STAR POWER : Jan. 3 Game Was The Dawning of the Age of Kobe Bryant

Five planets were in his solar fifth house.

How else to explain it?

Believe the silly reasons, that the excess practices after a congested early Laker schedule gave him the chance to improve or that the big minutes finally came.

Or believe the sound evidence, that the alignment of stars that Jan. 3 night allowed Kobe Bryant, Virgo, to take a major step toward becoming a star.

Astrology.

One of his horoscopes had even predicted it: “Research helps you pull off an important coup where your career is concerned.”

So it’s settled. The way to rationalize the dramatic turnaround that came the first Friday of 1997.

Or there’s logic. Oh, that.

“It wasn’t just all of a sudden a miracle occurred,” Coach Del Harris said. “That’s what it would appear to fans, because they don’t go to practice.

“Missing college was obvious. But then to also miss training camp [because of a broken wrist] was too big a hurdle. At least after mid-December we were able to get in a little bit of practice.”

But there was nothing to indicate this day would be any different. It was raining, again. The Dallas Cowboys were being both scouted and investigated, again. Disney was worried about the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Bryant had played 10 minutes the night before at Sacramento, reaching double figures in scoring for only the third time in the previous seven games. He didn’t even play in five of the 14 games before the Kings came to the Forum for the finale to the home-and-home series, and the previous nine appearances had been worth all of 9.1 minutes. In all, he was averaging 10.2 minutes a game, 11th among the 13 Lakers on the active roster or injured list.

And then?

And then he pulled of an important coup where his career was concerned.

Ten points in seven minutes in the second quarter, after sitting out the first. Five more points in the third. He played almost the entire fourth at small forward, even when the Kings had cut a 19-point halftime deficit to 91-87 with 4:26 left, leaving with 15.5 seconds remaining after the Lakers had regained control.

Generation X had arrived in the form of 21 points, five rebounds, two blocks, two steals, one foul and zero turnovers in 22 minutes. It hasn’t left since, the six minutes Jan. 14 against the Portland Trail Blazers and the game two nights later he spent entirely on the bench proving an aberration.

“I just went out there and told myself maybe I was thinking about the game a little too much, thinking about trying to do things a little too much instead of just going out there and playing the game of basketball, playing in the flow,” Bryant said, remembering the night when potential started to become reality. “I went out there and that’s what I did.

“I proved to myself that I can play at this level. I always believed in myself . . . but I just went out there and kind of put the icing on the cake. . . . I always knew I could do it, but it’s good once you finally do it.”

He chuckles in satisfaction.

“It kind of reassures that,” he said.

So imagine the injection of confidence that came next.

Bryant got his first extended look at point guard Jan. 18 against Detroit and did so well that he was immediately made Nick Van Exel’s backup, moving ahead of a rookie who had played well, Derek Fisher. Playing more under control than the first two months of the season, back when he was young and inexperienced, the minutes that have come there since also have been productive.

And when Robert Horry sat out two games because of a sprained ankle, Bryant went into the opening lineup at shooting guard, becoming the youngest starter in NBA history, as Eddie Jones replaced Horry at small forward. Bryant responded with 12 points against Dallas and 19 against San Antonio, eight in the fourth quarter as the Lakers turned a seven-point deficit into a seven-point victory.

Point guard, shooting guard, some small forward. This must be what’s known as positioning yourself for success.

“He understands the game more, understands that other guys on this team can score and create and that he doesn’t have to make a special move every time,” Van Exel said. “He’s settling in.”

He’s also not showboating.

“A lot less showboating,” Van Exel said. “More playing.”

Funny how that works. The Bryant of January remained flashy and exciting, but usually with the proper measure of restraint. Of course, in his case this means not aiming for the highlight shows three times a quarter, sometimes frustrating teammates who otherwise like him.

“Sometimes, he would go to the hole and do all this,” Shaquille O’Neal said, putting his hands together and waving them around eye level. “We tell him, ‘Stop all that [stuff] and just dunk it.’ ”

Said Harris: “He’s improved his decision making, where he doesn’t try to do something every time he gets the ball. He still needs to continue to improve in that area. But he has reduced his turnover-to-assist ratio.”

It remains an area in need of continued improvements, but he is, after all, only 18 years and five months old.

His career, of course, is one month old.

“Since that game,” Bryant said of Jan. 3, “I know how to pick my spots, where to get my spots, how to play in the flow of the game.

“When to create, how to create, seeing seams. Before, I would see a hole and know I could do it, but I would just take a little too much time getting there and the defense would collapse. Now I know that if I see a seam I need to get there quick. If I see a seam and it closes up on me, I can pull it out and look to dish off. I see the court better.”

More than that. He sees the future better, along with an entire organization.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

SEASON AVERAGE UP TO JAN.2

*--*

G MIN FG% FT% PTS REB AST TO 24 10.2 .389 .694 4.6 1.5 0.7 1.3

*--*

SEASON AVERAGE SINCE JAN.3 *--*

G MIN FG% FT% PTS REB AST TO 12 21.6 .467 .857 11.7 2.8 1.8 2.4

*--*

SEASON AVERAGE TOTAL *--*

G MIN FG% FT% PTS REB AST TO 36 14.0 .431 .775 6.9 1.9 1.0 1.7

*--*