Ready or Not, Rider’s Still Here

The day after Isaiah Rider was benched and then predicted the Lakers would come calling when the hard times came, the Lakers shrugged and moved uneasily away from the latest Rider episode, and presumably closer to the next.

Rider attended a team film session Thursday morning, then watched videotapes he’d requested of Michael Jordan in the triangle offense until mid-afternoon.

The second high-profile incident involving Rider passed much as the first had, after the player had arrived an hour late for a Nov. 28 game at Staples Center. That is, Coach Phil Jackson and General Manager Mitch Kupchak said Rider was still OK by them.

Rider initiated a meeting with Kupchak. The two spoke informally and also watched some videotape together.

“We’re a good team without him,” Kupchak said. “We’ve proven that. But, we can be better with him.”

According to witnesses, Rider did not play against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night in part because he was arranging tickets for friends and relatives while the coaching staff reviewed the game plan for the rest of the team. Apparently, Rider, who is from Oakland, was in the room and, Jackson believed, merely not paying attention.

He also was about 15 minutes late, though Jackson insisted the tardiness had not factored into the punishment.

“The bottom line with that is, I was totally ready to play,” Rider said. “I was home. But I didn’t [play]. My people still enjoyed the game. They wanted to see me play, but they enjoyed the game. That’s that. Tomorrow’s a brand new day.”

After Wednesday’s game, a 125-122 overtime loss, Jackson, as he often does, circled the locker room, offering a word to each player. Rider forced a smile when Jackson approached and said, “This was my home,” meaning he had hoped for a larger role. Little-used Mark Madsen, who is also from the Bay Area, played a season-high 12 minutes.

“I think it was good for me to smile, to make it appear like it didn’t bother me, although it did,” Rider said. “It was a good response. He respected that. With Phil, it’s a chess game sometimes. If you respond well, then you get a good response the next day. So, hopefully, I get a good response the next time.”

Jackson would only say that Rider remained part of the plan.

“There’s some responsibility I’m looking for him to share and show,” Jackson said. “He hasn’t shown that yet. We’re in the process.”

Jackson guessed that Rider regretted his postgame words--”Whenever he wants to win, he’ll play me.”

“I’m not going to hold those things against him,” Jackson said. “There’s obviously frustration.”

Kobe Bryant said it was difficult to tell what Rider’s emotions were.

“J.R.’s a quiet guy,” he said. “When he gets into one of his moods, he’s not very outgoing.”

But, he added, he still assumed the relationship between Jackson and Rider would end well.

“I don’t think Phil’s the type who’ll give up on somebody,” Bryant said. “He sees it as a challenge.”

As Bryant spoke, six players scrimmaged at one basket and two shot jumpers at others. Rider, Jackson said, was “doing some recovery work on his own.”

Asked to explain, he said, “He’s getting the rest of his game--his game head--together.”

Thus, the tapes of Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in their prime.

“I don’t want any more excuses as far as I don’t know the offense,” Rider said. “Period. I want to play.”