Lakers Have a Little Problem

PORTLAND, Ore. — Given a foe they might presume to be worthy of their full attention, given the Portland Trail Blazers on the basketball court and their own short-term reputation at stake, the Lakers were just not good enough again.

Better. Just not good enough.

The Trail Blazers, who have their own problems, won, 96-86, Wednesday night at the Rose Garden, and the Lakers, defending NBA champions, have lost four of five games. They stand in fourth place in the Pacific Division with a 15-9 record.

Shaquille O’Neal was seven for 21 from the field, misfiring enough to unbalance a Laker offense that leads the league in scoring. Back in the offense and sturdy on defense, Kobe Bryant scored 35 points.

While the game between last season’s Western Conference finalists was played at the Lakers’ pace, the Trail Blazers broke free in the fourth quarter, when they scored 32 points. Finally, the confetti Portland believed would fall six months ago floated in the air, as their Trail Blazers trotted off the court to a standing ovation.

Rasheed Wallace scored 25 points. Damon Stoudamire scored 21, all in the second half.

“Nothing concerns me at this point,” O’Neal said. “There are a lot of games left. I don’t think you can figure out what’s going to happen long term when you’re dealing on a short-term basis.”

The Lakers had won four of five games in their arena, including two victories in the conference finals. Perhaps soothed by the frantic crowd and calmed by the fact they can win here, the Lakers composed themselves and played into a position to win again.

“The Blazers played well, but they still can’t beat us,” O’Neal said. “We know that. They know that.”

The Trail Blazers surged mid-way through the third quarter. Arvydas Sabonis stood at the arc, drawing O’Neal to the top of the key. From a 47-46 deficit, the Trail Blazers had a 9-2 run, all the points resulting from drives to the unprotected basket, for a 55-49 lead. Portland Coach Mike Dunleavy frequently pressed the quickness differential in the Stoudamire-Mike Penberthy matchup.

And still, the Lakers stayed with them. They went to the fourth quarter tied, 64-64.

“We just didn’t have it in the fourth quarter,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “We kept trying to find a way to get it back to [O’Neal]. But defensively, I thought we played a good game until the fourth quarter.

Bryant has had a sprained right little finger since training camp, but had it tweaked again Tuesday night against Milwaukee. He took treatment before the Trail Blazer game and sent an update to reporters through a team official.

“Tell them it hurts,” said Bryant, who scored 19 in the first half.

Jackson called off the morning practice and then tightened the rotation. They awoke to sleet and snow, a gray day that matched their moods.

The Lakers haven’t really been playing the game, of course. The game has played them. It’s playing Bryant, especially, but he’s not alone in it.

The Bucks, like the Golden State Warriors, like the Seattle SuperSonics, cranked up the pace and the Lakers were carried along, jacking up outside shots as if they’d never even met O’Neal, forget being his teammate for years. Sometimes it appears as if they don’t trust the guy, as though carrying them to one NBA championship wasn’t quite good enough.

Could they fear the free throws? Obviously they don’t fear him grabbing them by the throats and shoving them into a CD-equipped, mahogany locker if one more 26-footer goes soaring over his head and clattering off the rim.

They won’t have him to bog down the middle with those meddlesome 26 points and 13 rebounds and four blocked shots on Friday night, when he’ll be in Baton Rouge graduating from Louisiana State, so they hereby may resume shooting without conscience and dallying in defense.

It has been hard to watch, at times, as delightful as Bryant’s skills are. Before Portland, he had made 27 of 77 field-goal attempts in the past three games while the Lakers abandoned their defense.

Many teams are hardened by their championships, particularly the ones with young and impressionable stars. Others are merely fattened by them. With their aversion to defense and loose balls, the Lakers occasionally look like a team that hasn’t gotten off the couch since June.

The Lakers would not look past the Trail Blazers, however. They couldn’t. The night before, Portland beat Golden State, which only a week before beat the Lakers. The Lakers suddenly have lots of reasons to get serious about a season more than a quarter gone.

“I think it just means we have a lot of room for improvement,” said Bryant, who made 13 of 25 shots. “The upside is right there for this team. People are going to be concerned. I guess our fans should be concerned, but we’re going to keep working.

“It makes it interesting, doesn’t it?”

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COMPARISON

How Lakers stack up to last season’s team through 24 games:

*--*

CATEGORY 1999-2000 2000-01 Record 19-5 15-9 Points 96.7 101.4 Points allowed 89.2 98.3 FG% .446 .471 Opp. FG% .402 .445 FT% .647 .656 Opp. FT% .745 .775 Rebounds 47.2 47.7 Opp. reb. 43.1 41.2 Assists 20.6 24.3 Turnovers 13.8 15.4 Shaq’s PPG 26.8 25.5 Shaq’s FG% .577 .548 Shaq’s FT% .423 .388 Kobe’s PPG 21.4 29.3 Kobe’s FG% .458 .461 Kobe’s FT% .841 .887

*--*

Legend: PPG (points per game); FG (field goal); FT (free throw).

ELSEWHERE

MIAMI 94, CLIPPERS 88

Despite rallying from a 14-point third-quarter deficit, the Clippers fell in overtime for the fourth time this season. D6

PHOENIX 103, SAN ANTONIO 93

The Suns made a statement that they won’t sink in the West, as Shawn Marion had 17 points and 16 rebounds. D7