Scouting Report: LAKERS vs. PORTLAND, Western Conference Quarterfinals

About the Lakers: “We’re not 100%,” Coach Del Harris said. “Our lineup has been together three games since the All-Star break. So we’re not 100%. But we can win anyway.” With that, the Lakers begin a tough first-round matchup for the second season in a row, after getting the Houston Rockets in 1996. As a precaution against even more problems, Nick Van Exel, playing through a bothersome left knee, and Shaquille O’Neal, back after two months on the sideline, have been held out of some of the scrimmages this week. O’Neal averaged 29.4 points and 9.8 rebounds and shot 51.4% in the five games after his return. The Lakers went 4-1 in that time, losing to the Trail Blazers on the final day of the regular season. The Lakers won 11 of their final 14 and 16 of 22.

About the Trail Blazers: Arvydas Sabonis returned to practice Thursday after sitting out the previous two days because of a sore neck, an injury he suffered in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Lakers. Not that this was anything unusual. With his history of leg problems, the starting center often will sit out part or all of a workout to stay fresh for games. The Trail Blazers had a winning percentage of .632 this season when Sabonis started, as he will tonight barring unexpected developments. The Trail Blazers were the youngest and least-experienced team in the league on opening night, and they also had the burden of adapting three new starters, but a rough start became a 49-33 record, their best since 1992-93.

Keys to the games: Portland is not only a good shooting team, having finished No. 9 in the league, but the Trail Blazers are demons on the offensive boards. This becomes an even greater concern for the Lakers since only eight teams were worse than them--by percentage--this season in defensive rebounding, meaning they could be giving up many second-chance opportunities to a team that will convert. The Trail Blazers, on the other hand, are susceptible to turnovers, and the Lakers have the kind of depth and defensive talent that would allow them to trap and press without fear of getting worn out. And in a close game, all bets are off. The Lakers finished 29th and last in the league in free-throw percentage, the Trail Blazers 26th.

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LAKER STARTERS

No. 41: Elden Campbell, Forward

No. 5: Robert Horry, Forward

No. 34: Shaquille O’Neal, Center

No. 6: Eddie Jones, Guard

No. 9: Nick Van Exel, Guard

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PORTLAND STARTERS

No. 32: Rasheed Wallace, Forward

No. 3: Clifford Robinson, Forward No. 12: Isaiah Rider, Guard

No. 7: Kenny Anderson, Guard

No. 11: Arvydas Sabonis, Center

PLAYOFF COMPARISON

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1996-97 Season Series Score Dec. 13 LAKERS 120, Portland 119, OT Jan. 6 PORTLAND 88, Lakers 84 Jan. 16 Portland 102, LAKERS 98 April 20 PORTLAND 100, Lakers 96

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PLAYOFF HISTORY

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Year Round Result 1977 Conf. Final Portland def. Lakers, 4-0 1983 Conf. Semis Lakers def. Portland, 4-1 1985 Conf. Semis Lakers def. Portland, 4-1 1989 First Round Lakers def. Portland, 3-0 1991 Conf. Final Lakers def. Portland, 4-2 1992 First Round Portland def. Lakers, 3-1

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TEAM COMPARISON

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Category Portland Lakers OVERALL RECORD 49-33 56-26 HOME RECORD 29-12 31-10 ROAD RECORD 20-21 25-16 OVERTIME RECORD 2-5 4-3 FIRST HALF 23-18 9-12 SECOND HALF 26-15 27-14 AVG. PTS. 99.0 100.0 OPP. AVG. PTS. 94.8 95.7 MARGIN 4.2 4.3 FG PCT .464 .454 OPP. FG PCT. .436 .441 3-PT. FG PCT . 357 .367 OPP. 3-PT. FG PCT. .357 .347 3-PT. FG/GAME 6.1 6.7 OPP. 3-PT. FG/GAME 5.6 5.8 FT PCT .71 .692 REB. AVG. 43.3 42.8 OPP. REB. AVG. 38.4 42.4 OFF. REB. AVG. 12.9 13.3 OPP. OFF. REB. AVG. 11.6 13.5 AST. AVG. 20.9 22.5 OPP. AST. AVG. 20.8 22.9 TO AVG. 16.5 14.9 OPP. TO AVG. 15.1 16.4 STL. AVG. 7.8 9.0 OPP. STL. AVG. 8.0 7.6 BLK. AVG. 5.3 7 .0 OPP. BLK. AVG. 5.2 4.7

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ROSTERS/STATISTICS: LAKERS

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No. Player Pts. FG% FT% Reb. Ass. 2 Augmon 4.7 .477 .711 2.3 0.9 3 C. Robinson 15.1 .426 .696 4.0 3.2 5 O’Neal 4.1 .451 .603 2.8 0.2 6 Butler 3.0 .416 .640 1.1 0.6 7 Anderson 17.5 .427 .768 4.4 7.1 10 Wingfield 4.5 .409 .675 2.9 1.0 11 Sabonis 13.4 .498 .777 7.9 2.1 21 R. Robinson 3.3 .402 .800 0.9 1.4 24 Dudley 3.9 .430 .474 7.3 0.5 30 Wallace 15.1 .558 .638 6.8 1.2 33 Trent 10.8 .536 .699 5.2 1.1 34 Rider 16.1 .464 .812 4.0 2.6

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ROSTERS/STATISTICS: PORTLAND

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No. Player Pts. FG% FT% Reb. Ass. 2 Fisher 3.9 .397 .658 1.2 1.5 4 Scott 6.7 .430 .841 1.5 1.3 5 Horry 7.8 .436 .667 4.4 2.0 6 Jones 17.2 .438 .819 4.1 3.4 8 Bryant 7.6 .417 .819 1.9 1.3 9 Van Exel 15.3 .402 .825 2.9 8.5 12 Kersey 6.8 .432 .602 5.2 1.3 34 O’Neil 26.2 .557 .484 12.5 3.1 40 Knight 4.8 .509 .620 4.5 0.5 41 Campbell 14.9 .469 .711 8.0 1.6 43 Blount 4.2 .514 .675 4.8 0.6 45 Rooks 3.8 .470 .700 2.4 0.6

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