The Lakers defeated the Sacramento Kings, 94-89, on Sunday night in Las Vegas for their first exhibition victory in three tries. Pau Gasol scored 12 points and had six rebounds in 22 minutes, 10 seconds. Gasol and fellow 7-footer Andrew Bynum started together for the first time. Bynum had nine points and five rebounds in 22:18.

Here are a few postgame thoughts from Derek Fisher, who had eight points:
“I think we did some things better on the defensive end. Sacramento is a good passing team. They move the ball well. We had to key in on the defensive end. I think we did a better job. We still gave up a lot of penetration on screen-and-rolls. With so many different lineups and personnel changes going on, you can expect some mix-ups at times.”

Coach Phil Jackson used Lamar Odom in a new role as the Lakers’ sixth man. Odom had four points, nine rebounds and three assists in 21:40. Jackson seemed pleased, telling reporters after the game:
“He had initiative. He came off the bench, and I liked that. He came off the bench with six minutes to go in the first quarter and didn’t get stiff sitting on the bench. He came out and played hard, and I liked that.”

Odom had this to say about playing a reserve role:
“It’s been such a long time, but it was cool. This just happens to be the third game. Whether I’m a starter or not, I’m going to feel a lot more comfortable every game we play, whether it be starting or coming off the bench.”
FYI: Odom said the last time he played regularly as a backup was when he was in the ninth grade, playing on an AAU team in New York City. He and Ron Artest, now with the Houston Rockets, were reserves. Odom also said he was a substitute for a time while at Christ the King High School in Queens, N.Y.

The Lakers lost their second exhibition game, falling to the Clippers by 107-80 in Fresno two nights after losing to the Utah Jazz, 99-90, in Anaheim. The Lakers were outworked in dramatic fashion by the Clippers, who won a battle of the backups in the second half.
Other random thoughts after two exhibitions:
First, Lamar Odom hasn’t been properly engaged in either game, but especially against the Clippers. He hasn’t had the expected impact while trying out a new position as point guard. He did not score against the Clippers and took only one shot. He also had three rebounds and one assist in 16 minutes.
Second, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum haven’t jelled. Of course, they have played something like nine minutes together and Gasol rightly suggested the pairing of the 7-footers is going to take a while.
Third, Trevor Ariza continues to make the case that he should remain a starter when the regular season begins Oct. 28. He didn’t shoot all that well against the Clippers, going 3-for-9 while scoring 10 points in 23 minutes. But his energetic play, particularly defensively, sparked the Lakers to a brief run in the third quarter.

Phil Jackson made the trip to Fresno after missing Tuesday’s exhibition opener in Anaheim because of swelling and soreness in his lower legs. The cause of the ailment remains something of a mystery, but Jackson arrived with the team for its game against the Clippers.

Just got done watching an excellent interview with Shaquille O’Neal on ESPN.

The Big Saguaro, or whatever he’s going by these days, said that he’s been reflecting on his time with the Lakers recently and come to some interesting new conclusions.

“I was fun the whole time. All that hoopla, being part of that little sitcom,” O’Neal said. “One day I just sat there and thought about it. You know how Phil does the psychological thing, and he never jumped in? Why Magic (Johnson) never jumped in? I think it was all done by design, and it actually worked.

“If I had to do it all over again, I would probably bring it up more, I would probably start more fights with him (Kobe Bryant). I was putting up great numbers, he was putting up great numbers, it made him all pissed off and he’s one of those (guys) where when he gets pissed off, he can go on and score 80 points.

“I think we were the greatest one-two punch in the game, greatest little man, big man punch in the game. Period.”

Why then, did Shaq rip Kobe in that infamous freestyle rap over the summer?

“That was my bad, a bad thing to do,” O’Neal said. “I just threw his name in at the end, it was a bad move on my part.”

O’Neal said he called Kobe shortly after the video hit TMZ.com and apologized, Bryant accepted the apology and the two have put it behind them.

Sasha Vujacic (ankle) said that he wasn’t sure if he’d accompany the team to Fresno for tonight’s game. He took part in practice Wednesday, but said his ankle is still sore. … Derek Fisher sat out a significant portion of Wednesday’s practice, but was just being given some extra rest.

No, this post isn’t going to be all about Andrew Bynum’s shoes. But it was kind of funny when he came out after practice wearing size 18 Uggs slippers.

Bynum left the Honda Center Tuesday night without speaking to reporters. No big deal. He’s only 20 years old, after all. But still, inquiring minds wanted to know how his first game since mid-January felt.

“It felt great. It was definitely fun just to get back out there and play,” Bynum said. “I still haven’t gotten to play with Pau (who only played a few minutes Tuesday). I’m looking forward to that. But all I can say is that in practice, when we’re together, we haven’t lost a game. ”

Then he offered his thoughts on why Lakers coach Phil Jackson was calling his interactions on the court with Gasol “clumsy.”

“It is a little confusing sometimes. You have a guy who played 5 all last season and I’ve been playing the 5 here the last three years, so we run to same block sometimes,” Bynum said. “We just need to talk about how we’re going to do things, as far as giving each other space, not crowding each other, not posting up on top of each other.”

The Los Angeles Lakers waived free agent guard Dwayne Mitchell Wednesday afternoon.

Mitchell, a 6’5″ 220-pound guard out of Louisiana Lafayette, was a member of the Lakers 2008 Summer-Pro League team in Las Vegas, where he averaged 6.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 15.0 minutes over six games.

Mitchell practiced with the team on Wednesday morning and said that he was feeling good again after being limited for a few days with some soreness in his knee.

The Lakers roster now stands at 18.

After skipping last night’s exhibition game versus the Utah Jazz, Lakers coach Phil Jackson was back at the team’s practice facility Wednesday and well enough to put the team through an extended practice. Jackson said that the cause of the swelling and soreness in his lower legs is still “mysterious” and didn’t commit to attending tommorrow night’s exhibition against the Clippers in Fresno. A decision on whether Jackson will accompany the team on its flight to Fresno will be made in the morning, according to Lakers spokesman John Black.

Jackson appeared to be in good spirits Wednesday. He sat on a large, foam pad for most of practice –which isn’t uncommon — but walked over to the team afterwards and addressed them on the court.

“He was messing with me, poking fun at me, like he always does,” Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic said. “I thought that was a good sign.”

So, how did Lamar Odom’s trial run at point forward go Tuesday night? Apparently the Lakers won’t be cutting him much slack as he adjusts to his new role (s).

“Fair to middlin, maybe even poor,” assistant coach Kurt Rambis said after Tuesday’s exhibition loss to the Utah Jazz. “He didn’t seem focused out there.”

When told of Rambis’ assessment, Odom tried to laugh it off and seemed to take it in stride.

“It’s the first game of the year, ain’t nobody want to score a career high the first game of the year,” he said. “There’s no need to be frustrated. He’s my coach. Coach is always right.”

Teammate Kobe Bryant got a good chuckle too.

“Sheesh, it’s one preseason game,” Bryant said. “(Lamar’s) fine.”

Daily Breeze crime reporter Larry Altman just forwarded me the mug shot of the 34-year old El Segundo woman, Stacy Beshear, who has been charged with one misdemeanor count of stalking Lakers forward Luke Walton.