Van Exel Makes His Point

It’s not such great news that Kobe Bryant, with his 200 pounds of body weight and tons of potential, has become the Lakers’ backup point guard when you’re the starting point guard.

But if there’s a target being painted on Nick Van Exel, he hasn’t noticed it, at least not yet.

The bigger worry for him Monday was his own play, a concern that stemmed from making only six of 26 shots in the previous two games and 15 of 54 in the previous four. He eased his mind when he made eight of 13 shots, including five of seven three-pointers, and scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Lakers to a 109-99 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the Martin Luther King Day matinee before 16,959 at the Forum.

“I was real depressed,” Van Exel said. “Yesterday at practice, I didn’t say two words. The last two games, I felt I had played bad. I just wanted to go out and have a good game. . . . I was real upset with myself. I felt I had let my teammates down.”

Van Exel recovered on the same day Bryant had a setback, playing 10 of his 13 minutes as the primary ballhandler and finishing with six points on three-of-seven shooting and an assist, but committing five turnovers.

But Coach Del Harris was quick to note afterward, “Kobe is going to go through ups and downs and he’s still going to be right back in there the next game.”

So there apparently will be no deviation from the plan, one that developed, coincidence or not, when Van Exel was slumping. For Bryant, that was the sound of support.

For Van Exel?

Footsteps?

“In the future,” he said. “But right now, this season, I’m not worried about it.

“I’m sure I will [hear them] in the future. But right now, I’m not really concerned about it. I’ve been hearing footsteps ever since I got here.”

Except those were made by a veteran who preferred coming off the bench, Sedale Threatt; a player versatile enough to handle the ball at 6 feet 6 but not quite versatile enough to play point guard, Doug Christie; a second-round pick who came and went, Frankie King, and even a first-rounder with promise, Derek Fisher.

Bryant has plenty to prove about being a true point guard able to distribute the ball or make decisions on the fast break, but that’s nothing compared to the support he has in management.

Owner Jerry Buss told Harris about five weeks ago he would like to see Bryant play more, something that was more of an encouragement than an order because Buss is not a back-seat coach, which Harris then proved by keeping Bryant close to the bench for several more games.

About that same time, Bryant’s agent, Arn Tellem, was lobbying several members of the front office to at least get his client in the rotation, convinced that Bryant could take care of the rest.

Bryant has been playing regularly for a little more than two weeks, save last Thursday’s game against Portland. Forty-eight hours later, though, he was getting big minutes at the point while still playing some at shooting guard.

Monday, he also played both, helping with an offensive attack that included 21 points from Eddie Jones but a season-low 14 from Shaquille O’Neal as he battled a bad stomach.

But if the sudden elevation of Bryant may eventually become a threat to Van Exel, it’s already a real problem for Fisher. The first 39 games, he played in each, averaged 12 minutes, and sometimes ran the offense in the fourth quarter. Now, he hasn’t gotten off the bench in two games.

Some week. First Fisher was passed over for the rookie All-Star game, then he got passed by Bryant on the depth chart.

“I just thought we were going to have [Bryant] doing it in practice, in case somebody got hurt or something like that,” Fisher said. “But coach told me he wanted to go with this. I’m not in a position to call the shots, so I just have to do what I’m told.”

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A Season of Expectations

The Lakers acquired nine new players before this season, including Shaquille O’Neal and his $120-million contract. In turn, with big acquisitions come big expectations. Throughout the season, The Times will monitor O’Neal’s numbers along with how the team compares to some of the best Laker teams in history.

GAME 41 OF 82

* Record 29-12

* Standing 2nd place

Pacific Division

1996-97 LAKERS VS. THE BEST LAKER TEAMS

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Year Gm. 40 Overall 1987-88 33-8 62-20 1986-87 32-9 65-17 1984-85 27-14 62-20 1979-80 28-13 60-22 1971-72 38-3 69-13

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Note: The five teams above all won NBA championships

THE SHAQ SCOREBOARD

Basketball Numbers

* Monday’s Game:

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Min FG FT Reb Blk Pts 33 6-15 2-6 13 1 14

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* 1996-97 Season Averages:

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Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 39.6 .560 .476 13.2 3.0 26.1

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* 1995-96 Season Averages:

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Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 36.0 .573 .487 11.0 2.1 26.6

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Money Numbers

* Monday’s Salary $130,658.53

* Season Totals $5,356,999.73

* FACTOID: Kurt Rambis moved into the starting lineup for the first time in game 41 of the 1984-85 season and the Lakers ended a three-game losing streak with a 110-92 victory over Dallas. Jamaal Wilkes also received considerable playing time after a long exile at the end of Coach Pat Riley’s bench, prompting this reaction: “If he’s [Riley’s] serious about winning, he’s got to start acting like it more.”