He Could Also Try ‘Interiors’

It has been a Phil Jackson specialty over the years, inserting movie scenes into game film to lighten up moods and get across a point or two come playoff time.

He hasn’t gone back to the well yet with “Shrek,” which he used before the Lakers’ improbable Game 5 victory over San Antonio in 2004, but the Laker coach interspersed clips of “Inside Man,” a Denzel Washington film with a bank-heist plot chosen by Jackson more for its symbolic name as the Lakers prepare for Phoenix.

The Lakers are hoping to slow the Suns by pounding the ball inside to Kwame Brown, Chris Mihm if he’s healthy enough, Lamar Odom at times, and even Luke Walton and Kobe Bryant.

“That’s how we’re going to play,” Odom said. “We’re going to go inside and get the job done.”

Of course, “Inside Man” is still in theaters and not exactly available for public use, which led Odom to smile when a reporter lightheartedly used the word “stolen” to describe how the Lakers might have obtained it.

“Hopefully we can steal a series,” Odom said, “because [probably] nobody has us picked to win.”

The Lakers are 1-7 against the Suns the last two seasons, their lone victory taking place last Sunday as Sun guards Steve Nash and Raja Bell (combined output: 33.5 points and 13.1 assists) sat out.

The Lakers don’t seem overly concerned, paying respect to the team that won nine more games than they did but also insisting there’s no lack of confidence.

“I don’t think we have any trouble with that,” Jackson said. “We’re not at all doubting ourselves.”

They think they can beat the Suns?

“I think we have the experience in key spots to do that,” Jackson said. “I think that this team, Phoenix, is perhaps not as strong as they were last year.”

With Amare Stoudemire playing only three games this season because of knee problems, the Suns revolved around Nash, a candidate for most valuable player who ran rings around the Lakers, averaging 18 points and 12.3 assists in three games this season.

A typical possession for the Suns, if they haven’t already scored on a fastbreak: Nash penetrates, causes chaos and pitches the ball out to an open teammate beyond the three-point line. The Suns set a league record with 837 three-pointers this season.

“You really have to find a way to get to some of their shooters and slow down Nash,” Jackson said. “That’s a tall order, without a doubt, but that’s the key to the series: How are you going to slow down the guy that makes this offense generate points and close out on the guys that are getting wide-open shots.”

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Bryant, who averaged 42.5 points against the Suns this season, was a little more complimentary of Bell when asked Friday about their pending matchup.

“I think Raja plays hard all the time, which is what I like,” Bryant said. “I enjoy players who play hard all the time.”

After a 107-96 Sun victory over the Lakers two weeks ago, Bryant laughed off Bell, a physical Bruce Bowen-like defender.

“I don’t even think about Raja Bell,” Bryant said at the time. “I have bigger fish to fry than Raja Bell. You have got to be kidding.”

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Luke Walton, who sustained a bruised left cheekbone after getting elbowed Wednesday by New Orleans center Marc Jackson, will play Sunday.

Mihm’s status is a little less certain, Jackson said. Mihm played Wednesday but made only one of five shots and didn’t look fully recovered after sitting out 17 games because of a severely sprained right ankle.

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After conducting a series of tiebreakers, none involving the Lakers, the league officially announced the order for the June draft. The Lakers would have had the 21st selection in the first round, although they shipped the pick to Boston two years ago as part of the trade that brought Mihm. (The pick ultimately landed in the hands of Phoenix.)

The Lakers do, however, get Miami’s pick, 26th overall, as part of the Shaquille O’Neal trade. The Lakers also have a second-round selection, 51st overall.

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The NBA’s Board of Governors approved the Lakers to be owners of a new team in the Development League. The Lakers will be able to select the coach for the yet-to-be-named team, which might play its 2006-07 home games at Staples Center. Ontario is one of the sites the Lakers are considering as the team’s permanent home.

The Lakers currently are one of four NBA teams that send players to the NBDL’s Fort Worth (Texas) Flyers.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Sunburned

The Lakers have lost seven of eight games against the Suns since the Shaquille O’Neal trade:

*--* 2005-06

*--*

* Lakers 109, Suns 89, April 16 at Staples Center: The Suns sat their starting backcourt (Steve Nash and Raja Bell), and the Lakers finally broke through with a victory.

* Suns 107, Lakers 96, April 7 at Phoenix: Kobe Bryant scored 51 points, but the Suns got their 50th win of the season. The Lakers came undone in the fourth quarter after trailing by only one through three.

* Suns 106, Lakers 93, Jan. 20 at Phoenix: The Lakers led, 35-25, but then came a 22-4 Sun run with three-point gunner Eddie House scoring 12 consecutive points. Nash had 17 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.

* Suns 122, Lakers 112, Nov. 3 at Staples Center: Lamar Odom had a near triple-double -- 23 points, 16 rebounds, eight assists -- but the Lakers couldn’t claim a victory. Nash had 12 points and 17 assists.

*--* 2004-05

*--*

* Suns 108, Lakers 97, April 11 at Staples Center: The Suns set a Laker opponent record with 19 three-pointers and took a 24 1/2 -game lead over the Lakers in the Pacific Division.

* Suns 125, Lakers 99, April 5 at Phoenix: The worst loss of the seven for the Lakers, who were eliminated from playoff contention with two weeks left in the regular season.

* Suns 113, Lakers 110, Dec. 8 at Staples Center: Still no obvious hint that this would become a mismatch, as Bryant’s missed three-point attempt at the buzzer overshadowed his triple-double -- 20 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists.

* Suns 107, Lakers 102, Nov. 19 at Phoenix: No real sign that the Suns were about to dominate the Lakers for two years, although in the blast-from-the-past department, then-coach Rudy Tomjanovich refused to talk to reporters after the game because he was so irritated by referees’ calls.