Harris Soliciting Board Members

Laker Coach Del Harris is looking for more rebounds, and not necessarily from the rebounders.

“We haven’t rebounded at all,” he said after working the Lakers on just that aspect of the game Friday at Los Angeles Southwest College. “People talk about Robert Horry’s rebounding, but we’ve got to get more from the guards and small forwards.”

He pulled a chart from his pocket and went through a rebounding litany.

“Look at the last five games,” he said. “Robert has a rebound every 3.3 minutes, Elden [Campbell] one every 3.1 minutes and Shaq [O’Neal] one every 3.2 minutes. Those numbers put us in the top 15 among power forwards, the top three in centers. Yet we’ve been outrebounded by 22 rebounds.”

The why quickly followed:

“Eddie [Jones], eight rebounds; Rick [Fox] 22 rebounds, [Kobe] Bryant, nine rebounds.”

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Also getting attention has been O’Neal’s defense.

He acknowledges “my reactions are still a little slow” since returning to the lineup after a hiatus because of an abdominal injury.

That shows up most on defense.

“I can’t be very critical of a guy giving us 30 points and 12 rebounds a game,” Harris said. “That’s how much I respect him.

“But he can be a defensive force when he is top condition.”

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O’Neal and Nick Van Exel returned to practice Friday after days off to rest injuries. Both will play tonight. . . . O’Neal has scored 30 or more points in four consecutive games, the first time that’s happened for the Lakers since Magic Johnson did it in 1986. The last Laker to do it five games in a row was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from Feb. 25-March 4, 1982. . . . The NBA announced they found nothing improper regarding the assist totals in the Laker-Cliiper game of Jan. 8.

TONIGHT

vs. Miami

* 7:30 PST

* Fox Sports

West

Site--Great Western Forum.

Radio--KLAC (570), KWNK (1330).

Records--Lakers 28-9, Heat 24-12.

Record vs Heat--0-1.

Update--The Heat ended the Lakers’ season-opening winning streak at 11 games with a 103-86 victory Nov. 26 in Miami, but there’s no revenge factor. For one thing, players don’t think that way. For another, neither Miami’s Alonzo Mourning nor O’Neal played. They will be there tonight, and history says O’Neal is the player to watch. He is 8-3 in matchups with Mourning, and the domination is complete: scoring, 32.8 points per game to Mourning’s 23.4; rebounds, 13.3 to Mourning’s 9.8; blocks, three to Mourning’s 2.5; assists, three to Mourning’s 1.1; and shooting, 58% to Mourning’s 45%.