him because O’Neal so dominated the time, unlike when a dependable backup was a necessity in the days of Vlade Divac, and thought Rooks was much better suited for center than power forward. Only in the last three games has the coach gone back to him before the games have become blowouts.

“What we’d like him to do is slowly work his way back into the player he was in training camp,” Kupchak said. “Some of that falls to us as well. Had we not been as inconsistent as we have been, had the schedule not been like it’s been, had the injuries not come along, then maybe we could have been more consistent with him. The other side of the coin is that it is your responsibility to stay ready to play. It’s not our job for you to stay in shape.”

BYRON SCOTT

The fans aren’t the only ones glad to have him back.

The 41.7% overall shooting isn’t anything to be proud of, but the 41.5% on three-pointers is, which means Scott is filling his role, a designated shooter to take advantage of the customary double teams on O’Neal. The drive down the lane and slam dunk that sparked the Lakers to an eventual victory over the Indiana Pacers last week was a throw-in.

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The Supporting Cast

A look at the newcomers who have contributed to the Lakers’ 18-7 start:

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PLAYER G ST. MINS. FG% PTS. REB. ASS. Jerome Kersey 14 6 28.9 50 8.3 5.1 1.7 Byron Scott 25 8 20.9 41.7 7.2 1.7 1.4 Kobe Bryant 18 0 10.8 38.2 5.3 1.5 0.7 Derek Fisher 25 0 12.6 36.6 4.0 1.2 1.5 Rumeal Robinson 14 3 8.4 34.8 3.1 0.6 0.9 Travis Knight 18 0 10.2 45.7 2.2 2.7 0.6 Sean Rooks 18 0 7.2 25 1.3 1.8 0.4

PLAYER COMMENT Jerome Kersey Plenty of pain, plenty of gain. Byron Scott Has already played key roles in some wins. Kobe Bryant From preps to pros: Watch that next step. Derek Fisher No wonder teams liked him as late first-round pick. Rumeal Robinson Insurance in case rookie Fisher hits the wall. Travis Knight Way ahead of schedule Sean Rooks He’ll contribute at some point. Won’t he?

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