Rivers Gets the Laker Rookie Treatment : Despite Playing Well, He’ll Be Back on Bench Against Seattle

SEATTLE — The way Pat Riley operates, there’s no telling when David Rivers will next see meaningful minutes. With the Lakers, rookies are meant to be neither seen nor heard, which is why Rivers may not budge from the bench when the Lakers play the SuperSonics here tonight.

Chances are that if Michael Cooper hadn’t been having such a miserable night Tuesday, Riley would not have called Rivers’ number against the Denver Nuggets. But with the Lakers down by 16 in the second quarter, and Riley clearly exasperated with Cooper--he had the ball picked cleanly away on the dribble by Nugget backup Eddie Hughes on one play, then threw the ball away to Fat Lever on another--the Laker coach gave Rivers a shot.

Rivers, who had sat out the Lakers’ first 3 games and had gotten garbage time in 2 other games, made the most of the opportunity, even if it lasted just 8 1/2 minutes. He had 3 assists, made 1 of his 2 shots, showed quick hands on defense, and perhaps most important, did not make any mistakes except for a silly foul with a second left in the half.

He didn’t play at all after that, even though it took 2 overtimes before Magic Johnson’s buzzer-beating shot decided the issue, but in tandem with another reserve, Tony Campbell, Rivers had helped to halve the Laker deficit to 8 points, by the half. He also had given himself a much-needed shot of confidence.

“I thought David and Tony did a great job,” Riley said. “They got us back in it, when we looked like we were ready to be blown out of the game.”

Rivers showed a reluctance to shoot the ball--more than once, Riley exhorted him to put it up--but otherwise flashed some of the skills that prompted Jerry West to make him a No. 1 pick.

“It felt really good,” Rivers said. “It was one of those situations where we were in a little trouble, and I feel as though I came through.

“It comes down to, you’ve just got to play.”

It will take time, Mychal Thompson said, but there is no doubt Rivers will eventually make a significant contribution.

“He can pass the ball as well as Magic does,” Thompson said. “He doesn’t have Magic’s experience, but when he’s in the game, your eyes and hands have to be ready all the time, or else you’re going to get bonked in the face.

“He needs experience and a little more confidence, but eventually he’s going to prolong Magic’s career.”

Laker Notes

Seattle point guard Nate McMillan, who missed last Friday night’s loss to the Lakers at the Forum with a sprained ankle, was poked in the eye by teammate Sedale Threatt in practice Wednesday and will be out for a minimum of a week. He was treated for bleeding from the eye. . . .James Worthy is off to a fast start, leading the Lakers in scoring in each of the last 3 games and averaging a team-high 25 points in the Lakers’ first 6 games, more than 5 points above his average last season. Worthy also is shooting just under 56% from the floor. Worthy scored 20 of his 33 points Tuesday in the first half. He also finished with 9 rebounds and 7 assists. . . . Byron Scott had made his first 20 free throws before missing his second attempt against the Nuggets Tuesday. Scott, too, is off to a fast start, scoring an average of 24.8 points and shooting just under 56%. He also has a team-leading 15 steals, 4 against the Nuggets.

Going into the fourth quarter Tuesday, Magic Johnson had scored just 2 points and taken only 4 shots. He finished with 21 points and 13 assists. . . . Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played just 20 minutes Tuesday, and not a single moment in either overtime period. Abdul-Jabbar, 3 of 11 from the floor, is shooting 19 of 47 for the season, or 40.4 %. . . . Michael Cooper, 0 for 3 from the floor, is shooting even worse: 9 for 29, or 31%. Cooper is 3 for 11 from 3-point range.

Orlando Woolridge, who had played poorly in the first half, scored 8 of his 18 points in overtime. He also had 3 of the Lakers’ 15 blocked shots. . . . Mychal Thompson, who had 11 points and 10 rebounds, had 3 defensive rebounds, a big tip-in, and a steal in the second overtime. “They’re all superstars, all glamour players here,” Thompson said. “They take care of the exciting work. I just push a broom and sweep up after them.”

The Lakers’ arrival here was uneventful, a marked contrast to their trip into Denver, when a rock thrown at the team’s bus from the airport shattered a window. “It scared everybody,” trainer Gary Vitti said. “There were pieces of glass everywhere.” Woolridge was sitting closest to the window when it was struck, but neither he nor any other Laker was hurt.