Rotation Has Lakers in a Spin

Meanwhile, back at the struggles . . .

The Lakers, having apparently grown tired of being knocked around by outsiders, turned on themselves Friday night, as if shooting 34.7% and losing to the Atlanta Hawks, 86-75, at the Omni wasn’t enough.

Nick Van Exel, ineffective after his very impressive showing at Washington, played only 11 minutes in the second half and connected on two shots in all, not counting the one directed at Coach Del Harris.

Harris, meanwhile, again came out in support of Kobe Bryant, just as he was noting that Bryant had displayed more frustration than fortitude of late, and just before he played Bryant for the final 83 seconds against the Hawks. On the plus side for the rookie, that was 83 seconds more than he had gotten in the two previous outings.

Are they having fun yet?

The Lakers’ fifth loss in the last seven games came as Elden Campbell finally cooled off (nine points, seven rebounds, no blocks, three of 15 from the field, 42 minutes) and no one but Eddie Jones and Corie Blount was able to provide a safety net for the offense. Jones had 17 points, Blount 12 points and six rebounds off the bench--and no teammate scored more than nine.

Van Exel played 25 minutes, making two of eight shots and recording four points and four assists against three turnovers, the assists and turnovers providing the real departure from his recent play. Fourteen of those minutes came before intermission.

“He tweaked his knee somehow or another in the first half,” Harris said. “He never quite seemed to have it tonight.”

Van Exel had something, all right. Frustration. Oh, and plenty of rest, having played only four minutes in the fourth quarter as Derek Fisher got the got the nod down the stretch for the second time in three games. The knee, the starting point guard insisted, was not a problem.

“Not as much as other things,” Van Exel said.

Such as?

He shook his head in response, not wanting to get into it.

At least not immediately.

When the question came a moment later about whether Harris might have gone to a quick hook because Van Exel was not producing as he did the night before, the team captain who has questioned the rotation before--as most every other player has at least privately--spoke up again.

“It doesn’t matter,” Van Exel said. “I’m the quarterback. You’re not supposed to give up on the quarterback.”

If someone averaging 36.8 minutes is confused, imagine how Bryant feels. After getting a lot of time, he has played 11 minutes in the last five games.

“It’s been going on throughout the season,” Bryant said, “so I’m used to it. I’ll just try to be ready all season, again.”

What’s different this time is that Harris is wondering if his 18-year-old rookie really is trying to stay ready, if Bryant has become more about being frustrated than being prepared.

“When Fish [Fisher] wasn’t playing, he was the first one out there for practice. When Byron [Scott] wasn’t playing, he was the first one out there for practice,” Harris said. “It would be hard on anybody. But as I’ve said many times over the last three years, everything is temporary.

“It’s hard when you’re 18 because he hasn’t had to go through it before. He has to trust. No one wants him to do any better than I do.

“As the coach, I’ve got to play the guys going well. Right now, all you’ve got to do is look at the stats from the last eight or 10 games and that’s very easy to see.”

Bryant, at 32.5% his last 11 appearances. Scott having emerged again as a major factor. Jones, an all-star, ahead of both of them. The Lakers desperately going for wins the last two weeks after the losses of Shaquille O’Neal and Robert Horry.

“I wasn’t surprised,” Bryant said of his decline in minutes. “Byron has been playing great basketball. I’ll stay on the bench and cheer him on and just wait for my chance.

“The rotation is you don’t know who’s going to get the minutes night in and night out. I just have to be prepared to play every game.”