Streaks Mean a Lot to Jackson

By TIM KAWAKAMI

March 4, 2000 12 AM PT

What’s the significance of the Lakers’ two long winning streaks this season?

The most recent team to have two winning streaks of 13 games or longer in a season was the 1996-97 Utah Jazz, which had two 15-game winning streaks, finished the regular season with 64 victories and lost to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA finals.

“The only way to get it done in this league is to have winning streaks,” Laker Coach Phil Jackson said before Friday’s game against Indiana.

“If you can string two together or three together in the course of the season and have double-digit winning streaks, you’re on the way. . . .

“You’ve got to be able to do that. You make your three-game winning streaks six-game winning streaks, etc.”

Jackson’s 1995-96 Chicago Bulls won 18 in a row, on their way to an NBA-record 72 victories and the NBA title.

Being able to put together long winning streaks is a way to measure a team’s readiness for the grind of the postseason, Jackson said.

“It says a lot about a team, because it means they can play consistently, and for whatever reason, they can put together a string,” Jackson said.

With Ron Harper having a tough time offensively in the last month or so, Jackson said he is using Brian Shaw more to help keep Harper’s minutes down and his legs fresh.

Shaw has averaged 17.8 minutes in the Lakers’ last 10 games.

“That’s why I’m playing Brian the amount of minutes I’m playing him now, because Harper is struggling a little bit,” Jackson said.

“[Harper]’s playing well enough to do things for us . . . in a [nine- to 12-minute] starter stretch. But to come back off the bench and regenerate that energy after he’s been sitting for a while has been difficult.

“Although I brought him back in that Portland game [Tuesday] at the end. I needed him at the end.”

Jackson was clearly not overjoyed by a recent league memo indicating that NBA coaches might not have a choice whether to wear live microphones on nationally televised games.

“Definitely, I’ll have a problem wearing a microphone in a competitive game,” said Jackson, who said TNT had not asked him to wear a mike for Friday’s game.

“I’m going to withhold any statements on that until it gets to be more defined, and then say what I think has to be said about it. . . .

“It changes how you can coach. It just changes how you do your job when you’re wearing a microphone. I think that’s pretty obvious.”

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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

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Fri. Season 31 Points 27.8 15 Rebounds 14.2 3 Assists 3.8

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BRYANT

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Fri. Season 22 Points 22.3 5 Rebounds 5.9 7 Assists 4.5