Foster Bothered by Some Stuff

Not two hours before his second start as a Laker, Greg Foster sounded disappointed with his first season here, and not because, as Shaquille O’Neal’s backup, he rarely plays.

When he was traded with Horace Grant from Seattle, Foster assumed he would find a championship edge in the Laker locker room. So far, he has seen losses at the hands of inferior teams and then frustration.

“It’s a critical time,” Foster said before the Lakers defeated the Vancouver Grizzlies. “[Stuff] gets started when you get to losing. I’ve been through it. I’ve seen it.”

Asked what “stuff” he meant, Foster said that players, media and fans begin searching for someone to blame.

“That doesn’t make it fun,” he said. “It happens for everybody. We’ve got a veteran bunch of guys. We shouldn’t be having the problems we’re having. We’re going to have to start policing our own mess. It’s frustrating for me. I know it’s got to be frustrating for guys getting all the minutes. I know it’s frustrating to watch.”

The Lakers haven’t played sound defense, which often speaks to a lack of trust. Though they lead the league in scoring, there are the whispers in their locker room about who gets the shots and when. In his travels, Foster counted on that discontent in losing locker rooms, but not in a place where they celebrated a championship six months before.

“I don’t think you assume everything’s perfect,” he said. “But you expect some level of attitude about winning that would have been instituted the year before. We don’t have that attitude yet.”

Slumped in his chair, Foster smiled as if he got the reality of it, and said, “It happens every year on every team. That’s just part of the NBA.”

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Rookie guard Mike Penberthy felt more pain in his right shoulder Friday night.

He spent the first six games of the season on the injured list because of soreness in the same shoulder.

“It’s a little sore,” said Penberthy, who made two of six shots against the Grizzlies and occasionally stretched the shoulder after misses.

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Even without O’Neal, Lakers blocked 10 shots and outrebounded the Grizzlies, 58-36.

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The Lakers had only 10 uninjured players--not counting Slava Medvedenko and Tyronn Lue, who are on injured reserve--against Vancouver.

Forward Devean George, who has averaged seven minutes per game, has a sore throat and ear ache and did not attend Friday night’s game. He is not expected to rejoin the club until Tuesday in Miami.

In his second season, George has yet to claim a regular role in Jackson’s rotation.

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Magic and Cookie Johnson will distribute gifts to underprivileged children this morning at the Magic Johnson Theaters in Los Angeles. It is the eighth year that Johnson has donated Christmas presents to kids who are part of his foundation.