Duo Dynamics

Shaq and Kobe, Part 84: Not to alarm you or anything, but wisps of smoke have been seen recently, curling out of Shaquille O’Neal’s ears.

After losses, which mounted at a surprising rate last week, he was back talking about “playing smarter.” If you don’t know the code by now, what Shaq means is, “Will somebody please tell our teen idol to throw me the [&%#@$!] rock?”

Of course, Shaq and Kobe Bryant are supposed to be buddies now. They’ve been to each others’ birthday parties and leaped into each others’ arms after winning the NBA title in the heartwarming picture on the cover of the Laker media guide.

If only life was as easy as media guide covers.

What they worked out was more of an arrangement than a friendship. They’re still different guys from different generations. Between them, there remains a fault line and when the ground shakes around the Lakers, it opens here first.

It’s true that Bryant, who was supposed to have gotten over the hump as a playmaker, opened the season as if he’d recrossed that hump over the summer, regressing into an excitable fire-when-you-see-the-whites-of-their-eyes kid.

However, after compiling nine assists and 15 turnovers in the first three games, he seemed to be settling down. He had six assists and two turnovers in that embarrassing victory over the Clippers. That game, Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry vowed to drape his defense all over O’Neal and let everyone else shoot to their hearts’ content. Nevertheless, Shaq was still upset at how long it took his teammates to start pounding the ball into him.

Then came the game at Houston where Shaq, whose four previous outings had been monsters, had that oddly dispirited effort, missing 11 of 19 shots and taking seven rebounds (in 45 minutes) as the Lakers tied their franchise-low record of 74 points.

Bryant had three assists and one turnover that night, when both players gave out stony no-comments.

The next night, Bryant, who isn’t one to back down, took 31 shots at San Antonio and the Lakers scored 81. That wasn’t enough, either.

Meanwhile, Coach Phil Jackson was talking delicately about “emotional tussles,” getting players to “corral their own personal interest” and his confidence that he could fix “the tussle of wills” between unnamed Lakers.

This is Jackson’s code for: “I’m on the case, but I’d just as soon keep it off the radar screen for the time being. But check back with me.”

There have been times in recent Laker history when this “tussle” raged out of control, when Shaq and Kobe towered over Del Harris, who had scant leverage on either, and Jerry West, revered by both players, preferred staying out of it.

Jackson’s arrival ended that. He made O’Neal the first priority, got Bryant to accept that, got Kobe playing with his teammates so well by the end he was the de facto point guard half the time and voila!

O’Neal is distressed to see Bryant regress, but it has been a brief regression, we’re talking about a 22-year-old and Phil is on the job. So what’s the problem?

The problem is partly real--chilling Kobe out--and partly psychological--getting Shaq to stop grinding his teeth when the kid does something wrong.

O’Neal is at the zenith of his career in every way (except one) and has never been more popular, but Bryant remains the golden child, a darling everywhere and especially here.

In marketing, which governs modern perception, Shaq is a transitional figure between Michael Jordan and today’s kids. Kobe and Vince Carter are the princes of today, red-hot commercially. Shaq and Reebok went nowhere in the ‘90s. Kobe is Adidas these days.

People close to Shaq insist he’s past worrying about that. Personally, I suspect it lurks back there somewhere.

The Lakers went through this in the ‘80s but with lower visibility and more breathing room. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson could not have been more different and, either will tell you, it took them five years--by which time they’d won two titles--to become friends as well as teammates.

They were luckier too, that their games meshed so easily. Magic passed. Kareem shot. The extroverted Magic ran everything. The self-contained Kareem posted up. Kobe is different. He can do anything on a basketball floor. He has choices and sometimes he goofs. Because of Bryant’s uncommon poise and dedication, people make the mistake of saying he’s mature. What he is is focused. As far as wisdom and maturity go, he’s fine for a 22-year-old, but that still leaves a lot for him to experience.

And one way or other, this season--Shaq and Kobe’s first title defense--is going to be a doozy of an experience.

FACES AND FIGURES

This just in from the Chris Webber front: New York Knick guard Latrell Sprewell was invited to the league office and told to stop talking about getting his pal, Webber, to come to the Knicks. The Knicks are far over the cap and could get Webber only in a trade and Sacramento King General Manager Geoff Petrie vowed he’d never deal him there “at any juncture.” Webber then wondered out loud who put the NBA office on Sprewell. Petrie said huffily it wasn’t him. Finally, Webber, looking as though he was enjoying all the attention but finding it wearying, admitted he has been distracted. “My first reaction is to deny that any of this is bothering me and just to say that I’ve just been unhappy with the way I’d been playing,” he said. “I was even missing layups. But too many people have said that I look troubled, including my mom. So I guess it’s probably true.”

That’s our Vlade: Zinged in previous comments by Webber, who pointedly suggested he might leave because certain unnamed teammates didn’t care enough, Vlade Divac apologized for being out of shape. “I’m not happy with myself, either,” Divac said. “Chris has a good point. I should have been in better shape.” The Kings are opening a new weight room for players. A team official says if Divac will actually use it, they’ll name it “the Vlade Divac Room.”

The Chicago Bulls’ 610-game sellout streak, dating to 1987, was kept alive by accounting tricks that counted unused seats in the luxury suites last season but ended in an uninspiring 88-83 loss to the Washington Wizards on election night. Wrote the Chicago Tribune’s Sam Smith: “The Bulls led 41-40 at halftime as the Wizards shot 25.5%. Network anchors refused to declare a winner, saying the contest was too uninteresting.” . . . Bagging the big one, more or less: Desperate to prove to Charlotte city fathers they’re worthy of a new arena, the Hornets, who had seen their last 23 free agents leave--not counting Alonzo Mourning and Glen Rice, who forced trades--gave Jamal Mashburn a six-year, $54-million contract. Of course, that was pricey for a one-dimensional player who’d been with them for four games, only two of which he’d done well in. Wrote John DeLong in the Winston-Salem Journal: “This is like getting married after the second date.”

Everybody’s insurance paid up? New Indiana Pacer Coach Isiah Thomas brought in Bob Knight to work with his players. The recently fired Knight must have time on his hands. He once said he’d rather watch frogs mate than an NBA game. . . . Thomas has brought in other guest lecturers, including former Detroit Piston teammate Mark “Muffin Man” Aguirre, who talked about offense but declared, “I don’t do defense.” Said Sam Perkins: “George Clooney might be here tomorrow, I don’t know. You never know. The man I’m waiting for, really, is Bill Laimbeer.” . . . Well, which is it? Milwaukee Coach George Karl can’t get his Bucks to play defense. Ray Allen says they’re soft. Sam Cassell says it’s the media’s fault for picking them too high. “We haven’t won a playoff series and they predicted us as the Eastern Conference champ,” Cassell said. “That’s unheard-of. That’s crazy. We don’t have the big thoroughbred to throw the ball to in the middle. We don’t have a shot blocker like Jermaine O’Neal.” . . . Jermaine O’Neal? . . . Karl, after his Bucks gave up 103 points on their home court in an election night loss to the Knicks: “I think we had a longer night than Bush and Gore.”