November 2006 Archives

So much stuff came out of practice today that we had to split it into two stories for Thursday's paper.

The Lakers will play their last game of November tomorrow night against the Jazz. If you go back to Sept. 29, you can see the month by month predictions I made for the season. They'll be at least one game behind my pace; I had them at 11-4 heading into December and winning 48 games this season.

The games I had penciled in as losses were the first two against Phoenix and Golden State, one of the games against Detroit or Chicago and one of the games against Utah or the Clippers last week. I was wrong about the first two games but I did write that the Portland and Milwaukee games were potential traps.

We'll see how December goes. I thought the Lakers would go 8-8 back in September. There's a really tough week where the Lakers play host to San Antonio, then play a back-to-back at Houston and Dallas, then come home to Staples Center and play Houston again. All in six days. There's also the long Christmas trip.

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO--The NBA drew a hard line for criticizing referees Wednesday as it fined Lakers coach Phil Jackson $25,000 for complaining that teenage center Andrew Bynum was not given the freedom to play Friday against Utah.

``It was one of those nights in Utah that you know you’re going to get,’’ Jackson said after Saturday’s practice. ``The league throws out some refereeing corps that you’re dubious about to start with. The game ends up to be like that.’’

Utah coach Jerry Sloan ``plays into that well,’’ Jackson added. ``He gets a technical and gets them intimidated. Things get a little bit rough. But these guys know that’s what it’s going to be like there.’’

Bynum was called for a traveling violation with which Jackson disagreed and was ``smacked around’’ on a couple of plays. Bynum also was called for a foul late in the first half on a play in which Jackson thought he had position to draw a charge.

``The big key with Drew is that they wouldn’t let him play,’’ Jackson said.

Jackson was fined $25,000 last season for violating the league’s anti-tampering rules. He called Toronto’s Chris Bosh a player ``everybody's going to be interested in and we think he's become quite a talent.’’

The league has cracked down on player conduct toward referees and appears to be doing the same with coaches. Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy was fined $25,000 earlier this month for complaining about how Yao Ming was treated in a game.

Zoned out: A day after watching Bynum and Kwame Brown combine to score five points and grab seven rebounds against Milwaukee’s zone defense, Jackson said he ``berated’’ the two at Wednesday’s practice.

“I really berated our big guys for not moving behind the defense,’’ Jackson said. ``Andrew and Kwame just did not take advantage of that and our interior passing because of that lacked its fiber.�

Jackson was asked if he was curious to see how the two would respond if Utah played zone in tonight’s game.

“I’m not curious because in practice we were awful,’’ Jackson said. ``We couldn’t even do it in practice. I had a team of 6-footers out there against them and they still had trouble figuring out how to play a zone.’’

Jackson added: ``It’d be devastating for us to face any zones from now on out.’’

Weighty issue: Miami Heat coach Pat Riley challenged center Shaquille O’Neal to ``almost reinvent himself physically’’ in returning from knee surgery. That would mean coming back ``a lot lighter, a lot leaner.’’

O’Neal’s timetable to return is sometime between Dec. 18 and Jan. 3. Whether he will play in the Christmas Day showdown against the Lakers is uncertain.

* * *

Chris Mihm was at the practice facility Wednesday and talked to reporters for the first time since his ankle surgery. One of the hardest questions is whether he would have done anything differently now knowing that he will be out all season.

He did everything to try to come back for the playoffs after suffering the injury in March and actually played in the last regular-season game, something general manager Mitch Kupchak marveled at in talking earlier this month.

When the ankle didn't get better this summer, he had surgery to clear out scar tissue, which he thought with therapy would get him on the court by November. He needed a second surgery, though, and will need six to eight months to recover. If he'd had the surgery in May, Mihm more than likely would have played this season.

“I think I probably would have approached it the same way,'' Mihm said. ``I didn’t want to miss the season. I knew going into it that I would have to play through a certain level of pain. We were trying to get that to a tolerable level and keep the ankle stable - - and using taping and bracing - - and I was fine with that because I wanted to be out there, I wanted to be a part of this.''

Mihm said the ankle specialist he saw in Baltimore diagnosed what was wrong ``in 30 minutes.'' He said a couple of times in talking Wednesday that he was glad to finally have answers.

``The short-term timeline obviously isn’t great,'' Mihm said, ``but long-term he said it’s very successful and will be 100 percent. It’s something that had to be done to get the ankle right and healthy.’'

Mihm made one of the strongest statements I've heard from a Lakers player facing free agency about wanting to stay. It's at the bottom of the second story for Thursday.

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO--There are games that don’t get any easier to watch and questions that don’t get any easier to answer for Lakers center Chris Mihm, now two weeks into his recovery from Nov. 14 surgery on his right ankle.

For the time being, Mihm must keep the ankle completely immobilized, a prognosis he can be forgiven for thinking applies to his basketball career as well. He will spend time in a walking boot after that and is not expected to play at all this season.

With a set of oversized crutches supporting his 7-foot frame, Mihm stopped by the Lakers’ practice facility Wednesday. His two-year run as the team’s starting center has ended, his hopes for a breakthrough season have been dashed.

``I kind of feel like we’ve built something here over the three years that I’ve been here,’’ Mihm said. ``To see the guys that we had coming in this year, I knew this year was going to be a special year.

``It’s really why there was no thought in my mind that there was going to be anything that could keep me out of playing with this team and being part of the Lakers this year.’’

Mihm originally suffered a severe sprain of the ankle in the final minute of the Lakers’ March 12 game against Seattle. He underwent surgery July 26 to clean up scar tissue in the ankle in the hopes of making it back for the season opener.

But Mihm’s recovery stalled - - he described it as being in ``limbo’’ and said he couldn’t go out to dinner without being in pain - - and he underwent a second surgery this month to repair tendon and ligament damage as well as re-align his heel.

The timetable for a full recovery is six to eight months. Mihm is holding out hope that he could play if the Lakers advanced deep in the playoffs.

``It’s going to be a long shot, but it’s something that I definitely have in my mind and something I want to do,’’ Mihm said. ``If it’s realistic, if I’m healthy, if this ankle is ready to do it, then certainly I’d love to join this team at some point. But time will tell.’’

The hardest part, Mihm said, is watching the games at home and ``knowing what I could do.’’ Mihm averaged 10.2 points and 6.3 rebounds in what was a career-best season before the injury.

Mihm will be a free agent next summer and the Lakers have two centers already under contract in Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown. But Mihm made a strong statement Wednesday about wanting to stay with the team.

``That’s my goal,’’ Mihm said. ``That’s a lot of the reason that I wanted to stay and play this year was to be a part of this team, to show what I could do and be an integral part of this team’s rise.

``I take the most pride of anything in my basketball career in putting on that Laker jersey and being the starting center for the Lakers for two years. That was something I worked hard for and it was a long time coming and it was something I relished every night.

``This is certainly a place, a team, an organization, a city that I’ve fallen in love with. And I hope that come July that we’ll be able to figure out a way to keep me here.’’

No matter how much the Lakers struggled to break Milwaukee's zone on offense, you always have to point to defense first when you give up 109 points at home. The Lakers struggled to stop not just Michael Redd - - whose 45 points might be the most by an opposing player all season - - but the rest of the Bucks as well.

Milwaukee was playing without Charlie Villanueva or Bobby Simmons and put a starting lineup on the floor with four players 6-foot-6 or shorter. One thing the Bucks did with great sucess was play their big man away from the basket, which opened up the lane for easy baskets. The Lakers still can't stop players from getting to the rim.

The Bucks totaled 56 points in the paint and shot 50.6 percent as a team. The Lakers also were called for four defensive three-second violations, which Milwaukee turned into three free points. If you take the technicals called on Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom, the Bucks margin of victory came on technical free throws.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson on defending Redd: ``We really didn't focus on him the way we wanted to focus on him with double-teams to get the ball out of his hands and make him pass the ball.''

* * *

Even on nights like Tuesday, when he makes 7 of 23 shots, Bryant's value to the Lakers is unmistakable. The Lakers were outscored 20-6 with Bryant off the court for 6:56 in the game. They outscored the Bucks 99-89 in the 41:04 that Bryant played.

The three 3-pointers Bryant hit in the third quarter kept the Lakers in the game, although it's worth noting that Bryant took more 3s Tuesday than he did in his 81-point game against Toronto back in January.

Jackson also has noticed a trend in how referees have treated Bryant the past couple of games. Bryant shot only seven free throws - - one of which came on a technical - - in Tuesday's game.

“It looks like the referees aren’t going to bail him out,'' Jackson said, ``give him free throws.''

* * *

Between them, Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown combined to score five points, take two shots and grab seven rebounds in 43 minutes. Jackson said facing a zone defense should have been a ``big man's dream'' but it didn't turn out that way.

The Lakers lob a pass over the top to Bynum early but that was about the extent to which they looked inside.

“Our big men just didn’t react to that the way they should react,'' Jackson said. ``They might have gotten frustrated that we were chucking up a lot of 3s. Those rebounds bounce pretty long rather than being in the lane or around the basket.’’

* * *

Assistant coach Frank Hamblen, who was in charge of preparing the scouting report, stayed home from the game with flu-like symptoms.

* * *

Forward Brian Cook was back with the team after battling a respiratory infection but did not dress for the game. Cook said he thought he got sick from family members who stayed with him recently, specifically his 2-year-old nephew.

* * *

Jackson has noticed one important change in Odom this season. In the past, the coach said, Odom had trouble concentrating on things as simple as listening to instructions from the bench on the opposite end of the court.

``This year I think his focus has been better,’’ Jackson said. ``I’m pleased with that.’’

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

There are no certainties left for the Lakers, not after losing Tuesday night to the Milwaukee Bucks for the first time in more than five years, not after deciding the answer to a zone defense was to take a franchise-record 37 3-pointers.

The end result was a 109-105 loss in which Milwaukee guard Michael Redd finished with 45 points - - the most by an opposing player this season - - and delivered 18 in the fourth quarter as the Bucks built a 13-point lead that the Lakers could not overcome.

It was a staggering defeat both because the Lakers had beaten the Bucks in 10 consecutive games dating to March 2001 as well as because they had been 8-1 at Staples Center before Tuesday.

There was a chance for the Lakers in the end, as Jordan Farmar and Luke Walton connected on 3-pointers in the desperate last minute. The Lakers made 11 of 37 3-pointers Tuesday, 5 of 17 in the fourth quarter.

Redd lost the ball out of bounds after he was trapped on an inbounds pass by Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom. That gave possession back to the Lakers with 16.3 seconds remaining, trailing 108-105.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson had Odom inbound the ball to Bryant, hoping Bryant would fire a return pass to Odom, whose momentum would carry him right into a 3-pointer.

Bryant was defended by forward Ruben Patterson, the self-proclaimed ``Kobe stopper’’ from his days in Portland. Bryant backed down Patterson, then dribbled back outside the arc and missed a wild 3-pointer with six seconds remaining.

“We checked off,’’ Jackson said, ``and Kobe took the challenge and tried to make the shot.’’

Bryant finished with 27 points on 7 of 23 shooting, 6 of 14 from 3-point range. He kept the Lakers in the game by drilling three 3-pointers in the third quarter but went 3 of 8 - - all from 3-point range - - in the fourth.

The Lakers also were unable to use Bryant against Redd in the second half, as Bryant picked up his fourth foul in the final minute of the third quarter. With Bryant on the bench to start the fourth, Redd scorched the Lakers for 13 points in three minutes.

Odom boiled over after he blocked Redd only to have the Bucks guard wrestle the ball away from him. Redd scored as part of a three-point play while Odom thought he had been fouled and slammed the ball in frustration.

That drew Odom a technical foul. Redd hit both free throws in what was a four-point swing and followed with a 3-pointer on the next possession to put Milwaukee ahead 92-82.

``That was a little frustrating,’’ Odom said. ``I’ve got one guy on my back, I’m fighting for the ball. I got the rebound kind of clear. I guess the whistle went his way all night. He won tonight.’’

Redd had more points Tuesday than he scored in two games against the Lakers last season. His career scoring average against the Lakers was his lowest against any NBA team.

Farmar played ahead of Smush Parker the last 17-plus minutes and split the zone as soon as he checked in during the third quarter. But Farmar went 1 for 5 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter, with Jackson concluding the rookie ``ran out of gas.’’

For as much as Jackson has talked about the zone as being a soft defense, the Bucks used it to great success in the first half. They fell behind 13-4 in the opening minutes, switched to a zone, and went into halftime leading 52-47.

The Lakers stalled in trying to break the zone and wound up taking 14 3-pointers, making only three of them. They might have been lured into a false sense of confidence having made a season-high 12 3-pointers in Sunday’s victory over New Jersey.

``It’s obvious when you look at how many 3-point shots we got,’’ Jackson said. ``That’s what players like to do against a zone is attack it with the 3-point shot. . . . Penetration’s always the key in basketball and this team forgot about penetration.’’

Lakers coach Phil Jackson launched into a lengthy answer Monday to the question about whether the perception is reality when it comes to his displeasure at playing rookies. He was talking about guard Jordan Farmar, who is earning minutes, but was notable for the comment Jackson made about former Laker Kareem Rush.

``It's just all lies. It's not overblown. They're just lies,'' Jackson said. ``When you have teams that have finished (with the best record) as many times as we had in Chicago - - we haven't finished (with the best record) in L.A. since the very initial year - - you end up getting draft picks that are basically one pick above the second round.

"You don't have those top five or 10 or 15 picks that you have the same opportunity. But even with that, I look at a guy like (Mark) Madsen as a product that we used and explored and got experience and has had a lengthy career now as an NBA player, as a person that we brought along because he was a worker and talented enough to play.

``We look at a guy like Kareem Rush as a disappointment, as a guy that we would have liked to have seen have a career and did relatively well with us here but has floundered since that time.

``I always look at that as limited information that people have. I look at guys that I've had that I've felt really happy about since I've been a Laker with kind of a father's pride.''

Rush spent two seasons in Charlotte but was released April 1 with the Bobcats saying Rush was about neither hard work nor maximum effort. Rush signed with Seattle and made their 15-man roster despite suffering a groin injury in training camp. But the Sonics released him and signed center Andreas Glyniadakis.

That leaves Rush out of the NBA for the time being. He is still close to a number of Lakers, including Luke Walton and Brian Cook.

* * *

Looking forward to watching Andrew Bynum battle Andrew Bogut in Tuesday night's game. The only three certainties in life are death, taxes and the Lakers beating the Milwaukee Bucks, something they've done the last 10 times they've played.

* * *

Kobe Bryant said after Sunday's game that he channeled his inner Michael Jordan and Joe Dumars when locking in on defense against Vince Carter. Those players prided themselves on playing at both ends, Bryant said, in contrast to today's NBA where each team has a defensive specialist along the lines of Bruce Bowen.

Bryant will get a chance to shut down one of the league's leading scorers in Milwaukee's Michael Redd, who had 57 points in a game against Utah earlier this season.

Here are the notes from Monday:

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO--Upon further review, Lakers coach Phil Jackson will keep Andrew Bynum in the starting lineup. Jackson also made clear to his players in a film session Monday that he wants to see them get the ball to the 19-year-old center.

Bynum has had three straight lackluster games - - averaging 4.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while making 3 of 12 shots - - and Jackson was left considering his options after Sunday’s victory over New Jersey.

Jackson wondered aloud if Bynum would benefit from playing with a group of reserves more committed to team play than the starting five. He backtracked from that Monday, leaving Bynum in the starting five and Kwame Brown coming off the bench.

``I’m only serious about it if that first unit’s not going to use him, they’re not going to throw the ball in to him,’’ Jackson said. ``We took a little film session with the first unit about how we have to get the ball in there.’’

The Nets fronted Bynum on defense with center Nenad Krstic. Jackson thought the Lakers ``didn’t spend enough time looking at ways to develop that,’’ specifically to free the backside and lob passes over the top.

Bynum didn’t have an answer for why his teammates have been reluctant to throw him the ball.

``I don’t know exactly what it is,’’ Bynum said. ``Kwame and myself have been told just to run down the middle of the floor and post up low. They are looking at us. The way you have to enter the ball into the post, it just takes practice.’’

Brown was not at practice Monday for personal reasons but is expected to play tonight against Milwaukee.

Kid games: As he turns 20 this week, Jordan Farmar can say that he ranks a little higher than whale you-know-what, Jackson’s favorite description for first-year players.

Never fond of playing rookies, Jackson did not shy away from using Farmar for 16 minutes Sunday in his first game back from a sprained ankle. Farmar finished with 11 points and hit three 3-pointers.

``A coach is a pragmatist for the most part,’’ Jackson said. ``If a kid’s going to go out there in that unit and survives or plays well, they’re going to stick with it. They like to win.’’

The most any rookie has played on a Jackson-coached Lakers team was Kareem Rush, who averaged 11.5 minutes in 76 games in 2002-03. So far this season, Farmar is averaging 5.5 points in 16.1 minutes.

Jackson was especially pleased with how Farmar defended New Jersey’s Marcus Williams, who had 14 points in the first half but was shut out in the second half.

``He was getting 15-foot jump shots. For an NBA player, that’s a layup,’’ Farmar said. ``Just made an emphasis not to get screened and keep the pressure on the ball so he wouldn’t be able to get in his rhythm.’’

Opening act: After nine home games, Farmar already has a tradition all his own. He settles into a courtside seat, rubbing shoulders with the fans, to watch the video highlights before player introductions.

``I know some people over there,’’ said Farmar, who has a connection to the family of season-ticket holder Steve Jackson, ``so I hang out with the fans, make them feel part of the game.’’

I'm sad to report that nobody at Lakers practice Saturday was planning to watch the Clippers-Timberwolves game at 5 p.m. It's just the Clippers' luck that they play directly opposite (and one channel down from) the USC-Notre Dame game.

Andrew Bynum has a big game Sunday against his home-state New Jersey Nets, which also brings a matchup against another promising young center in Nenad Krstic. Bynum's night against Utah on Friday was one of the topics of interest at practice.

The Lakers worked on exactly what you would expect after playing the Jazz - - transition defense, defending interior passes and rebounding position. The Lakers also can look forward to a desperate Nets team coming to town after losing their first three games on this road trip.

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO--There are the ups and downs to be expected from Andrew Bynum, starting at center for the Lakers only days after his 19th birthday. Then there was the sight of Kobe Bryant having to calm down Bynum on Friday as he barked at the referees.

Bynum played only 14 minutes in the Lakers’ loss to Utah, with coach Phil Jackson saying afterward that his big man wasn’t given enough of a chance to play in what he described as a ``roughhouse game.’’

A traveling call cost Bynum a basket in the second quarter. The play that really set him off, though, came with 1:35 left before halftime. Bynum thought he had position to draw a charge against Matt Harpring only to be whistled for a foul instead.

Bynum’s frustration nearly got the best of him before Bryant intervened and walked the teenager away from the referees.

``He’s starting to feel like he’s a contributor and when he gets calls that go against him, he should get calls that go for him once in a while out there, too,’’ Jackson said. ``I don’t want him to get a technical, but it’s OK that he’s starting to have a voice.’’

Bynum had a tough matchup against Utah’s Carlos Boozer. He finished with four points and two rebounds and went to the bench three minutes into the third quarter after getting blocked by Andrei Kirilenko. That was where he stayed the rest of the game.

Back at practice Saturday, Jackson wanted to get Bynum - - who has sat in favor of Kwame Brown the last two games - - the chance to run five-on-five and get his confidence back.

``Today was a day we wanted Drew to get back and be aggressive out here because we need him to play for us,’’ Jackson said. ``We need those 25 minutes or 20 minutes, whatever he can give us, to be productive minutes.’’

Well known: The one thing forward Luke Walton won’t need for tonight’s game against New Jersey is a scouting report on Richard Jefferson, his close friend and roommate for two years at Arizona.

``I’ve been playing against him for eight years,’’ Walton said, ``so it’s like playing against the guys in practice where you know their moves, you know what they like to do.’’

Walton and Jefferson lived together this summer in San Diego and trained at a nearby gym along with Antoine Wright, Brian Cook, Kareem Rush and Danny Granger. Charlotte assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff worked out the group regularly.

``It’s one of those things where we all feed off each other,’’ said Walton, who had to listen to a summer’s worth of trash talk about the Nets’ two victories over the Lakers last season.

The biggest difference tonight is that Walton will be in the starting lineup and will match up from the get-go against Jefferson, who is playing his way back from a sprained ankle on New Jersey’s road trip.

Locked in: Kobe Bryant played the entire fourth quarter Friday and scored only two points. Jackson described Bryant as looking ``leg-weary’’ after the game, though Bryant said Saturday it was more a matter of picking his spots.

``My legs felt OK,’’ Bryant said. ``Kwame was rolling, Lamar (Odom) was rolling. I was facilitating the offense and going from there, just waiting for my moment to take it over. It never got to that point because they stretched it out to a four-point lead, five-point lead.

``So my moment never came. But I was champing at the bit, waiting for a three-point deficit, two-point deficit. You better believe my legs would have looked fresher than anything.’’

Also: The Lakers will play their next eight games at Staples Center, including a Dec. 2 road game against the Clippers. . . .Cook is suffering from strep throat, with Jackson saying, ``I probably should have left him in the locker room (Friday).’’

That's as good a game as you'll see in November in the NBA. The Lakers played the Jazz as if beating the Western Conference's best team with 70 games to go meant everything. The teams will play again Thursday at Staples Center in a TNT game the basketball public will be able to see.

Lamar Odom came all the way from a tough start to have a strong game. Odom couldn't get going in the first quarter against Andrei Kirilenko and sat the last 3 1-2 minutes. He also picked up three offensive fouls for the night. But Odom got to his favored left block for three baskets against rookie Paul Milsaps early in the second quarter and was on his way. The end wasn't what he hoped for, though.

``What’s important is that this team doesn’t lose or get discouraged because of a loss,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``That’s not the key. The key is about how you play.’’

Jackson also talked before the game about Bryant volunteering to bring the ball up and direct the triangle offense after the Lakers struggled to break the Pistons' zone defense. You have to wonder if that responsibility didn't take a toll on Bryant in Friday's game. He wasn't able to take over like normal.

``We’re going to have to have different people do that for us as we go through the season,'' Jackson said. ``Lamar did a lot of it last year. Kobe volunteered when we got a little bit stuck there to move out. I was happy to have him do that. I thought it was important.’’

The Lakers played zone defense down the stretch because Jackson wanted to counter the Jazz's pick-and-roll plays. They wore their home gold uniforms because the NBA wanted the Jazz to wear their powder blue alternate road uniforms.

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

SALT LAKE CITY--As the streamers fell from the ceiling and the celebration started here Friday night, Lakers forward Lamar Odom took off his wristbands and tossed them aside in separate directions as he walked off the court.

Odom was the picture of dejection after the Lakers’ 114-108 loss to the Utah Jazz, a game in which coach Phil Jackson told his players afterward they had nothing to be ashamed about, even if one of them didn’t agree.

The Lakers played as competitive a game as November has to offer, taking a Jazz team with the NBA’s best record into the dying minutes of the fourth quarter before coming up short by a missed shot here and an offensive rebound there.

``It was a hell of a game,’’ Jackson said. ``We just didn’t finish it out.’’

With Kobe Bryant missing all three shots he took in the fourth quarter and scoring just two points, Odom found himself with the ball in his hands three times in the last two minutes. The Lakers’ four-game winning streak hung in the balance.

Odom took a 3-pointer with 1:45 left that ``crawled back out’’ in Jackson’s words after nearly falling in. The Jazz went ahead 107-104 at the other end as second-year guard Deron Williams knocked down a jumper after having his initial attempt blocked.

The Lakers went into a timeout and Odom attacked the basket coming out of it. He scored against Matt Harpring as part of a three-point play to tie the game. But the highs turned into lows in a matter of moments.

After Williams used a screen to bury a 3-pointer, Odom had his 2-footer roll around and out. Carlos Boozer grabbed the rebound for the Jazz, who never looked back. Jackson was left saying afterward of Odom: ``He can’t hold himself responsible for that.’’

The words rang hollow for Odom, who totaled 26 points and six rebounds on 7 of 14 shooting.

``Basketball’s a humbling game, a humbling experience,’’ Odom said. ``Those are plays I have to make.’’

Boozer led the Jazz with 31 points - - 10 in the fourth quarter - - and 16 rebounds. Williams had 15 points and 10 assists. Back from a sprained ankle, Andrei Kirilenko scored only four points but had five blocks and guarded Bryant in the fourth quarter.

Williams drilled the night’s biggest shot, a 3-pointer with 1 minute left that put Utah in front for good 110-107. Williams used a Mehmet Okur screen to knock down the 3; Lakers guard Smush Parker went under the screen and paid the price.

The Jazz also came up with two critical offensive rebounds on a wild possession with three minutes left, which ended in an Okur jumper. The Lakers were outrebounded 45-27 Friday, and gave up 15 offensive rebounds, seven to Boozer.

``I told them they had nothing to be ashamed of,’’ Jackson said, ``except that rebound total when they look at it.’’

The Lakers (8-4) led by as many as seven points early in the fourth quarter but were outscored 32-20 over the last 12 minutes. Bryant finished with 27 points but stepped back in the quarter as Jackson thought he became ``leg-weary.’’

The proof was in the two free throws Bryant left short in the quarter. He scored 14 points in the first quarter but deferred to Odom and center Kwame Brown late. Bryant once again played in the backcourt and directed the Lakers’ offense.

``It’s nights like tonight, games like tonight,’’ Bryant said, ``where they get that experience learning how to close out games, not having to lean on me for it.’’

The Lakers went to Brown four consecutive times in the fourth quarter and Brown delivered eight points. Okur became so frustrated that he tossed the ball against the basket standard to draw a technical foul.

There has been no greater surprise in the NBA this season than Utah, which improved to a league-best 12-1 and is averaging 108.3 points per game. The Lakers were playing their first road game in more than two weeks.

``I think that Utah is a legitimate team; I don’t think they’re going to win the West as far as the best record,’’ Jackson said. ``But I do think they’re going to be a good team out here. For us, it’s the depth of this team and the veteran experience they have.’’

Not exactly the greatest showing by Vladimir Radmanovic or Tim Thomas in Tuesday night's game. The two forwards combined to go 3 for 13 and 1 for 6 from 3-point range. If there's one thing they share in common, it's being able to shoot the ball.

Radmanovic opted to sign with the Lakers instead of returning to the Clippers back in July. The Clippers responded by signing Thomas away from Phoenix and making it known that they got better even in losing Radmanovic. Both forwards signed contracts starting with the $5.2 million midlevel exception.

There was a sequence in the fourth quarter where Thomas was called for an offensive foul at one end. Radmanovic then tried to drive on Thomas at the other end and tossed up a wild left-handed shot that missed. Thomas came back and missed a jumper. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

Radmanovic also wore a headband for the first time this season. You could barely see it, though, under his mess of hair. He missed all five shots he took and finished with one point, five rebounds, three assists and a block in 17 minutes.

* * *

Smush Parker had a season-high 15 points and said after the game: ``It's funny that I come out a little slow the first couple games - - and people write me up like I can't play. But I just go out and play hard every night. The first 10 games I just forgot to have fun. And tonight I just went out and had fun.''

* * *

Tough time for Sasha Vujacic to go into a deep slump. There's a special airing this week on FSN West about his life before he came to the Lakers. If you watch it, you learn that Vujacic earned the nickname ``The Giant Killer'' on his Italian team for how he rose to the occasion whenever big-name teams came to town.

* * *

Three things you won't see very often that happened in Tuesday's Lakers-Clippers game:

No. 1: Kwame Brown grabbing a rebound in the fourth quarter and passing the ball to Parker to bring upcourt. The problem was, Parker had lost his headband on the play and stopped to pick it up. He had to dribble with his left hand across midcourt to avoid an eight-second violation with the headband in his right hand.

No. 2: Parker getting whistled for a technical foul in the third quarter while Kobe Bryant was at the line shooting a pair of free throws. Bryant made the first one but had to wait to take the second while Sam Cassell went to the other end for the technical free throw. Lakers coach Phil Jackson said after the game he didn't know what Parker did to draw the technical.

No. 3: Brown somehow volleying a tip-in over the rim entirely. Brown missed several tip-ins Tuesday but still managed to total 10 points and 14 rebounds. He also shot a 14-foot free throw in the third quarter. Even if Brown were to average the 15 points and 10 rebounds the Lakers set forth as a goal this season, nobody said it would be pretty.

* * *

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

If it seemed like the Lakers kept bumping into a glass ceiling as they tried to climb above .500 last season, maybe that’s because that’s exactly what was happening.

The first five times last season the Lakers had a chance to win and pull five games away from the .500 mark all turned out the same. The Lakers lost each of them, part of the reason they found themselves with a 34-34 record in mid-March.

They finally broke through on their sixth try, beating Houston on April 2 to improve to 40-35. It came as the Lakers won 11 of their last 14 games to make the playoffs as the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed.

That was what made Tuesday’s 105-101 victory over the Clippers so significant. The Lakers improved to 8-3, perched atop the Pacific Division, and won their fourth consecutive game.

``It’s important for us to continue this momentum,’’ Kobe Bryant said. “It’s so early in the season. The key for us, with the system that we operate out of, is to continue to get better.’'

With Bryant missing all preseason recovering from knee surgery, the Lakers’ fast start has been a surprise to some degree. They have started 19-year-old Andrew Bynum at center and already played him nearly as many minutes as his entire rookie season.

Center Kwame Brown is only four games back from a shoulder injury and forward Vladimir Radmanovic, the Lakers’ main free-agent acquisition, has been limited by a hand injury and went 0 for 5 Tuesday against his old team.

They are winning despite averaging 18.7 turnovers per game, second-most in the league, and shooting 71.6 percent from the foul line.

What the Lakers have done is find a way to win the close games that eluded them last season. They were tied in the fourth quarter of each of their last three victories. That has enabled them to take advantage of a schedule loaded with home games.

``It says a lot about our team when we can win with half the guys not knowing the offense,'' Brown said. ``Sometimes we don’t share the ball as much as we should and the coaches like, but we still find a way to win. Once we put it all together and guys learn the offense, we should be a pretty good team.’’

The Lakers also know that Bryant will be a different player come December or January as he plays his way back from surgery.

``He didn’t really have that practice time to get back,’’ forward Luke Walton said. ``He’s been using games to get back into it because he missed the whole preseason. I think as the season goes on and the more he plays, he’s just going to get stronger and stronger.

“Within a couple weeks, he’ll be back to full strength.’’

Firing away: Lakers coach Phil Jackson was not happy with the 3-pointers his team launched at the start of the fourth quarter. Sasha Vujacic, Maurice Evans and Lamar Odom combined to miss four 3-pointers and the Clippers scored 11 straight points.

``Instead of looking for penetration,’’ Jackson said, ``and doing things that were inside the philosophy of our offense, the guys were just looking for killers, looking to pound that ball in there and get a lucky shot.’’

Slumping: Vujacic went 0 for 4 and missed three 3-pointers Tuesday. The third-year guard has made just 5 of 25 shots this season and 2 of 14 3-pointers after a strong showing in the preseason.

If you were the Lakers, how would you match up against the Clippers on Tuesday night?

It would seem like the best way to go might be swapping Luke Walton out of the starting five in favor of Kwame Brown. That would leave Andrew Bynum on Chris Kaman, Brown on Elton Brand, Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant on Quinton Ross and Cuttino Mobley (take your pick there), and Smush Parker on Sam Cassell.

This is the debate Lakers coach Phil Jackson seems to be having and which I wrote about for Tuesday's paper. For what it's worth, Brown came out from the locker room to speak with reporters and put assistant coach Brian Shaw in the mother of all bearhugs. That seemed to answer a lot of the questions about Brown's shoulder.

Brown, as usual, said more in three minutes than most players do in 30. He called a matchup against Brand ``a physical test of your will.'' He said that right now his main focus is on bringing energy when he gets on the court. He still is not comfortable on offense but was happy with the charges he took on defense Sunday.

Brown also was asked about the Lakers' 7-3 start. Granted, he only played in three of those games, but his answer was telling.

“It says a lot about our team when we can win with half the guys not knowing the offense,'' Brown said. ``Sometimes we don’t share the ball as much as we should and the coaches like, but we still find a way to win. Once we put it all together and guys learn the offense, we should be a pretty good team.’’

Kobe Bryant , meanwhile, was asked about how Sunday's game measured up in his return from knee surgery.

``I felt like it was a big step because defensively I felt like I played extremely well,'' Bryant said. Having to chase (Kirk) Hinrich and (Ben) Gordon around, that’s a lot of movement for anybody, let alone me because I’m still trying to get into game condition. I felt like I did a great job of staying with those guys.''

* * *

If Jordan Farmar is unable to play tonight, Sasha Vujacic could get the opportunity to be the first guard off the bench, a role Farmar basically took from him this season. It's especially important with the Clippers bringing Shaun Livingston off their bench. Vujacic is averaging 2.0 points, playing 9.1 minutes and shooting 24 percent.

* * *

Here are the notes for Tuesday:

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO--For all the talk about first place in the Pacific Division being at stake, as well as early-season bragging rights, Lakers coach Phil Jackson faces a big decision as his team plays host to the Clippers tonight.

Does Jackson opt to start centers Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown in the same lineup and match up against the Clippers’ Elton Brand and Chris Kaman with his best combination of size and strength?

Bynum and Brown have not played in the same starting five together and both are best suited to play center. Jackson’s answer Monday to a question about starting the two together was, ``Right now, I would say no but there’s a chance.’’

Yet Brown spent Monday’s practice getting reacquainted with playing on the wing in the triangle offense. It was the position the Lakers hoped Brown would play opposite center Chris Mihm when he first arrived last season.

``I haven’t ran that position in a while, so I was trying to brush up on it a little bit today,’’ Brown said. ``I still remember some of it, but I didn’t have it down that great when I was there. I don’t know. We’ll see.’’

The Lakers started Brown all four times they played the Clippers last season and matched him up against Brand in three of the games. With Mihm out at the end of the season, Brown played center and Lamar Odom took Brand.

Jackson might have telegraphed his intentions when he said of tonight’s game, ``I think the biggest step is Kwame Brown having to guard their All-Star.’’ That would be Brand, who had a season-high 33 points and 12 rebounds Saturday against Philadelphia.

With another game at Utah on Friday, Brown likely will match up against forward Carlos Boozer. Jackson said of this week’s games, ``We’re going to have to show we can play inside with these teams.’’

One of the biggest challenges facing the Lakers is how to develop Bynum and Brown at the same time. After Brown was lost to a shoulder injury in the preseason, Bynum stepped into the starting lineup and has averaged 10.3 points and 7.0 rebounds.

Brown has come off the bench in three games since returning and had three points, nine rebounds and one monster dunk in Sunday’s victory over Chicago. He made his case for more minutes in a practice last week.

``We played pivots with the big guys last week and Kwame definitely showed his dominance in the post with the other big guys,’’ Jackson said. ``We’re still waiting to see him flesh out the rest of his game in a live-court situation.’’

The Lakers concluded last season that Brown was best served playing center instead of wing. Brown said Monday that he knew he would be used for ``defensive purposes’’ if he started against the Clippers.

With 72 games left in the season, Brown will have ample opportunity to return to the starting lineup if he can get healthy and prove himself. The Lakers came into the season hoping Brown could average 15 points and 10 rebounds and have a breakout year.

``He should be striving to be the starter,’’ Jackson said, ``and that’s a challenge that I think he wants and we’ve been talking about that.’’

Brown said: ``Andrew’s doing a great job. I wouldn’t change it up until something goes different. But I’m going to be ready, just like I was last year, and when I get my time, I’ll be ready.’’

Battle for L.A.: The Lakers tried to downplay tonight’s game, with Kobe Bryant saying he thought it would take a playoff meeting for the Lakers and Clippers to become a true rivalry. But Jackson did take one jab at Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

“I know the owners like each other,’’ Jackson said. ``I know that Don Sterling’s been eating off Dr. Buss’ plate for years.’’

The two teams have split the last two season series and would have met in the second round of the playoffs had the Lakers advanced back in May. The Lakers have opened this season 7-3 while the Clippers are 6-2.

“Did they dethrone us last year as the favorite team in town?’’ Jackson said. ``I mean, that was what they said in the process. That was all the hype. I guess we’re the underdogs, trying to come back and find a way to get into this scrap that they’re going to have and go forward with it.’’

Injury update: Guard Jordan Farmar didn’t practice after spraining his ankle Sunday and likely won’t play tonight. Forward Ronny Turiaf figures to be activated for the game and offers an extra big man to use against the Clippers.

There were three young players of note on the court in Friday's Lakers/Raptors game at Staples Center. The first was Andrew Bynum, starting at center for the Lakers only days after his 19th birthday. Then there was rookie guard Jordan Farmar, who played 14 minutes off the bench and sparked the Lakers in the fourth quarter.

The third player was Toronto's Andrea Bargnani, the No. 1 overall pick in the June draft out of Italy. And Bargnani finished with an awful line: He missed all three shots he took and wound up with two points, picking up five fouls in only 6:25 of action. To be fair, Bargnani turned 21 last month and big men do develop slower than guards.

It nevertheless was striking to see how much more polished Farmar looked. They play different positions, of course, but Farmar was taken with the No. 26 pick and will be a teenager until his 20th birthday on Nov. 30.

``Jordan has a real feel for the game,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``I think one of the things, by his own admission he would tell you, he went to UCLA because he knew the program would elevate his game and he would have a quicker ability to enter the NBA if things went well for him.

``That’s the way I think his thought process was as a very young man. Not presumptuous but he felt that strongly about his own game.

``That preparatory experience he had - - good coach, good system, play hard, learn to do things on the court - - acclimated him to our game probably faster than a guy like Bargnani, who’s probably not ready for the physicality and the intensity level that goes on in this game all the time.’’

Farmar hit a big 3-pointer and attacked for a layup in the fourth quarter when the offense stalled. He also led the Lakers' second team in the second quarter, driving the lane and delivering passes to Kwame Brown and Maurice Evans for baskets. Farmar had seven points and four assists in the game.

``I’ve been getting a lot of shots up and try to make some things happen when it’s my turn and when it’s my time,'' Farmar said. ``Just knowing when to do things and when not to.’’

Another interesting thing to consider: The Lakers drafted Bynum in 2005 while saying that he would have been a top three pick had he played a season at Connecticut instead of entering the draft out of high school. Would you take Bynum over either Bargnani, LaMarcus Aldridge or Adam Morrison?

* * *

Jackson sat both Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant for a two-minute stretch of the second quarter and watched his second team score 12 points and push the Lakers out in front 42-34. The lineup on the floor was Farmar, Evans, Brown, Sasha Vujacic and Vladimir Radmanovic.

``A lot of times it’s good to have them both off the floor because the defense doesn’t have a key,'' Jackson said. ``They don’t know where the ball is going to go. As a consequence, the players can run the offense and do the right things on the court. They got that done. They gave us the needed advantage we had to have in that game, that eight-point separation or whatever it was.’’

* * *

Something to remember in watching the triangle offense: Jackson said it operates off a two-count once a player gets the ball. If he can't make the pass he wants, he automatically has to move the ball to the next open man. There's a rhythm that's important. Jackson stressed to his players at practice Saturday that they have to go away from Odom and Bryant sometimes no matter what.

* * *

Here's the notes from Saturday. The Lakers play the Chicago Bulls on Sunday in a game that will go a long way in determining just how big a month they can have playing so many games at Staples Center.

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO--If there was a topic that particularly engaged Lakers coach Phil Jackson on Saturday, it was Kobe Bryant’s complaint about being called for carrying and traveling on moves he has made throughout his 10-year career.

The NBA has included both calls in its points of emphasis for the season. Jackson said the league referees are still not consistent enough in making the calls but offered his full support for the change in officiating.

``They are things that should be called,’’ Jackson said. ``I know the players aren’t happy with it at this time and they have to be patient.’’

As part of a four-minute answer to a question, Jackson referred back to his days as Chicago Bulls coach, when the league’s director of officials asked him if he would want Michael Jordan to be called for the same violations as every other player.

``I always said, `Call everything on Jordan. Call everything on everybody,’’’ Jackson said. ``No one should have any excuses to get away with anything in this game. The rules are more important than your (stars), whatever this league’s about.

``Those players that have the true talent will figure out what is important within the game. They’ll remedy the situation. The players that have to cheat or have to use illegal moves to get ahead, those are the ones that shouldn’t get ahead by bending the rules of the game.

``Unfortunately, the league is late on this, about 10 years late on this. Allen Iverson exploited the discontinued dribble and the hop step on the spin move for (10 years). We’ve been bitching about this thing for over 10 years now and we finally got to it.’’

Bryant, who is averaging 4.9 turnovers per game this season, was called for traveling Friday when he tried to use a hop step as part of a drive. It was a move he claimed after the game that Jerry West almost had patented in his career.

Jackson, meanwhile, blamed the NBA for ignoring palming of the ball and changing the way players dribble at all levels of basketball.

``Now they’ve created the bad habits all the way down into junior high school and up,’’ Jackson said. ``So now to try to correct the game at this level is going to be difficult. It’s going to take some consistency.

``Unfortunately, the fans are going to have to stick with it and guys like Kobe are going to end up having the excess turnovers in a period of time until they adjust their game to what’s called.’’

Desperate times: The Lakers have been warned to expect a desperate Chicago Bulls team in this evening’s game at Staples Center. The Bulls opened a seven-game road trip with losses to Dallas, Houston and San Antonio as part of the dreaded Texas Triangle.

The Bulls beat the defending champion Heat by 42 points on opening night in Miami. Jackson previously warned the Lakers about playing a desperate Seattle team on the road Nov. 5 but was chagrined when his team didn’t heed the warning and lost 117-101.

Jackson said he liked the moves the Bulls made in the off-season - - signing Ben Wallace, trading for P.J. Brown and drafting Tyrus Thomas - - but wasn’t ready to anoint them the heir apparent to Miami in the Eastern Conference.

``You’re really pushing it forward awfully fast when they’re still a young team,’’ Jackson said. ``They still have to go through some things. Their coach does a good job with them as far as getting them to play hard. The next step is how they put it all together.’’

The Pacific Division standings certainly were interesting to look at Friday with four teams above .500 and the Phoenix Suns - - a preseason NBA Finals pick by some - - bringing up the rear at 2-5.

Even Golden State, which hasn't made the playoffs in forever, has recovered from an ugly season-opening loss to the Lakers and is now 6-3. Baron Davis had 36 points and 18 assists Thursday night as the Warriors beat Sacramento at home.

It's only mid-November but the question can be asked of whether the Pacific will be the NBA's toughest division this season. Lakers coach Phil Jackson seemed to cast his vote for the Southwest, where San Antonio, Houston, New Orleans/Oklahoma City and Dallas all could be powerhouses.

Said Jackson: ``It’ll be a challenge to make the playoffs this year in this conference.’’

The good news Thursday in Lakerland was that Phil Jackson successfully brought up Chris Bosh's name WITHOUT saying anything that could result in a $25,000 fine for violating the league's tampering rules. Great success, as Borat might say.

If you don't remember, Jackson got in trouble last December for praising Bosh to Toronto reporters when he was asked about potential free-agent targets for the Lakers. It wound up being a moot point because Bosh signed a contract extension with the Raptors in July.

"Well ... the players that were franchise-changing players you know re-signed up or re-upped with their organizations,'' Jackson said. ``There are some that will be available in the year following that you obviously have to take a look at, and this kid here is one of them. Chris Bosh, obviously everybody's going to be interested in and we think he's become quite a talent."

Jackson said later that he hadn't even seen Bosh play and was trying to be complimentary. The NBA slapped the Lakers with a $25,000 fine for Jackson's comments. He sarcastically said he was a ``humbled man, sad, bereaved'' when he stood before reporters the first time after the fine was announced.

``I'm going to take my penalty and punishment and go to the closet, cry a little bit and come out,'' Jackson added.

What did he say Thursday about Bosh?

``They’ve got a terrific 6-10 player that’s a potential All-Star for a number of years in Bosh,'' Jackson said, ``and Lamar’s a perfect matchup for him.''

* * *

Bryant said he had benefited from the four days between games the Lakers had this week.

``It’s been great,'' Bryant said. ``We’ve been able to come in here and play hard against each other, compete, get healthy. I feel much better now than I did coming into these four days, have a much better rhythm.’’

* * *

Jackson revealed that forward Ronny Turiaf was unable to participate in a couple of practices as he continues to battle hip problems.

* * *

After setting Thanksgiving as the target date to evaluate the Lakers last season, Jackson said he probably would wait until December to draw conclusions about this season's team. The Lakers have missed Shammond Williams, Aaron McKie and Kwame Brown for extended periods due to injuries.

``There’s some rotation guys right there that you think of how do they get back in with the team,'' Jackson said. ``It’s going to take a little while. I’d say that a couple weeks, hopefully six, seven more games, we’ll look at it and see the best features of our team out there on the floor.’’

* * *

Kobe Bryant took some time this week to talk about his 81-point game for a story that'll appear in Friday's paper. I'd love to hear the memories from anyone who was in the building that night or watched the game on TV.

It always will be one of the highlights of my career to have covered that game. A couple of weeks before the season, I sat down and finally watched the game over on tape.

A couple of things stood out. The first was how bad the rest of the Lakers played. When Bryant went out for six minutes at the start of the second quarter, the Lakers made 1 of 11 shots and fell behind by 14 points. You had Sasha Vujacic hitting the side of the backboard on a 3-pointer and Kwame Brown getting whistled twice for three seconds.

Lamar Odom was 0 for 6 with three turnovers before he hit a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. Bryant gave up the ball to Odom for that shot, which pushed the Lakers in front 100-93. It was the game's biggest pass, if not its biggest play. Earlier in the game, Odom somehow committed a turnover by catching a pass with both feet out of bounds.

The second thing that stood out was the fact that Bryant did not play the perfect game. He willed the Lakers to victory in a game that will define his greatness. But he missed a couple of shots in the lane as well as a couple of open 3-pointers. There was a play early in the fourth quarter where he got hit in the head inside with no foul called.

It's not crazy at all to say that Bryant might have had 85 to 90 points in the game. I'm not sure what that would have been like; 81 was stunning enough.

It will be interesting to see how 81 is remembered in 20 years. The unfortunate tendency is for people to forget that the Lakers were 18 points down in the third quarter or that they played pressure defense as a team to get back in the game.

The bottom line is that it took 81 points from Bryant to save the Lakers from a miserable loss. It would be a shame to think of his 81 as coming at the expense of the team in any way.

Not much else to report Wednesday from Lakerland. Kobe Bryant doesn't even remember the play that led to a $75,000 lawsuit being filed against him by a fan in Memphis, Tenn. The fan claims Bryant deliberately elbowed him as he dove for a loose ball in a game.

"I really don't know too much about it,'' Bryant said. ``I haven't really paid attention to it too much. If a player's trying to save a loose ball and keep his team in contention and try and win a game, if that's something that a player has to do, then a player has to do it. He has to keep the ball alive. That's why we're out there is to play basketball.''

Lakers coach Phil Jackson on Aaron McKie's progress from a back injury: ``Aaron’s starting to look like he can move with the freedom and a level which makes me feel comfortable. I think he’s getting comfortable out there.

``Right now, the fact that we have so many guards (means) he doesn’t get as much practice time as sometimes we’d like him to have because we’ve got the young kids out here learning and getting acclimated to the game. But he’s doing a good job.’’

Wednesday's notes:

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO--All Lakers center Kwame Brown wanted to do entering this season was pick up where he left off in the spring, when he averaged 12.4 points and 8.6 rebounds in 18 games after Chris Mihm was lost to a severe ankle sprain.

Those hopes ended as soon as Brown suffered a shoulder injury in training camp. Just when he was hoping to establish himself as a starting center, Brown instead learned all the medical jargon associated with a bruised rotator cuff and bursitis.

He returned for Sunday’s game against Memphis but will back up Andrew Bynum for the time being in what coach Phil Jackson envisions as a 20- to 24-minute role nightly.

After seeing the doctor Tuesday, Brown learned that he won’t need surgery and can take anti-inflammatories to treat the pain in his trapezius muscle. But Brown offered a frank assessment Wednesday about the state of his shoulder going forward.

``I just think I’ll have some good days and some bad days,’’ Brown said. ``You get a guy like (Shaquille O’Neal) and Yao (Ming) and the big guys in there, I’ll probably struggle a little bit.

``I think I’m just going to have to focus on playing defense. I think at the offensive end, I’m going to struggle because it’s painful to raise my arm sometimes when I’m going against guys. But I can still give them something.’’

Brown spent Wednesday’s practice trying to get his timing down in shooting free throws and jump hooks. He was encouraged to some degree by what he heard from the doctor.

``He said it’s not going to get any worse,’’ Brown said. ``Like I said, it’s going to have some good days and some bad days. I’m just going to have to fight through it.’’

Zoned in: Jackson put the emphasis Wednesday on breaking down a zone defense out of a halfcourt set. The Lakers stalled out in Friday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons, who played zone for what Jackson estimated was 40 percent of the game.

``We haven’t had a chance to practice against it the level we wanted to,’’ Jackson said. ``We did some halfcourt work on that and I tried to get the guys thinking and reading defenses.’’

Jackson also said he expected Kobe Bryant to continue playing in the backcourt, a switch he made for Sunday’s game. The Lakers are better organized with Bryant initiating the offense, although it does move him from more of a scoring position on the wing.

Knee sleeve: Bryant wore a protective sleeve on his surgically repaired right knee at practice. It was the first time he had done so for a game or practice this season.

``I’ve got to keep it warm, keep it tight,’’ Bryant said of his knee. ``It got to the point where during the game, late in the game, it would stiffen up a little bit. I’d much rather not wear one, but if it’s going to keep it warm, then that’s something we have to do.’’

The Lakers went straight from the practice court into an NBA media training session. Why the NBA would hold media training six weeks/eight games into the season is something I'm still trying to figure out.

Phil Jackson emphasized the transition game to his players Tuesday. There is an ``optimal speed,'' in his words, at which the Lakers should play. They went through some conditioning as well, with Jackson saying, ``I thought we lost energy at certain points in ballgames.’'

This was noted on Jackson's practice plan under the heading, ``Run 'em.''

Jackson had a couple of good lines. He was talking about Andrew Bynum's inability to play for extended stretches and reminded reporters that Bynum was playing high school basketball with six-minute quarters only two years ago. He was reminded that the quarters had to be at least eight minutes long.

``It was a parochial school, right?'' Jackson said. ``They had to go to confession the other two minutes.’’

Jackson also was asked about the possibility of Kwame Brown facing shoulder pain all season.

``Kwame always has pains,'' Jackson said. ``He’s always coming down with some kind of pain. Maybe that’ll be good. It’ll keep him focused on one pain rather than others.’’

* * *

There was something resembling a tent city set up outside the Best Buy in Hawthorne when I went to buy some CDs today. One of the cashiers explained that people were camping out for the Playstation 3 release on Friday. It looked like several of the guys were wearing Lakers T-shirts, which is why I raise the issue here.

I would love to hear why you would spend at least two nights sleeping in the parking lot of a Best Buy for a video game system. I thought I'd heard it all when one of my fellow beat writers made a point of buying ``Madden 07'' at midnight on the day it was released in August.

* * *

Here's the notes from Tuesday's practice:

The Lakers took Monday off, so I'll refer you to an article that appeared on the front page of The New York Times about the future of the Seattle SuperSonics in the Pacific Northwest.

It's hard to imagine the Sonics not playing in Seattle - - they honored their 40th anniversary team when the Lakers were in town Nov. 5 - - but the only plausible option for staying in Washington state is an arena in one of the suburbs such as Bellevue. Three out of every four voters was against subsidizing a renovation of Key Arena.

The Sonics owners have made clear that they want public funds for a new arena; Seattle's best offer was $50 million before the ballot initiative. There's no incentive to build a privately funded arena when there are cities with buildings just waiting for an NBA team.

There are going to be franchises on the move in the next couple of years in the NBA. The first question is will the Hornets return to New Orleans next season. That could set the stage for the Sonics' new Oklahoma City-based ownership group to move in soon after the Hornets depart.

One thing for the NBA to consider: The Seattle television market, according to Neilsen Media Research, is the 13th largest in the country at 1.701 million TV homes. The Oklahoma City market is the 45th largest with 655,400 TV homes. It's smaller than the combined Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Mich., TV market.

You run the risk of a ratings disaster if the Oklahoma City Sonics ever played in the NBA Finals. This is why the league has tremendous incentive to find a way of making the Knicks competitive again. There are 7.375 million TV homes in New York that aren't watching close to the amount of NBA basketball they could be.

There are undoubtedly small-market success stories like Sacramento, San Antonio and Utah. A new arena also is the easiest way to generate the revenue needed to compete in a league where the average player makes more than $5 million. But the league heads to places like Memphis, Tenn., and Oklahoma City at its own risk.

The difference between the 19-year-old Andrew Bynum and potentially the 24-year-old Bynum were well illustrated by Sunday's game. Bynum finished with 11 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes but could have had a 20-10 game against Memphis.

The Lakers tried to establish Bynum early on. He started the game by missing a putback and getting called for three seconds. He then was blocked by Stromile Swift the first of two times in the game. Kobe Bryant tried to slip a pass to Bynum that the 7-footer couldn't hold onto.

Bynum finally got a basket when he dunked off a pick-and-roll with Smush Parker. He finished the first quarter with seven points on 3 of 7 shooting with three rebounds. It could have been a lot more and Bynum could have rode that momentum throughout the game.

He played more than 8 minutes in the fourth quarter and did not score or get to the foul line. The focus obviously was on Kwame Brown coming back from injury but Bynum could have had a big night, especially considering he was called for only one foul all game.

* * *

Parker heard boos from the crowd in the fourth quarter after he had a shot blocked by Damon Stoudamire, then fouled Stoudamire in the aftermath. Parker is in a deep rut right now and again hurt the Lakers down the stretch. He went 1 for 4 in the quarter and made 1 of 2 free throws after the Grizzlies closed within seven points.

Parker redeemed himself with 3:28 left when he stole an Eddie Jones pass and raced the other way to finish a fast break when Bryant flipped him a between-the-legs pass. But Parker continued to say after the game that somebody stole his ``mojo.''

* * *

Lamar Odom seemed excited to have gotten the call to shoot a technical foul free throw after the Grizzlies were called for defensive three seconds in the second quarter. Bryant shot almost every technical last season but was on the bench when the situation arose Sunday.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson couuld have opted for Kwame Brown, Maurice Evans, Vladimir Radmanovic, Jordan Farmar or Odom. Evans is a career 76.6 percent foul shooter compared to Odom's 71.3 percent; Odom has shot better at the line this season than Evans.

Odom hit the technical and went on to convert all three free throws when he was fouled on a 3-pointer in the third quarter.

It was a quiet Saturday around the Lakers, with NBA Players Association head Billy Hunter meeting with his constituents after practice. Lakers coach Phil Jackson thought the No. 1 reason his team lost to Detroit on Friday was a lack of energy. The No. 2 reason was the zone the Pistons played and Jackson offered his opinions about.

``As soon as these guys hear zone, they think, `Oh man, zone. We’re going to have to make shots. We’re going to have to move the ball and nobody’s going to be able to play off the dribble.' Whereas, reality is, zone is a very weak defense. And they made it work for them last night.’’

Jackson said the Lakers fell into a trap of thinking they had to make 3-pointers to beat the zone. Instead they had to do a better job of interior passing. They spent part of practice Saturday talking about making the right passes, filling spots and being patient.

* * *

The Lakers' minor-league affiliate, the D-Fenders, opened training camp Saturday in El Segundo. Jackson said before Friday's game that he would stop by to show support for the team, which will run the triangle offense and serve as a Lakers' junior varsity. [ep

Jackson said Lakers owner Jerry Buss was a bigger advocate for the team than he was, saying it made sense ``strategically'' for an NBA team to have an affiliate. One thing Jackson said he wanted to see change was the ability for teams to have veteran players make what baseball calls ``rehab starts'' with the minor-leaguers.

``We have players get injured, it would be great to have the ability to play a game, instead of stepping onto an NBA court,'' Jackson said. ``I think it saves a lot of wear and tear on players and sets up a situation where a player can get comfortable on the court.’’

The only problem is that such a change probably would have to be written into the league's collective bargaining agreement, which doesn't expire until after the 2010-11 season.

* * *

Here's the notes from Saturday. Even though Smush Parker has started this season in a slump, Jackson said he was not ready to start rookie guard Jordan Farmar in his place.

So much for Smush Parker's "breakout'' game against the Detroit Pistons. That was what Parker was saying before Friday's game, at least, in an attempt to pysch himself up against his former team.

Parker finished with five points on 2 of 7 shooting with three turnovers and two assists. He sat for the entire fourth quarter and final 15 1-2 minutes of the game. What makes it especially disappointing is that Parker had every motivation in the world Friday.

The Lakers looked to Parker to knock down open 3-pointers in the first quarter and break open the Pistons' zone. He made 1 of 4. Parker missed another shot when he saw an opening to attack, drove the lane, and tossed up an out-of-control layup with his right hand from the left side of the basket.

His biggest lowlight came in throwing a wild pass on the fast break that sailed out of bounds with 34 seconds left in the quarter. Lakers coach Phil Jackson, still using a cane away from the basketball court, fell out of his chair trying to yell for Jordan Farmar to replace Parker.

Which brings us to Farmar. He finished with nine points and five assists against no turnovers in 22 minutes and played the entire fourth quarter. When the Lakers were showing no life in the second quarter, Farmar stepped up and hit a couple of shots. The Lakers outscored Detroit 45-39 with Farmar on the court, in a game they lost 97-83.

So far this season, Parker is averaging 8.1 points on 36.4 percent shooting. He nearly shot the Lakers out of Tuesday's win against Minnesota before hitting a big 3-pointer late. What's worrysome is that Parker clearly has a hard time pulling out of slumps, as was the case in the Lakers' first-round playoff series against Phoenix.

I have no idea if Jackson would consider making a switch to Farmar so early in the season. But the Lakers do play Memphis on Sunday, and Farmar has four games worth of summer-league experience against the Grizzlies.

Until then, Jackson might go back to calling Parker by his given name (William) or his alternate nickname (Smash), which the coach did a couple of times last season.

Not good news before Friday's game against Detroit. Chris Mihm will have a second surgery on his right ankle and most likely is done for the season. A Lakers spokesman said Mihm was experiencing tendon problems in the ankle. The official announcement had him undergoing surgery to repair the deltoid ligament and posterior tibialis tendon in his right ankle.

The Lakers had been planning to go with a three-center rotation of Mihm, Kwame Brown and Andrew Bynum this season. It will be interesting to see what happens with Mihm after the season. The Lakers have $17 million invested in Brown and realize that Bynum needs to play to get better.

By Ross Siler
Staff Writer

Lakers center Chris Mihm will undergo a second surgery Tuesday on his injured right ankle and will need between five and eight months to recover.

The outlook is not good for Mihm to return this season, although Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said it was a possibility if the Lakers made a deep playoff run.

Mihm, who started 131 games at center the last two seasons, suffered a severe ankle sprain when he landed on Rashard Lewis’ foot in the final minute of the Lakers’ March 12 loss to Seattle.

He underwent surgery July 26 to clean up scar tissue was projected to return in time for training camp. But Mihm’s recovery stalled and he went to Baltimore this week to seek second and third opinions from doctors.

``We knew early on that it wasn’t a run-of-the-mill ankle sprain,’’ Kupchak said. ``To his credit, he came back at the end of the regular season and tried to play - - I don’t know how he did it.

``He approached this thing methodically. He rehabbed as hard or harder than anyone we’ve ever had. We’re disappointed for him. We were looking forward to getting him back.

``And clearly it’s an important year for Chris, too. He wants to show that he belongs at a certain level at the center position in this league, being at the end of a contract.’'

Mihm said in a statement that although he knew ``a few months ago that there was a chance I’d need such a surgery, it was my hope that through alternative methods and therapy, I’d be able to join my Lakers teammates and make it through the season.’’

Kupchak said it was too early to talk about Mihm’s future with the Lakers. At season’s end, Mihm will be an unrestricted free agent. Kupchak did repeat the NBA maxim: ``You can never have enough big men.’’

The Lakers will use a center rotation of 19-year-old Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown for the season without Mihm.

Brown down: Although he hoped to play Friday, Brown still was experiencing problems with his injured right shoulder. Brown felt soreness in his neck after practice Thursday and said he would return to the doctor Monday.

``I don’t think they’re going to find anything,’’ Brown said. ``I think with the injury I have, the muscles around the joint are just compensating, so it’s causing pain elsewhere.’’

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he didn’t feel comfortable playing Brown after watching him Thursday.

``He kept holding his shoulder,’’ Jackson said. ``That’s why he’s been out. It was almost his neck more than his shoulder. It’ll quiet down. It wasn’t this way earlier in the week. It flared up. He’s been doing a lot of work and lifting a lot of weights and contact and playing again, the first couple times, creates that.’’

Not that Kobe Bryant needed any reminders about the reach of the Internet, but he got one after his new Web site (www.kb24.com) launched on Oct. 31.

``One minute into the launch we had people on it from Germany, London, China,'' Bryant said. "We didn't do any advertising whatsoever. They just knew about it."

Bryant is making a big push in trying to create a cyber community dedicated to all things 24. He announced he was playing in Friday's game against Seattle on the site (with a little dramatic music) and had a crew of videographers in the locker room before the game.

The featured video on the site Thursday was a behind-the-scenes look at Bryant's recent appearance on BET. He was accompanied by Ronny Turiaf and Devin Green, introduced some videos and got his hair trimmed. Talking about the site Thursday, Bryant said he filmed his entire training regiment from the summer for it.

``There's footage you're not going to see anywhere else,'' Bryant said, adding that he had film from a game in which he scored 63 points as a grade-schooler.

Bryant has taken to posting comments on the Truth section of his site under the name ``Mamba.'' He can do it by sending text messages from his cell phone, sometimes from the team bus after road games and sometimes on the ride home from Staples Center.

The domain name is licensed to Kobe Family Entertainment Inc. in Newport Coast, which led to a couple of questions about just who is involved in the site. Bryant said it will serve as a platform for his business partners, which include Nike and Upper Deck.

He plans to make available sneaker and apparel lines that won't be sold in stores. He also will sell memorabilia through the site, especially when it comes to his new No. 24 jersey. There's a link on the site to a last-chance auction for signed No. 8 jerseys.

That's the commercial side, but Bryant is hoping to connect to fans in new ways. He has forums dedicated both to ``Kobe in the News'' and ``General Kobe Conversation.'' He also talked Thursday about possibly giving the chance for a fan to win a trip to the Beijing Olympics, where Bryant is expected to play for USA Basketball.

Give Bryant credit for being at the forefront of what will probably become standard practice among superstar athletes in the next decade.

* * *

Here was Lamar Odom's summation of why the Lakers lost to Portland on Wednesday night: ``We got outplayed tonight. Back to back. They played better. They won.''

Here was Odom's summation of why the Lakers lost to Portland with a day's worth of perspective: ``We got beat. We didn’t win a quarter of basketball and they were better. As simple as that.’’

Sometimes it comes down to just not playing well, for whatever reason. One big question Thursday was whether Odom needed to take more than nine shots against the Trail Blazers. There seems to be a direct correlation between Odom's aggressiveness (reflected in the shots he takes) and the Lakers' wins and losses.

Odom's plan for Friday's game against Detroit: ``Try to catch the ball closer to the basket, not rely on the 3 and get back to the free-throw line.’’

* * *

Bryant agreed with Lakers coach Phil Jackson's assessment that he might be back at 90 or 95 percent by next week. The Lakers will have four days off after playing Memphis on Sunday night.

``These four days coming up, it’s perfect timing for us, because it gives me a chance to get stronger,'' Bryant said. ``This last week or so, I’ve been kind of maintaining, getting through it. You have four days off, I get to strengthen (the knee) again. That should help us out a lot.’’

Talking after Wednesday's game, Bryant said he wasn't upset with sitting with the first six-plus minutes of the fourth quarter. Jackson wanted to play it safe with Bryant's knee in back-to-back games.

``I know Phil. I've been with him long enough, I know what he's thinking," Bryant said. ``And how we're going to try to execute out there with the guys on the floor. I was completely on the same page. I knew what he was doing."

* * *

For the first time this season, the Lakers probably are going to have to put a healthy player on the inactive list for Friday's game with Kwame Brown coming back from a shoulder injury. The most likely candiates would seem to be Sasha Vujacic or Shammond Williams.

Here's the report from Thursday's practice:

Lamar Odom is on a mission this season. It has nothing to do with being a first-time All-Star.

``I want the best-dressed award,'' Odom said before Tuesday's game.

There is no such thing, of course, and the competition is fierce across the NBA. But Odom has elevated his game for sure. Odom purchased a number of new suits for the season and wore a gray number with an aqua shirt and tie Tuesday.

Odom figures there is a benefit to being better dressed when it comes to the rap label he is running and T-shirt line he started. It also fits with Odom's theme for the season of showcasing a newfound maturity. He ditched the crazy socks that were his old hallmark, unless he's wearing jeans.

"Any place where the sun is shining,'' Odom said, ``I'm going to be sharp.''

There's something a little more important Tuesday than the Lakers-Timberwolves game at Staples Cent