They're Snooping Around Winners

They’re Snooping Around Winners

By TIM KAWAKAMI

April 1, 2000 12 AM PT

The Lakers’ audience, at home and on the road, has always been dotted with celebrities, but lately, even in as remote an outpost as Vancouver, the star wattage has increased dramatically.

Commissioner David Stern has been to at least three Laker games in the last month, and several other movie and music figures have been spotted at every road venue.

“I think people enjoy watching winning teams,” said Kobe Bryant, who met rap star Snoop Doggy Dogg--who has been dressed in full Laker regalia at a handful of road games this season--for the first time at courtside during the Lakers’ victory in Vancouver on Wednesday.

“It’s a nice little show.”

Bryant said he finished a play and stumbled off-court, and happened to end up right next to Snoop.

“I stumbled a little bit, I tried to play it off,” Bryant said of his hands-out greeting.

After the game, the rapper came into the Laker locker room and gave Bryant a warmup and said they’d meet up in the studio sometime soon.

“He was tall,” Bryant said. “He can play [small forward]. He was almost as tall as I was.”

Coach Phil Jackson is using backup center Travis Knight in increased minutes not only to give Shaquille O’Neal more rest, but in tandem with O’Neal at times as a potential tryout for postseason matchups with the Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs.

“It’s all right,” Jackson said of the results so far. “[Knight] hustled with the boards, did the things he does, blocked a shot.”

But Jackson acknowledged that Knight is still picking up fouls at an alarming rate.

“Everybody wants to talk to Travis about his foul problem,” Jackson said. “I’m about the last one that goes over and talks to him.

“But when I do speak to him, we talk about being consistent, playing the level the game is played at and then play at that level. He tries to step it up once in a while, try and be physical, so he doesn’t get overrun in there, then he gets himself in trouble.”

The Ron Harper injured-list watch continued--he wore a large icepack on his right knee before the game--but all signs are that the veteran guard probably will be sidelined before the team’s back-to-back games at Phoenix and Golden State on Tuesday and Wednesday.

If he goes on the list for Tuesday’s game, Harper would be eligible to be activated for the last home game of the season, April 16 against Minnesota, and the last trip, games at Dallas and San Antonio.

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Triple Plays / The Big 3

Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Glen Rice have been the driving force behind the Lakers’ success. How they fared:

O’NEAL

*--*

Fri. Season 37 Points 29.1 14 Rebounds 13.7 5 Assists 3.8

*--*

BRYANT

*--*

Fri. Season 10 Points 22.4 9 Rebounds 6.2 5 Assists 4.7

*--*

RICE