Visible Man

The wonders of a Southland spring never cease.

On Saturday afternoon, a deer was seen roaming the 405 near the Getty Center.

Only one day after Elden Campbell was spotted at the Forum.

It is hard to tell which caused a bigger commotion.

The deer slowed hundreds in their cars, many who had obviously forgotten what one looked like.

The Laker forward pulled thousands from their seats, for somewhat the same reason.

Invisible for the past month, barely a blip for the last two years, Campbell showed up on the Forum court Friday midway through the third quarter with the Lakers trailing the Portland Trail Blazers by six points in the playoff opener.

He dunked, was fouled, converted the free throw.

He scooted through the lane, took a pass from Robert Horry, laid it in.

He found Shaquille O’Neal crossing the foul line, flipped him the ball, stepped back to watch one of the defining dunks of the season.

He found O’Neal again, seven feet from the basket, a quick pass, two more points.

The quarter ended, the score was tied, the Lakers had found the strength they needed to eventually win.

Thanks, in part, to the endangered one.

Showing up to show everyone up.

“I know what time of the year it is,” Campbell said Saturday afternoon.

With practice ending, he also knew what time of day it was. Media time.

For the most maligned athlete in this town, scram time.

As usual, as those with pens and cameras marched into the gym at Southwest College, Campbell walked briskly in the other direction.

A reporter introduced himself. Campbell kept walking, through the door and into the parking lot.

The reporter walked alongside and asked a question. Campbell, still walking and not talking, stared into space and whistled.

Campbell reached his jeep, opened the front door, turned, looked down, acknowledged the visitor for the first time, and smiled.

There. Now they were on his turf.

For the next 10 minutes, he politely and pleasantly answered questions that have plagued observers for most of his eight years here.

As he proved a day earlier, the oldest Laker is still capable of a few surprises.

About how it sometimes looks as if he isn’t excited or inspired:

“That’s what the Laker girls are for. If you want to see cheering and hollering, look at them. I am who I am. This is how I was taught, never to show my feelings on the court.”

About how sometimes, when playing power forward alongside O’Neal, it looks as if he is lost or isn’t trying:

“People who understand basketball, they understand what is going on. I’m working within our offense. It’s hard when you’re not getting a lot of minutes. I’m doing my best.”

About his critics, which include media and fans and everyone who has ever said, the Lakers are paying $49 million for this?

“I hear people shouting my name, but, unless the voice is familiar, I don’t listen. I can’t listen. Everybody has an opinion. Everybody is a critic. That’s fine. I know what is right, and that’s all that matters.”

And about that infamous seven-year contract, which has five years remaining after this one:

“Because of taxes, I could have made more money going somewhere else, to Florida or Texas. This wasn’t even the best deal I could have gotten. But I wanted to be a Laker.”

With his playing time decreased to 12 minutes a game in April, 10th on the team, it is questionable whether Campbell wants to remain a Laker.

He knows the better he plays this spring, the more valuable he becomes in trade talks.

At 29, with more career playoff games (46) than any Laker but Horry, Campbell knows how to turn it up.

“You get to the playoffs, a certain frame of mind takes over,” he said.

The Lakers have long been curious about that frame of mind.

“He sits in that little corner all tucked away,” Horry said of his teammate’s locker-room demeanor.

Del Harris was effusive in his praise of Campbell’s play Friday, saying, “He was outstanding, wasn’t he?”

But when asked if his backup center and power forward tries hard every game, Harris said: “Well, he thinks he does. He feels he’s giving everything. But I think at times, both his teammates and his coaches would like to see him a little more active.”

Campbell reiterates that it’s simply his style.

“If I get too emotional, I get out of myself,” he said. “I have to play under control.”

Whatever, only two things are certain about the enigmatic 7-footer:

* He is often a square peg in a round offense, a center playing forward, not athletic enough for the kind of game the Lakers ask their big men to play.

* That square peg will be desperately needed for the Lakers to pound their way through this first series.

Next possible sighting, today at the Forum at noon. Keep your hopes peeled.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Campbell in playoffs

Game 1

PTS: 14

FG%: .833

FT%: .800

REB: 3

MIN: 23

*

1991-97

PTS: 10.4

FG%: .463

FT%: .639

REB: 5.2

MIN: 26.4