Lakers Win Big one, May Lose Bigger One

By SCOTT HOWARD-COOPER

Feb. 26, 1998 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

INDIANAPOLIS —

Nick Van Exel opted against going to Houston for a second opinion on his problematic right knee and instead decided Wednesday to go ahead with arthroscopic surgery, an operation scheduled for today that places the rest of his season in considerable doubt.

Exactly how much doubt will not be known until after the procedure by team physician Dr. Steve Lombardo. The Lakers have avoided speculating on possible timetables for a return depending on the severity of the injury, but this kind of surgery in its most minor form, simply to look at the joint and determine the cause of the persistent soreness and clicking, normally sidelines a player for two weeks. If it becomes a more involved operation--with any work to the bone, ligaments or tendons--it becomes a longer recovery, beyond weeks and into months.

The implications are numerous, for the player and the team:

*The Lakers lose an all-star and are left with only one true point guard, Derek Fisher, who at least gets a running start for his increased role with starts in the last five games and eight in all this season.

*Van Exel may face the prospect of playing the rest of his career with two bad knees, having been consistently hampered since the end of 1996-97 with soreness in the left leg. Surgery can do nothing to help that problem.

*Kobe Bryant gets more minutes at backup point guard, which he loves, but which also gives him the potentially difficult task of being a 19-year-old playing three positions. He gets at least a slight break in that his minutes have recently been trimmed at small forward as Robert Horry plays there more.

*The news comes with the Lakers on a season-long six-game trip, and with them knowing that doesn’t even look like the worst of the short-term schedule. They get greeted by Indiana, San Antonio, Detroit and Portland in the first four outings back at the Great Western Forum, followed by contests against the Clippers and Vancouver, and then a huge three-game set: at Seattle and home against Phoenix and Seattle.

Van Exel is averaging 14.8 points and 7.7 assists and leading the league in assist-to-turnover ratio. He’s shooting only 40.9% overall, but 40.4% on three-pointers, No. 17 in the league heading into Wednesday.

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Life Without Nick

A look at key Laker statistics with and without point guard Nick Van Exel: WITH VAN EXEL

Record: 32-14 (.696)

Points per game: 105.4

Points allowed per game: 99.3

Field goal %: .473

Assists per game: 24.6

Rick Fox points per game: 11.4

WITHOUT VAN EXEL

Record: 6-2 (.750)

Points per game: 110.9