Team Is Living in Land of Three

The Lakers took a chance on Isaiah Rider in part because of his reputation as a shooter, which they figured they’d require once they got around to trading Glen Rice.

Without Rice, and with a less-than-dynamic Rider, however, the Lakers are the league leaders in three-point shooting, despite their one-for-20 clunker Thursday in Seattle.

It was supposed to head their list of frailties. Instead, the Lakers are shooting 37.3 %, with Robert Horry, Kobe Bryant, Mike Penberthy and Rider in the top 35.

“It’s nice to know you have the threat,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “It extends the defense and you’ve got to carry an idea that you can make teams come out and cover the line. That’s where you have to have someone who can knock them down.”

They have several, as it turns out. Five Lakers are shooting higher than the league average of 34.5 %, including Rider.

“In the past we’ve been a team that hit three-point shots when we needed them,” Bryant said. “Whenever we needed a big run capped off by a three-point shot, we’ve always been able to make those shots. Now we’re making them on a more consistent basis. But, we’re not a three-point shooting team.”

Shaquille O’Neal is too potent in the post for the Lakers to become a perimeter-oriented offense. But, the threes are beginning to limit the double teams.

“We don’t spend a lot of time in preseason shooting three-pointers,” Jackson said. “I think guys need to develop the range and the strength and the conditioning to do it. This part of the season they start shooting more and more. It’s just an accumulation of attempts and accuracy.”

Jackson dislikes the idea of relying too heavily on the three, for no better reason than the two previous games--15 for 27 against Indiana, one for 20 in Seattle. That is, long-range shooting can’t be trusted.

“When you go on the road your three-point [attempts] should drop by a third,” Jackson said. “You shorten up your attempts. At home--and I don’t know what it’s about, the rim’s the same size, maybe the balls are differentit doesn’t seem to work quite the same way.

“The reality is, you cannot rely on three-point shooting on the road to win games for you.”

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Defenses are on to Penberthy, who has been crowded at the arc since he established himself as a three-point threat.

“The word’s out now that he’s a shooter and he plays minutes,” Jackson said. “He’s going to play up to that level and he’ll get a lot of attention. As a consequence, he’s got to find another gear to step toward. There just won’t be wide-open, uncontested shots anymore.”

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The NBA is investigating threatening remarks made by Rider to reporters after Wednesday’s practice, according to a league official.

The league has not decided whether it will interview Rider or simply make a determination based on conversations with the Lakers.

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Bryant and O’Neal could become the first two Lakers to finish in the league’s top 10 scorers since Gail Goodrich and Jerry West were fifth and seventh in 1971-72. Since the NBA went to the four-division format 30 years ago, 18 sets of teammates have placed in the top 10.