The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 425

THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 1991 CHICAGO BULLS 107, LAKERS 86 Lakers Don't Have to Look Deep Ito See What Their Problem Is LOS ANGELES TIMES RSI i Bench: Substitutes gthaven't been making tSmuch of a contribution. IgTeagle hasn't been a factor jfsirice first game of the series against Portland, lif- By SCOTT HOWARD-COOPER JjjjTIMES STAFF WRITER CHICAGO-In these NBA finals jpSbuilt on such familiar terms that everyone seems to work from a first-name basis, maybe it's time S)for some much-needed re-intro-Sfductions. jg Terry Teagle. The Lakers traded pi for him to provide scoring off the jf bench, mostly in the half-court formations during the playoffs. The Laker reserves.

Not the i cutesy name of some deli sand-wich, but the ingredients should iWinclude more than something Green, as in A.C. In the olden days of this series, Tuesday, the concern around ar Chicago was getting more than one .11 player, Michael Jordan, to become a regular contributor. Wednesday night, with a 107-86 victory at Chicago Stadium in Game 2, the Bulls forced the same question on the counterparts, but with a twist: How to get more than six players to join in. Laker Coach Mike Dunleavy has now received 41 points in the past four games, 27 by Green. "Any time production is off, I'm -concerned," he reasoned.

"But I don't think it would have mattered I tonight. They the Bulls played efIthatgoodagame." But this is not a new thing, especially not for the most notice- able absentee, Teagle. No thanks for the memories: Wednesday: 0 for two from the field, six points, all on free throws. Game 1: One for three. Game 6 against Portland: 0 for two.

Game 5: One for eight. Game 4: Three for 12. Game 3: Four for 10. Game 2: Three for eight. Game 1, the last significant production: Seven of 15 for 14 points in 17 minutes.

"When I don't score, I'm always disappointed, especially since that's my strong point," he said. "It's always been my strong point. At this stage, that may be my weakest point." That was Teagle sitting alone in a corner of the Laker locker room late Wednesday. The guy sitting with a towel wrapped around his waist and one around his shoulders. The guy feeling, well, exposed.

"Every day, I come in here and feel like, 'This is he continued. "Today, I got to the free-throw line, and that was something I haven't been able to do. I don't know. It's a tough situation. I've just got to keep working.

I can't stop now. "I felt like it's been a key for us offensively coming off the bench. But it's just not happening right now. Hopefully, I'll get it going once we get home. "I'm not getting any shots.

It's frustrating, but what can you do about it? The playoffs are more of a slow-paced game. That has eliminated a lot of shots. I get a lot of my shots in the faster pace." Is he pressing, perhaps? "I don't know if I'm pressing until I'm able to take a certain amount of shots," came the reply. Teagle, who averaged 9.2 shots an outing as one of four Lakers to play all 82 games, has had 7.3 in the playoffs and a total of seven the past three games. That drop, however, pales compared to the contrast to the ending of his regular season.

Eleven games, 17.2 points, 49.3 shooting. From that to this? Teagle entered Game 2 at the outset of the second quarter and had the first Laker shot. A jumper in the lane barely ticked the front of the rim. A few minutes after that, he was called for traveling. The possession after that, he was stripped by Jordan.

Finally, a couple free throws. And then he came out, not to return until the Bulls had built a 14-point lead late in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Green was contributing seven rebounds and six points, but on two-of-11 shooting. That's the good news for the Laker bench. Aside from Teagle's six points, Larry Drew had four, and Mychal Thompson was shut out in 10 minutes.

Likewise for Elden Campbell in four minutes of garbage time. Welcome to the Laker version of championship-caliber depth. "It's not necessarily our only assignment to explode," Green said. "We just need to be able to contribute in some positive ways. We need to make sure we don't lose any leads, things like that." Asked what positive way the bench contributed Wednesday, Green paused.

"I'll have to look at the tapes," he said. "But I don't think the bench hurt us by any means. We didn't lose any leads. I just think it is important to focus on the future and what might be ahead." The Lakers, whose future begins againFriday night at the Forum, can dmy wonder, too. Pigskin 4fflb.

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But if the Lakers are smart and they are they will win Games 3, 4 'I'and 5 in Inglewood so they won't "Irhave to come back here to Mi--rchael's Madhouse. Game 2 began innocently )J enough, with Vlade Divac scoring "eight of L.A.'s first 18 points and teDowntown Sammy Perkins drop-orping another of those long bombs his. I mean, it wasn't as though cthe Bulls kicked tail from start to finish. With four minutes remaining in the first half, Jordan had two Of course, he was only possum. Suddenly, everything changed, Something got into Paxson, the Air i.

apparent, who forms the other half 5, of Chicago's backcourt backbone and has about as much in common with Michael Jordan as I do with Shakespeare. About the nicest thing you can say about John Paxson's game is that he very rarely injures himself dunking. But one thing Johnny can do is 'shoot, particularly when nobody is his face, and as long as the Lakers have to keep double-occu-Jflpying the space in Michael Jordan's "'face, Paxson is going to keep getting passes from Jordan and is -going to keep aiming jump shots t'well, shots at the hoop. "I kept hitting my shots and they 'Jfelt real good," Paxson said after -''ward. Hey, nice color commentary, John.

Mr. Quote, they call him. "'r All kidding aside, Paxson played a near-perfect game Wednesday night, at least for the 25 minutes he worked, and it should not go un-r-mentioned that his Laker adversary, Byron Scott, got off exactly 'rtwo shots. Paxson also had six assists, more than anybody on the fjrLakers except Earvin Johnson, and did not commit a turnover. Forgive ii the jokes, John; I know you can play.

at It's just that when you're the other guard on a basketball team that employs Michael Jordan, well, it's sort of like being Bo Jackson's tensive tackle. You do a lot of the ridirty work, but who the hell notic- es? Let me tell you about one particular shot of Mr. Mike's. If you didn't see it, you will. It will be ai-replayed on the 11 p.m.

news, on cassettes, on NBA highlight rreels, on shoe commercials, on fjvcereal commercials, on outer-space satellite transmissions from Jupiter in the 21st Century and in the of many who hadn't seen like it since Julius Erving 'innlninH a rprf whitp and hlup hall. Jordan, the rocketeer, took flight ANACLETO BAI'PING Los Angeles Times The Lakers wish John Paxson would have passed more in Game 2. He made all eight of his shots from the field, most from long distance. ci Supporting Cast ITLJnJTLJFI C401 Stepper SALE 179" Twelve resistance settinas to strengthen legs and lower body. Electronic readouts include time elapsed, steps, calories, and steps and calories per minute.

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Here's how Chicago's starters, besides Jordan, have fared in the first two games. JM 99 Professiona aualitv home fitness system that includes a verticle press, butterfly station, lat pull down, four roll developer and 200lbs. of cast iron' resistance. All the exercises you need iri compact design. Not available in all stores.

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sizes. I ate SPORT FUN 1199 i i 24" 72" thick foam padding. leg a ii 1 PLAYER 0AME1 GAME 2 FCM FGA FTM FTA PTS FGM FQA FTM FTA PTS Scottie Pippen 7 19 5 7 19 8 16 4 4 20 Horace Grant 3 8 0 0 6 10 13 0 0 20 Bill Cartwright 38006 6900 12 John Paxson 37006 8 800 16 Totals 16 42 5 7 37 32 46 4 4 68 Pet. .380 .714 .696 1.000 1 i upright and tray tables and seat belt firmly in place. Suddenly, Michael noticed that there were all sorts of Lakers in his way.

So, he just hovered for a while, considering his options. He would have stayed up there 15 or 20 more seconds, but the shot clock would have expired. "Oh, I know," Michael must have thought, "I'll just switch hands in mid-air and do one of those southpaw I'm Flying, Gravity-Defying, Friendly-Skying, My-Oh-Mying reverse double-pump twisting fingertip scoop shots." You know, just like the ones you work on in practice. Horace Grant took one look at that one, wiped off his goggles and said: "I felt like I was 13 years old and watching Doctor He wasn't. He was watching Mister J.

Chicago's Mister that is. Los Angeles has one, too. And Los Angeles also has the next three games. Winning them might be a wonderful idea. If this series comes back to Chicago, the whole country will be tuning in to see what that spectacular Johnny Paxson does next.

from the painted lane, preparing to off at about 500 feet and then slowly beginning his descent, mak- ing sure his seat back was fully.