Rodman Will Stay on Bench for Time Being
New Laker Coach Kurt Rambis said Sunday that, for now, he is no rush to get Dennis Rodman into the starting lineup.
Rodman has come off the bench, with Travis Knight remaining the starting power forward, in both of his games as a Laker. On Sunday, Rodman came in with 6:05 left in the first quarter, after Knight picked up his second foul.
“Unless something happens to change my thought process, I plan on bringing him off the bench,” Rambis said. “I had a small talk with him after practice [on Saturday], and he said that it’s up to me if it happens.
“I like what he brings off the bench. I think it’s important for teams to have spark coming off the bench, and he brings that spark to the crowd and that excitement that only ‘the Worm’ can bring to a game.”
Meanwhile, Rambis said he still is looking into the reason why Rodman was late for his first Laker practice Saturday, and hasn’t decided whether to fine the flamboyant forward.
But Rambis decried the attention being paid to the tardiness.
“You guys are making an unbelievably big deal out of stuff that I don’t find to be a big deal,” Rambis said. “It’s just something that we knew we were going to have to deal with. . . .
“But I’m not going to flip out every time something like this happens. . . . When you guys are late for work, does everybody send out memos?”
Michael Jordan, meanwhile, chimed in about his former teammate’s marriage to Carmen Electra during the game: “D. Rod, thought you said you weren’t getting married.”
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Backup center and power forward Elden Campbell stayed home Sunday with a case of flu, and did not fly to Phoenix after the game with his teammates. The team said that if Campbell feels better this morning, he will join the team for tonight’s game against the Suns.
Tonight
at Phoenix
5 PST, Channel 9, TBS
* Site--America West Arena.
* Radio--KLAC (570 AM).
* 1999 Records--Lakers 9-6; Suns 8-5.
* 1997-98 Record vs. Suns--2-2.
* Update--This is the Lakers’ second game in a crucial five-game stretch, all against Western Conference rivals. It’s the Lakers’ first match-up against Phoenix power forward Tom Gugliotta, their object of desire this off-season.