The Sixth Man

Richard Barnett, 26, is a bony, medium-sized giant whose regular starting position in the Los Angeles Lakers' lineup is a 2-ft.-wide section of white pine planking on the Laker bench. There he sits, impassively watching the action or examining the toes of his size 12 1/2 sneakers, until some Laker starter misses a few easy lay-ups or begins to pant on the way downcourt. Then Coach Fred Schaus yells, "Dick, get in there!" and Barnett unfolds his full 6 ft. 4 in. and trots onto the floor. To serve melodrama properly, he should promptly rattle off half a dozen baskets, put life back in the Lakers and stalk back to the bench with the cheers of Angelenos echoing in his ears. And that is exactly what Dick Barnett does, with such regularity that he has become one of the main props under the Lakers' ranking at the top of the western division of the National Basketball Association.

"Fall Back, Baby!" Barnett rarely plays much more than half a game, but he makes the most of his opportunities. His scoring average is 17 points a game (18th best in the N.B.A., behind 17 starting players), and he hits on 48% of his shots --an accuracy quotient that even the Lakers' great stars, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, cannot match. "Dick is a great streak shooter," says Coach Schaus, "and that's perfect for a guy who's coming off the bench. It gives us points when we need them most and helps get the team going again." This season Barnett has had shooting nights of 12 goals in 14 attempts, 8 in 11, 9 in 12, 14 in 24, 12 in 19. Says Schaus: "He's been directly responsible for at least twelve of our wins this year. No question about it--Dick is the best sixth man in basketball."

In pro parlance, Dick Barnett is a "gunner"--a player whose natural inclination is to let fly whenever he gets his hands on the ball. He cannot battle like Baylor under the backboards, or bulldoze past bigger players for driving lay-ups like West. But he possesses one of the deadliest outside shots in basketball--a delicate, left-handed jump shot that is accurate from anywhere within 25 ft. of the rim. Barnett's preliminary motion looks awkward: he lurches jerkily into the air and kicks both feet backward. But then he flips the ball toward the basket so lightly that the actual act of shooting is an anticlimax. "It's like a knuckle ball," says Laker General Manager Lou Mohs. "Sometimes it looks as though it's off to one side--but then it starts searching for the net. Style? Barnett doesn't have any. But who's going to mess with that shot?" On his follow-through, Barnett watches the ball wend its wiggly way toward the basket. His familiar cry, "Fall back, baby!" is a signal to teammates that no matter how bad the shot looks, it is a sure score.

"An Immediate Lift." Barnett's second-string heroics have inspired a dedicated band of Barnett boosters to get out the paintpots and troop to Laker home games beneath placards proclaiming "Fall back, baby!" Almost from the opening tip-off they noisily inform Coach Schaus that "We want Barnett!" Barnett whole heartedly agrees. "I definitely would like to be a starter," he says. "I think I can play equally well on any basis and that I'd be more effective starting." When Starter West tore a hamstring muscle last month, Barnett got his chance--and the results will make it harder than ever to keep him happy down on the bench. Against the Eastern champion Boston Celtics two weeks ago, Barnett poured in 36 points to lead his team to a 113-105 victory. Three days later he piled up 23 points as the Lakers whipped the Detroit Pistons, and last week, in a losing cause against--of all people--the last-place New York Knickerbockers, he scored another 36.

When West gets back, however, it will be back to the sidelines for Barnett. The trouble is that, despite his spectacular shooting eye, Barnett lacks the first-string knack for steady court play, has not developed the all-important ability to get a step ahead of the man guarding him to drive in for a layup. Most important. Coach Schaus figures that Barnett just plain plays better coming off the bench: "He's come off the bench time and again when the club was falling behind or just trading baskets and given us an immediate lift. That's what a great sixth man can do for you."

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