Four Guards Suit Bertka

Like assistant coach Bill Bertka said:

“It just seemed that no matter what we did with a so-called traditional lineup, it wasn’t effective.”

So down by 24 points in the third quarter Friday, the Lakers went very untraditional against the Clippers and used a four-guard lineup almost the entire final period, a decision made by Coach Del Harris and then maintained when Harris got kicked out and Bertka took over. It meant that Eddie Jones was defending Bo Outlaw, a sometimes center, and that Byron Scott had to check the physical Rodney Rogers, but--with Kobe Bryant and Nick Van Exel also on the court with either Elden Campbell or Corie Blount at center--it also allowed the Lakers to get back in the game.

“Sometimes you’ve got to play like that,” Van Exel said. “The scrappy guys, guys who can make something happen on defense.”

Added Scott, who said he had never seen anything like it in his career that has spanned 14 seasons: “It was very effective. We just jumped on them and ran all over the place.”

*

Blount continued his impressive run by grabbing 12 offensive rebounds Friday, one shy of the team record held by Magic Johnson and Vlade Divac, although the category was not kept before 1973-74. Blount tied Happy Hairston’s mark by getting nine of those in a half and had 15 boards in all, the second game in a row the new starting power forward has matched his career high.

This came as the Lakers outrebounded the Clippers, 49-37. But also as the Lakers lost the chance for an inspirational comeback because they failed on the defensive boards, a problem area most of the season and long before Malik Sealy made them pay.

All of the Clippers’ final six points came on second-chance opportunities: a three-point play by Rogers, Rogers being fouled after an offensive rebound and making one free throw, and, ultimately, Sealy coming in untouched for the put-back slam off Darrick Martin’s miss with 7.3 seconds left and a 97-95 victory. Sealy had been out at the three-point line as the play developed, but he easily penetrated when Bryant did not box out.