L.A. Hooked on the Worm

Dennis Rodman, the Wizard of Odd, was sent onto the Great Western Forum floor midway through the first quarter on Friday, and for 26 manic minutes, it really was like a tornado hitting the flatlands.

And changing everything from black-and-white to florescent crazy-color.

A few seconds into his long-awaited Laker debut, Rodman tapped a loose ball to Shaquille O’Neal, who promptly pounded down a thunder dunk.

“You knew what it was going to be like--when he came in, the roof was about to come off,” Kobe Bryant said after the game and the Rodmania moment. “We were all looking forward to it, we all were anxious and excited to play with him.”

The next time down the floor, Rodman snared an offensive rebound, and fired a quick pass to O’Neal, for an easy basket and a foul.

A few minutes later, he flicked away a pass on defense, creating a Clipper turnover.

He had O’Neal smiling, newly appointed coach Kurt Rambis beaming, the crowd roaring and begging for Rodman every time he was out, and made the final score, 99-83 over the 0-11 Clippers before 17,505, basically superfluous.

“People wanted me to come out and work my butt off and make things happen, so that’s what I did,” Rodman said. “I went out, tried to play some defense, took some charges, tried to play the way the game should be played.”

The Lakers, after all, doused the Clippers by 15 at the Arrowhead Pond only a night earlier--but with Bill Bertka as acting coach, and Travis Knight as the main power forward.

By the way, the Clippers are six losses short of the worst start in NBA history, accomplished by the Miami Heat in 1988.

“I reminded the players that these games are not an indication that everything was OK now,” Rambis said, “that we’re fine and we have no more problems.”

On Friday, everything about Carmen Electra’s controversial, kinetic, outlet-passing husband was wildly colorful, from his multicolored hair to his karate-kick rebound tries to the slam dunks for Bryant and Eddie Jones after defensive rebounds and long tosses by Rodman.

“I haven’t touched a basketball in nine months,” said Rodman, who said he was winded afterward. “People have to understand. . . . It’s really difficult to perform the way I wanted to. But give me a couple games.”

Bryant led the Lakers with a game-high 22 points, O’Neal had 19, and every Laker who dressed scored--except for Rodman.

Which is the way the Lakers like it.

“Oh my God, are you serious? A couple times I barreled in there for a rebound and he was already there, and he was looking for me for an outlet and I was at the free-throw line,” Bryant said.

“I told myself, ‘Man, if I can just get my behind down court, we can start getting some easy baskets.’ And that’s exactly what happened.”

“I’m glad to finally have him here,” O’Neal said before the game. “We’re all excited.

“I can’t wait until, when I know I’m not going to get a rebound, I just run on the wing . . . and try to rip the . . . rim off. I’ve been waiting for that for a long time.”

After Rodman’s first two stints, the Lakers had outscored the Clippers, 38-19, with him on the floor. Without him on the floor up to that point, the Lakers outscored the Clippers only 21-19.

In his three stints of action, Rodman’s official stat line was: 0 points on 0-for-2 shooting, a team-high 11 rebounds, six assists and three fouls.

Interestingly, the Lakers were outrebounded by the Clippers, 48-46, with rookie Michael Olowokandi grabbing 12 and Rodney Rogers eight.

Rambis, hired only hours earlier as Del Harris’ replacement, first sent Rodman in after a timeout at the 6:03 mark in the first quarter, with the Lakers ahead, 12-11, and the crowd expecting theatrics.

They were not disappointed, as the Lakers went on an immediate 7-0 Rodman run.

It was thug at first sight, especially from O’Neal, who before the season began stirred up the Rodman cravings by saying he “needed a thug in my life.”

Only a few months before that, Rodman and O’Neal exchanged bitter mockeries of each other, as only cartoonish NBA superstars can do. On Friday, they exchanged congratulations and fist pumps.

“Now, he’s my teammate, so it’s all been erased,” O’Neal said. “It’s not on my microfiche anymore. It was damaged. . . . I’ve deleted it from my files.”

Twice, Rodman grabbed defensive rebounds, twirled and threw perfect 70-foot outlet passes to Laker guards for easy baskets.

“He’s definitely a very special player,” point guard Derek Harper said. “Tonight, he gave us instant energy. The minute he came in positive things started happening.”

So everything with Rodman and the Lakers will be all right?

“So far,” Harper said with a grin. “Just wait, though. We’ll see.”

RODMAN

Entered game: 6:03 left in first quarter

First rebound: 1:04 later

First foul: 3:50 left in first quarter

Minutes: 26

Rebounds: 11

Assists: 6

Fouls: 3

Points: 0 (0 for 2)