Trail Blazers Turned Baggage Into a First-Class Trip

A funny thing happened on the way to the uprising.

The Portland Trail Blazers turned into trouble of another kind, going from 16-15 the first two months after adding three new starters to 49-33 thanks to a 20-5 finish, beating Utah, Seattle, New York and the Lakers in the process. Miami and Houston had gone down not long before that run started.

Just when it seemed that the Trail Blazers should have opened a luggage store. J.R. Rider came from Minnesota with baggage. Kenny Anderson came from Charlotte with baggage. Rasheed Wallace came from Washington with baggage. Problems with the law, problems with coaches, problems with attitudes.

Their reputations preceded them to Portland like a flash-flood warning. The cracks started about how the Rose Garden had become a halfway house. About how some teams, such as the Lakers and Bulls, traveled with security personnel to keep fans from hassling players, but that it was the other way around with the Trail Blazers.

“Everybody says that, but I don’t really think anyone has anything to prove on the court,” said Anderson, the point guard who arrived as a free agent. “A lot of it came from myself and J.R.--dealing with coaches and dealing with responsibility. I don’t hear much about Rasheed.

“I just came out and did what I have to do as far as playing. Kenny Anderson hasn’t changed his game one bit. I was doing this in Charlotte, I was doing this in New Jersey, but it really wasn’t noticed because we weren’t winning. Now I’m on a winning team and it’s getting looked at. I think it’s the same with J.R. on the court.

“But off the court, the media and the fans look at something a whole lot different. When you get in trouble off the court, they don’t look at your game.”

Either that, or they look harder, to see if it’s all worthwhile. That is, after all, how the Trail Blazers could get a talented shooting guard like Rider, a potential 20-point scorer, from Minnesota for the garage-sale bargain of James Robinson, Bill Curley and a conditional first-round pick. Because the Timberwolves finally had their 10,000 lakes full of scuffles, missed practices, etc.

His second chance looks a lot like the first. Scuffles, missed practices, etc. Rider was benched for missing two workouts within three days and then refusing to play when he was told to enter the game against the Denver Nuggets on April 16, resulting in a fine but no suspension.

They’ve all become Los Angeles’ problem now. Fans in the Forum have reason to be afraid Friday night and Sunday afternoon, all right. Of losing.

“We might be a misunderstood team,” said Clifford Robinson, the final holdover from the Trail Blazer squads that went to the NBA finals in 1990 and ’92. “But at the same time, we’re a good team.”

Anderson is the point guard who has made noteworthy strides on defense this season, Rider is the shooting guard, Robinson the 6-foot-10 small forward. Wallace is the athletic power forward who finished third in the league in shooting and could receive votes for most improved player. Arvydas Sabonis is the 7-foot-3, 290-pound center whose size makes him a roadblock to Shaquille O’Neal inside while his skill makes him a three-point threat and a marvelous passer for a big man.

Yes, they are a good team, one that also includes the positive reputation that belongs to Mitchell Butler and a backup center in Chris Dudley who has donated upward of $700,000 to numerous charities over the last three years. The only time he makes trouble is for opposing teams on the boards.

“I think winning brings everybody closer,” Anderson said. “On every team in the league, there are a lot of egos. I thought we had that in the beginning of the season, but we just didn’t know our roles. When we started winning, guys started sacrificing.

“We genuinely want everybody to do well on this team. Early in the season, there was a lot of jealousy, a lot of selfishness. But I think right now, we’re clicking.”

The Lakers are already believers. Now to avoid being another victim.

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SERIES AT A GLANCE

LAKERS vs. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

* Game 1: Friday at Forum, 7:30

* Game 2: Sunday at Forum, noon

* Game 3: Wednesday at Portland, 7:30

* Game 4: May 2 at Portland, TBA*

* Game 5: May 4 at Forum, TBA*

* if necessary

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HEAD TO HEAD IN 1997

LAKERS vs. TRAIL BLAZERS IN 1996-97

* Dec. 13: Lakers 120, Trail Blazers 119 (overtime)--Shaquille O’Neal blocks six shots, including a driving layup by Kenny Anderson in the final seconds to preserve the victory at the Forum. O’Neal also has 34 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and Nick Van Exel adds 26 points and 15 assists. The Trail Blazers shoot 53.2% but commit 21 turnovers.

* Jan. 6: Trail Blazers 88, Lakers 84--The Lakers’ six-game winning streak, their longest of the season, ends at the Rose Garden as O’Neal makes four of 14 free throws and his counterpart, Arvydas Sabonis, scores 24 points. In all, the Lakers shoot 45.8% from the line. Mental mistakes also hurt, along with Anderson’s three-point basket with two seconds left on the shot clock and 51 on the game clock that breaks an 84-84 tie.

* Jan. 16: Trail Blazers 102, Lakers 98--This time, the Trail Blazers end the Lakers’ 12-game Forum winning streak. The Lakers trail by 16 points at halftime and make a late run, only to fall short after Eddie Jones fouls out with 1:53 left and O’Neal is ejected with 1:16 remaining for elbowing Sabonis on the head, even if it was accidental. Isaiah Rider has 30 points for the Trail Blazers.

* April 20: Trail Blazers 100, Lakers 96--With the chance to win the Pacific Division, clinch the No. 2 seeding in the Western Conference and earn the right to play the Phoenix Suns instead of the team that has given them far more trouble, the Lakers go from 14 points down late in the second quarter to six points up with five minutes left in the fourth, only to lose again at the Rose Garden. Much of the attention again goes to O’Neal at the line. With the Lakers trailing by two with 1.2 seconds remaining, he could have forced overtime but misses both attempts, the second intentionally.