Rice Will Get His Big Shot

By TIM KAWAKAMI

May 19, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Even when Glen Rice was the hottest shooter in the NBA, when the offense revolved around him and the ball almost always found the net, he never got this far.

Even when he drove the Chicago Bulls crazy in the 1998 playoffs, when he was capable of 30 or 40 points every game, Rice’s teams had always expired by the time the conference finals started.

Five times in the playoffs, five times gone by the third round.

“I’ve been talking to my wife about that a lot, saying that, you know, this is uncharted territory for me,” Rice said after Thursday’s practice. “And when I travel in uncharted territories, I like to leave my mark.”

So it is more than slightly intriguing that, 10-plus seasons into his NBA career, Rice finds himself preparing for his first conference final and still adjusting to his status as the Lakers’ third offensive option.

The important thing, Rice says, is that he is here at all. Recent shooting slump aside, he knows he will have to be aggressive and accurate against the Portland Trail Blazer defense if the Lakers hope to advance even further.

In four regular-season meetings with Portland, Rice averaged only 11.8 points and shot 33.3%, leaving a tremendous scoring burden on Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant that probably would be overtaxing in a long playoff series.

“[The Trail Blazers] try to keep the ball away from me as much as possible, and they know I like to score and in doing so they want to try to create a type of frustration there,” said Rice, who was defended mostly by former Miami Heat teammate Steve Smith in the regular season.

“I hardly ever have a guy farther than two or three inches away from me. Wherever I move, they make sure that a guy kind of lays wood on me a little bit. . . .

“I think if I can get some baskets on them when they really don’t want me to, it can kind of break them down a little bit. By me going out and scoring a little bit, it’s going to put even more of a demand on trying to lock me down, and hopefully that could create openings for both Kobe and Shaq.”

That was the formula Laker Executive Vice President Jerry West had in mind when he traded for Rice last season, believing that Rice’s explosive shooting ability would not only give the team a key option in late-game situations, but pry defenders away from O’Neal.

But, as Rice adapted to the low-post offense last season, and then to Coach Phil Jackson’s triangle offense this season, the explosion has been delayed.

Most recently, Rice has averaged 13.9 points in the playoffs and shot 38.7%. Against Phoenix, a team defensively similar to Portland, without the big bodies, Rice averaged 13.8 points and shot only 31.5%.

The Trail Blazers must be punished if they plan to continue sending multiple players at O’Neal, and much of that punishment probably will have to be inflicted by Rice--who did score 40 against Portland last May--said veteran guard Ron Harper.

“He’s overdue,” Harper said. “I know he’s overdue. He’s due for some big ballgames, so I expect big ballgames out of him.”

Starting in Saturday’s Game 1, Harper said. Starting against the team that gives the Lakers--and Rice--the most trouble.

“We need Glen to hit his shots,” Harper said. “We need him to defend this series too. Glen’s going to be big this series. . . .

“He’s a guy who can shoot the basketball. Give him shots, shots will fall.”

Jackson, noting Portland’s versatility and talent on defense, and the Trail Blazers’ potential to hamper both O’Neal and Bryant, if they choose, did not argue with the notion that Rice was the potential Laker trump card.

“Basically, I think . . . Glen’s going to have to have a big series for us to win,” Jackson said, noting that backup forward Rick Fox’s reemergence late in the Phoenix series could get Rice back in rhythm by giving him more structured rest time.

Said O’Neal, “I think if they’re going to continue to double- and triple-[team the inside] like they’ve been doing, then Glen’s going to get hot. And he has to get hot. . . .

“It’s our job to get him in his comfort zone and get him the ball. Last series, [with Phoenix outmanned in the middle], it was just, ‘Get it in to me, get it in to me. . . . ‘

“This team we’re playing now is different. . . . Maybe this series, he’ll get a couple open looks.”

In his two seasons with the Lakers, Rice has registered the two lowest shooting percentages of his career--43.2% last season and 43% this season--and watched his scoring average drop from a high with Charlotte in 1996-97 of 26.8 to this season’s 15.9, his lowest since his rookie year, and not too well-timed, given his impending free-agent status.

He is shooting far less than in his Heat and Hornet heyday, averaging 12.3 shots this season--and 11.1 shots so far in the playoffs--compared to the 19.2 shots he averaged three seasons ago.

“Of course, Kobe and myself are taking the bulk of the shots, and Glen will get the remainder of the shots,” O’Neal said.

“But whenever we need a basket, most of the times, we’re going to go to Glen, especially a three-point play.”

Rice said he does not deny being frustrated at times, trying to find the right spots in the triangle offense and deferring to O’Neal and Bryant, but he said being so deep in the playoffs is his reward.

“When I was in Charlotte, I had the ball in my hand pretty much 90% of the time,” Rice said. “And when I get here, it’s pretty much, well, I’d say 35% of the time.

“It’s something you have to get adjusted to and right now I’m adjusted to it and trying to do whatever I can to help this team win a championship. . . .

“You’ve got to make sacrifices. Somebody had to do it. I felt comfortable doing it. I feel that in the long run, we’re all going to be winners.

“I mean, I’m not arguing about that at all. My chance here of getting a ring is at an all-time high, and I’m not going to spoil it.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Rice vs. Portland

Rice’s statistical averages this season versus Portland and against all other teams:

Points

Four games vs. Portland: 11.8

76 games vs. all other games: 16.1

Field Goal %

Four games vs. Portland: .333

76 games vs. all other games: .435

Rebounds