Seattle Lowers Boom, 113-108

Rules, we need rules.

If the young Lakers are going to win the big game at home, which they did not Friday in a 113-108 overtime loss to the Seattle SuperSonics, the Great Western Forum folks are going to have to abide by some rules.

Rule No. 1: When Shaquille O’Neal is shooting free throws with the game on the line, shut up. Everyone, just shut up.

He can barely make them in the quiet of practice. He can barely make them in the quiet of the Sports Arena. He probably could barely make them even if you let him use a golf cart.

There is no way he is making them if, when the ball leaves his hands, the public-address announcer is still announcing and fans are still screaming.

This is what happened Friday with 18.7 seconds left in regulation and both Shaq and a Western Conference brawl on the line.

O’Neal had just made a wondrous fall-away jumper while being fouled. He had just scored 40 points in three quarters. He was so big, he was the men.

All he needed to give the Lakers the lead was a little 15-footer with nobody guarding him. But the ball bounced off the back of the rim, and the game caromed into overtime, and then into the Lakers’ second loss to the SuperSonics in two games this year.

And later everyone was left wondering:

Is this what is going to happen in the playoffs?

Is this going to be the Lakers’ fate when they try to move past Seattle into their preseason destiny of the NBA championship?

After Friday’s game, the only thing one could say is, probably.

The Lakers illustrated what everyone feared, that they are not steady enough to do the little things it takes to beat the most cohesive team in the league.

They need every bit of help available.

Now you see why we need rules?

Rule No. 2: Do not chant “Dee-fense, dee-fense.”

Every time you do, it reminds both teams that it is a big play, and the Lakers still don’t consistently play good defense on big plays.

“Dee-fense, dee-fense” during the overtime was a reminder for Vin Baker to take Robert Horry or Rick Fox to the basket and point.

“Dee-fense, dee-fense” during regulation was a reminder for Gary Payton to taunt Kobe Bryant with a dribbling exhibition before throwing in a basket.

With 8:10 remaining in regulation and the Lakers seemingly on the verge of eclipsing a four-point lead, the results were even worse.

“Dee-fense, dee-fense” chanted the crowd as the shot clock reached two seconds . . . and then Bryant pushed Payton, and Del Harris fell to his knees and shouted at the officials.

One regular foul, one technical foul, and whole bunch of momentum later--the whole thing took less than a minute, including Sam Perkins’ three-pointer--the SuperSonics led by eight.

It took the Lakers the rest of the game to catch up.

Which brings us to the third and final rule:

Do not be so thrilled that the Lakers have such a young and exciting team.

The SuperSonics proved again Friday that old and reliable beats young and exciting most every night.

Especially those nights in May.

“They have young, exciting players,” Hersey Hawkins said before the game. “We just have a bunch of old guys.”

But he was smiling.

This is the difference that will make the difference.

The Lakers are young and sometimes lost.

The SuperSonics are old and know exactly where they are going.

The 12 Lakers in uniform Friday averaged four years in experience.

The 12 SuperSonics averaged seven years.

The veteran Laker off the bench is, uh . . . Elden Campbell?

The veteran SuperSonics off the bench were Dale Ellis and Perkins.

This is like comparing vinegar to fine wine.

“When things get tough, you need veterans to lean on,” Nick Van Exel acknowledged before the game. “On a team like this . . . we all have to pitch in.”

Van Exel is growing a beard, which is a nice try. He made some big passes at the end of regulation, another good thing.

But the truth is, when it comes to giving this team some maturity and perspective, there may not be enough Lakers to pitch in.

The truth might be that the Lakers may need another playoff beating before they get it right.

The SuperSonics are ready to get it right, right now.

“When you’re young, you don’t understand the preciousness of being on a team that has a chance to win a championship,” Hawkins said. “We know, these things don’t happen all the time.”

He added, “There isn’t a team out there that scares us. There’s not a style out there that we can’t play.”

Perkins put this this way:

“You look at a young team, when they need a game they have to win, they don’t know how to do it,” he said. “A team with veterans, they show the younger people how to do it.”

The SuperSonics have them. The Lakers don’t. All the rules in the world aren’t going to change that.