Fisher, Knight Show No Sign of Strain

About the time people start watching to see if NBA rookies will hit the wall, the Lakers’ two first-year players in the rotation, Derek Fisher and Travis Knight, are instead going through it.

The 30th game of 1996-97, about the total number they played in each of the previous four years in college, was the latest in a string of positive contributions, especially noteworthy since they had big nights together: Knight got 13 points and 10 rebounds and Fisher 12 points, three assists and three steals in the 115-102 victory over Philadelphia on Sunday.

The third rookie, Kobe Bryant, didn’t go in until the Lakers were ahead by 11 in the fourth quarter, but Coach Del Harris stayed with him even as the 76ers cut the lead to single digits with about five minutes remaining.

“They [the rookies] know if they don’t play well then they are going to hear it from me,” Shaquille O’Neal said. “Especially Travis. He’s in a new corporation that I established on the team: BMA. Big Man’s Alliance. I’m the president, the vice president and secretary.”

So much for the executive positions.

“I guess if I was scoring 30 points a night too, I could get a good job,” Knight said. “But I’m not really supposed to talk about it. I could get in trouble. He’s also in charge of security.”

*

Rumeal Robinson sat out the 76er game and the last two practices because of flu, and the same illness also kept starting small forward Jerome Kersey away from Tuesday’s workout.