Something in Reserve

By TIM KAWAKAMI

April 18, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Eye contact. A spin to the basket. A lob. Then . . . Boom!

It’s Brian Shaw’s pass setting up Shaquille O’Neal’s slam-dunk--”the Shaw-Shaq redemption,” they cleverly call it, carried over from their days in Orlando and carried out semi-nightly with exquisite timing, supplying more seismic thump than anything else the Lakers do.

It’s only one play. But it’s also one of the best ways to illustrate how this team has become not only the winningest, but most compatible and clear-headed of any recent Laker team.

It’s Shaw, 34, a well-traveled veteran role player picked up on the eve of the regular season, teaming up with the most dominant player in the world for a second or two of anticipation, followed by thunder.

“We get eye contact,” Shaw said, “and then we go do it.”

Said Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak, “They do seem to enjoy playing with each other. A basket is a basket, but sometimes the spectacular plays are very important.”

O’Neal’s part of the Laker success story, you’ve probably already figured out.

But that Shaw, who played in only one game last season and has been on seven NBA teams--he also had a season in Italy--in his 11-year pro career, can have the impact off the bench that he has illustrates how Coach Phil Jackson and his infusion of veterans have turned last season’s young and callow team into a worldly collection of thinking ballplayers.

When the wires connect--Shaw to O’Neal--the Lakers are nearly indestructible. The age movement sometimes seems random--Signing John Salley after he’d been out of the league for three years? Starting 36-year-old Ron Harper?--but it has worked, almost every night.

“I think Brian’s been excellent for us,” guard Derek Fisher said. “Early in the season when he wasn’t playing, he still had a great attitude, didn’t complain about playing time, was just happy for everybody else, and provided that veteran leadership we’ve always missed.

“And once he got his chance, he was ready to go in there and play. He’s knocking shots down for us, doing a good job on the defensive end against some of the bigger guards. He has great experience; going into the playoffs. A lot of times experience is the key.

“And if you’ve noticed, Phil really likes to go with Brian or Harp down the stretch alongside of Kobe. I think that points to Brian’s experience, knowing that he’ll kind of be able to remain composed and poised out there on the floor.”

Shaw, who tore a kneecap tendon during the 1998-99 lockout, pondered retirement during last season’s struggles. He was on Portland’s roster when the season closed and was traded to Houston as part of the Scottie Pippen deal, then was immediately released by the Rockets.

With the vocal support of O’Neal, who teamed with Shaw in Orlando for two seasons, including the trip to the finals in 1995, Shaw signed with the Lakers in October to fill in while Bryant recovered from a broken hand.

It worked well for Shaw, since he was close to his home in Oakland, though he was given only a make-do contract, which has since been fully guaranteed.

Even after Bryant returned, Shaw won a spot in the team’s main rotation with his feel for O’Neal’s game, some hot outside shooting--he once held the NBA record after making 10 three-pointers in 15 shots in 1993--and his serene demeanor in the locker room and on the court.

Here’s a telling statistic: In the last nine games in which Shaw has made at least one three-pointer, the Lakers are undefeated.

So, with the three other 30-something veterans added to the roster--Harper, Salley and A.C. Green, who have eight championship rings among them--suddenly the Lakers had leaders to calm any uncertain situation and play a little clutch basketball when needed.

That Shaw, Harper and Salley were far from guaranteed to even be in the league this season only makes the journey richer, Shaw said.

“Harp probably would’ve been out on the golf course,” Shaw said with a smile. “John would’ve been doing who knows what--doing a television show. And I would’ve been out on the water, fishing.

“But we’re not. We’re here, we’re still playing and there’s a lot of teams that after [Wednesday], they’ll be going home and we’re going to be still be out there trying to get to the next level.”

The way Jackson has built this Laker team, O’Neal, Bryant and Rice do most of the scoring and get most of the credit or blame, and the nine other players take turns filling in the gaps.

There has been no yammering for extra playing time among the role players, no complaints about not getting enough shots or having to match up with a devastating offensive opponent.

“We know we have the best players in the league in front of us,” Fisher said. “As long as we come off ready to play hard and ready to bring some effort, I think we’ll be great.”

Shaw has had his moments, most memorably a clutch nine-point, seven-rebound performance in the Feb. 29 touchstone victory at Portland. Rick Fox has turned in several explosive games. Robert Horry is one of the team’s most important players, coming off the bench at power forward, and Fisher, as he has throughout his Laker career, provides energy and defensive fortitude.

But there is nobody on the bench averaging close to double digits in scoring or rebounding. The key Laker role players, more than anything, are vocal and visual role models.

In the locker room, Shaw, Harper and Salley tease the younger players, joke with each other and generally keep things loose and low-key. On the sideline, the gregarious Salley keeps a running dialogue with anybody who will listen, and Harper and Shaw are almost always gesturing to the younger players.

“Shaq is a young veteran--most of the guys on the team were young last year,” Shaw said. “Now, because the core of this team has some experience, somebody like Kobe has to listen. So if Salley’s telling him something and I’m telling him the same thing and A.C. and Harp. . . .

“Then he has to, at some point, look and say, ‘You know, between these guys, they have over 50 years experience in the league.’

“And I played against Kobe’s dad in Italy, you know? I think it helps. I think it’s something that Phil realized when he went out and signed the guys he signed.

“So it’s a symbiotic relationship. [Jackson] benefits, because there’s only so much he can do on the bench as a coach. And we have an understanding, so we’re helping him along in that aspect of communicating to some of the younger guys.”

Said Jackson, who had Toni Kukoc, Brian Williams and Steve Kerr as offensive threats off the bench during his last Chicago championship runs, “I’m really pleased with the things our bench can do. . . .

“Time and time again, we’ll need 10, 12 points out of Robert or Rick or Brian Shaw or whatever, and they’ll find a way to do it in a big game for us.

“You know, you’d like to have someone off your bench scoring double figures--it’s always great to have some players that can come off the bench and do that. [But] even though they haven’t been a very high-scoring bench, they’ve filled good roles in critical situations.”

Sometime in February, the Laker players say, they began to realize that Jackson was slotting everybody but O’Neal, Bryant and Rice into very specific, very efficient roles.

Harper is the calming force on offense; the 6-foot-6 Shaw goes in to speed things up, get O’Neal revved, and to defend against bigger guards; Fisher, 6-1, matches against the smaller, quicker guards; Fox handles the toughest mid-size scorers; Travis Knight goes in to make some jump shots and hit the offensive glass; Salley bangs with the big post players. . . .

“He’s quietly turned everybody into a specialist, you know?” Fisher said of Jackson. “Going into these playoffs, I think everybody feels that ‘I have a role.’

“I think all 12 guys that have a jersey on feel like, at any given moment they can go out there and help us win. The coaching staff was good at that in Chicago, and they’ve been good at it this year.”

When Shaw was drafted out of UC Santa Barbara by the Boston Celtics, he played alongside Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Danny Ainge, all of whom went on to be either coaches or NBA executives.

Now, he sees a future in coaching for himself, especially after volunteering at a junior college near his home in Oakland last season while he was hurt.

“I think this year, playing for Phil, and for the first time playing in the triangle system, and having Tex [Winter] and Phil and Bill Bertka around with so much experience, I’m trying to pick up as much as I can,” Shaw said.

“Because I know that my days are numbered. I have to start thinking along those lines, if coaching is something I want to get into eventually. . . . I’m just going to ride the ride as long as I can and just keep giving my all.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

BENCH MARKS

Season averages for key members of the Laker bench (totals reflect average only when coming off the bench, with highest game total in parentheses):

DEREK FISHER

*--*

Min. 19.2 (36) Pts. 5.9 (14) Ast. 2.4 (6) FG% .361 FT% .721

*--*

RICK FOX

*--*

Min. 17.7 (37) Pts. 6.4 (20) Reb. 2.4 (8) FG% .421 FT% .800

*--*

ROBERT HORRY