LESSON LEARNED; LAKERS NOW REALIZE THEIR MOUTHS WON'T SCORE ANY BASKETS.

Byline: Howard Beck Daily News Staff Writer

A funny thing happened Tuesday when word trickled down from the Pacific Northwest that the Lakers' first playoff opponent was hurling insults southward. The Lakers - the young, notoriously brash, presumably impetuous bunch - responded with the sound of silence. And after the silence, with statesman-like analysis.

Quoth Nick Van Exel, ``We were like that before. We'd just go into a series and try to win a game by talking. You can't get it done like that.''

Suddenly, the Portland Trail Blazers are the brash, self-immolating ones, trying to trash talk their way past the Lakers. And the Lakers, in contrast, are downright upstanding.

The event merits a footnote. Prevailing wisdom in the late 1990s has been that the Lakers' talent is outpaced only by their immaturity. Yet here is Van Exel, once the symbol of their ills, who personified last year's second-round meltdown, exuding - convincingly, earnestly - the calm perspective of a wise old 15-year veteran.

If the Lakers are, indeed, a team that can be stopped only by their own demons, they might be poised to turn the corner on several years of postseason disappointment.

It's been seven years since the Lakers appeared in the finals, seven years since they've advanced past the second round of the playoffs. In the six seasons since, they have suffered three first-round oustings (1992, 1993, 1996), two second-round defeats (1995, 1997) and one DNQ (did not qualify, 1994). That was the year Magic Johnson replaced Randy Pfund for the final 16 games and led the team to a 5-11 record, including an all-time club record 10-game losing streak to end the season. The Lakers' postseason record during the stretch: 11-19.

The playoff history is not the current team's responsibility - only Elden Campbell has been a Laker for more than five years - but it is their burden. Fans and media see sports franchises as institutions without respect to the composition of rosters. No one cares that the current Chicago Cubs weren't alive when the team last won a World Series; the decades of losing are their inheritance, right or wrong.

And so now it falls to the 1997-98 Lakers to try to end a modest playoff rut at seven years. They're acutely cognizant of the expectations and of the string of early exits.

``I think about it,'' said Van Exel, second on the longevity chart with five years as a Laker. ``But that's how it is. We've struggled, no doubt, in the second round. Hopefully, this will be our year to change it.

``Our record has improved each season, but yet we have yet to get past the second round, so we've just got to go out there and play our type of ball, not get caught up in the officiating, not get caught up in what other teams are trying to do to us, not get caught up in someone's mad at a teammate and letting it get us down, or getting mad at (coach) Del (Harris) and letting that get us down.

``We've got to be together and I think this year everybody is pretty much focused and ready for that challenge.''

In other words, they can't do what they did last year in getting blown out of the second round, four games to one, by the Utah Jazz.

Van Exel's words represent the progress the Lakers have made since then, however. They appear to be more mature, more together, more self-aware and more in tune with each other than the team that drowned itself in Salt Lake City. Whether appearance is reality won't be known for a few more weeks, but the signs are encouraging:

The Lakers won 22 of their last 25 games despite injuries to Van Exel and Robert Horry.

They haven't lost consecutive games since March 1-2, had only two losing streaks of three games and after earlier struggles, did not lose to a sub.-500 team after Jan. 4 (to Philadelphia).

They finished with the NBA's best road record, 28-13, second highest in franchise history, and 61 wins overall, best for a Lakers team since 1989-90.

And all of this was accomplished despite their acknowledged Achilles' heel - youth. The Lakers are the fifth-youngest team (average age 26.2) and second youngest in the playoffs, with a 19-year-old for a sixth man.

They are also healthier than a year ago when Shaquille O'Neal and Robert Horry limped into the playoffs, and they might even be deeper than a year ago. Kobe Bryant's emergence (15.4 points per game), and the growth of Derek Fisher (now starting ahead of Van Exel) were key to reaching the 60-win mark.

And Rick Fox, one of the older Lakers at 28, has gone from free-agent signee to starter and vocal leader, someone who keeps his teammates focused on tasks. He has openly questioned their mental toughness and maturity and doesn't hesitate to challenge teammates when he sees the game drifting away.

``As I told them, I said, `Hey I love you guys, but I'm not here to make friends. I need teammates who are serious about this as I am,' '' Fox said. ``I care too much about what we really play the game for.''

Which for the Lakers is always about the championships, although for now, just getting past the first two rounds would qualify as progress.

``I think the fans and management deserve a lot more,'' Van Exel said, ``because of what (management) has tried to do, as far as getting guys in here to get us to that next level. And they've done that. So now it's up to the players. The fans, they want to see nothing less than a championship. They know we can get the job done.''

DECADE OF DECLINE

After eight Finals appearances in 10 years, the Lakers have just one appearance (and a 29-30 overall postseason mark) in the 90's. A year-by-year breakdown of the Lakers' playoff woes:

'90 (4-5): Capture top seed; Fall to fifth-seeded Phoenix in second round.

'91 (12-7): Beat Bulls in Game 1 of Finals, then lose last four (three at home).

'92 (1-3): Qualify as No. 8 seed; Bow to Portland in opening round.

'93 (2-3): Again a No. 8 seed; Push Phoenix to limit, lose Game 5 in OT.

'94 (DNQ): Finish 33-49, fail to make playoffs for first time since 1976.

'95 (5-5): No. 5 seed; Beat Seattle, then fall to San Antonio in Rd 2.

'96 (1-3): Fifth-seeded Houston wins opening round in four games.

'97 (4-4): Again a No. 4 seed; Beat Portland before falling to Utah in five.

'98 (???): No. 3 seed; Open playoffs Friday vs. sixth-seeded Portland.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

PHOTO (1--Color) Coach Magic Johnson was exasperated in 1994 when the Lakers didn't make the playoffs. Even when recent teams have made it, they haven't advanced far.

Daily News File Photo

(2) Formerly impetuous Lakers guard Nick Van Exel didn't rise to the bait when trash talk from the Portland Trail Blazers drifted south.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

BOX: DECADE OF DECLINE (see text)