They Worry About the Law of Averages

A glance at the stat sheet after Wednesday night’s game should have produced sighs of relief and smiles of satisfaction around the Laker locker room.

Reggie Miller, the key weapon in the Indiana Pacer arsenal, was one for 16 from the field.

So why those looks of dread, those pronouncements of possible danger ahead?

“You hate it when a guy of his nature misses that many shots,” Laker forward Robert Horry said, “because you know he is going to come back strong the next game.”

Said Rick Fox: “If he goes one for 16, he just may hit the next 16 shots. That is scary. . . . He had an off game. And that’s not characteristic of Reggie, so don’t expect us to have this conversation after the next game.”

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There is talk of a new Laker dynasty, of a return to the glory years of the 1980s, of a new Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson in Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.

But all such talk is premature according A.C. Green, who played for the Lakers in the second half of the ‘80s.

“You want to compare a whole decade of great teams to one season?” he said. “That’s unfair. There is no comparison.

“This is a new team, a new time and we are just trying to get to that level. It may sound funny, but we are still trying to get used to each other.”

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With O’Neal taking over offensively, putting up 31 shots and making 21, and finishing with 43 points and 19 rebounds, Kobe Bryant wound up with 14 points and three rebounds.

And he couldn’t have been happier.

“It’s great to roll with the punches,” Bryant said. “I told [O’Neal], ‘Thanks for the night off, Chief. Go get some rest.’ ”

--STEVE SPRINGER

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It was the pairing during the two regular-season games, so Derek Fisher is ready for as many as seven games of it: He goes in when Travis Best goes in, he comes out when Best comes out.

The matchup of reserve point guards could be one of the keys of the series, especially considering the way Best just went through the New York Knicks, averaging 10 points in 21.2 minutes in the Eastern Conference finals and getting 24 in Game 5. Fisher got a chance to play after logging only five and nine minutes the last two games against Portland.

There was no decided advantage in Game 1, with both playing 19 minutes. Best scored four points, making two of seven shots. Fisher scored five points.

“That’s been the pattern in the regular-season games,” Fisher said before the game. “I would definitely like that to continue. Not only for matching up with him, but just getting the chance to get out there and compete. I think it really depends on how he’s playing and how I’m playing. If I can be effective defensively against him, I think Phil [Jackson] will stick with that. But if he tries it and it doesn’t work, he might try something else.

“For two days I’ve been telling myself that. If I don’t score a point in this entire finals, I’ll still probably have done my job, and that’s to defensively try and contain him. He’s a scorer, so there will still be games where he gets his points. But in terms of him consistently hurting our basketball team, if I can kind of contribute in slowing that down then I’ll feel like I’ve been successful.”

His plan against Best?

“Wear a coat,” Fisher said. “He’s so fast, he’ll give you a cold quickly. There’s not any one thing in particular you can take away from a guy like him because of his speed. You’re really just trying to stay in front of him and harass him the best way you can.”

IN QUOTES

“Indiana tried to single-cover Shaq. I’d be surprised if they don’t play the next game differently.”

DEREK FISHER

Laker guard

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“Shaq had a hell of a game, but he can’t do it by himself. Until you stop him, we’re going to keep going to Shaq.”

RON HARPER

Laker guard

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“I didn’t shut him down. He missed some shots. The main thing I was trying to do is have a hand in his face. He’s a guy who will get his shots, his shots didn’t fall.”

HARPER

on guarding Reggie Miller