Rambis Ready for Practice Time

Gradually and, due to the lack of practice time this season, more slowly than usual, Glen Rice and the Lakers are learning how to play together, says Coach Kurt Rambis.

“We still do things wrong,” Rambis said before Rice scored 24 points Monday. “We still haven’t had enough practice time to really nail things down and get it perfectly straight.

“But he’s getting in better and better shape. There’s less and less times in games that I see that he’s dragging. He’s shooting it with less effort, the way he always used to shoot the basketball. . . . We run things for him, but we still don’t have the timing down the way I would like it to be.”

Beginning today, the Lakers have their longest break yet between games--they won’t play until Friday at Phoenix--and Rambis is looking forward to two solid practices.

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Derek Fisher, who took an elbow from Patrick Ewing to his right cheek Sunday, still sported a welt Monday and was not in a chatty mood.

Was he having headaches? “A lot of them,” Fisher said.

Rambis said he expected Fisher to be fine.

“I assume he’s OK,” Rambis said. “We don’t call him ‘Rock’ for nothing. Hard head. He’ll be OK.”