Jackson Has More Pieces for the Laker Puzzle

Now that the Lakers have some players, it’s up to Phil Jackson and the coaching staff to figure out how to use them.

Look for a little more creativity with newcomers Horace Grant, Isaiah Rider and Greg Foster in the mix.

Last season’s edict was essentially: Shaq, don’t get tired and don’t get into foul trouble, and Kobe, don’t shoot every time.

That worked well enough last season, but if Shaquille O’Neal has to log that many minutes again he might be tempted to quit and work on his Web site full time. Grant and Foster should lessen that load.

Actually, more rest seems to be the theme of this camp.

The Lakers think Ron Harper would be most effective starting, and then sitting out long spells. And I do mean long. They thought he played too many minutes last season, and they plan to ease him along until the playoffs this time around.

Having Grant around also means that Robert Horry won’t have to spend so much time guarding bigger players in the low post.

“I think Robert’s going to be liberated from the kind of grunt work that he’s had to do the last couple of years,” Jackson said.

Phil Jackson, champion of the proletariat.

The one player who has enough excess energy to power Staples Center is Kobe Bryant, and it sounds as if he will get his chances to play an up-tempo style with the second unit.

“I want to have a speed team on the floor with Horace in our lineup and Kobe at the wing,” Jackson said. “It would really make us a quick team, a speed team, if Isaiah can fit in as a guard and we can advance the ball through three players out there on the floor [a small forward and both our guards], it would give us a lot more of a quick-hitting offense. I’d like to see that as a projection as the season goes forward.

“But I haven’t really visualized how this can all happen inside of the encumbrances that the triangle offense puts on the players.”

Usually it’s the players, not the coaches, who refer to the triangle as restrictive. It was almost as if Jackson was prepared to acknowledge that the triangle might not be the best fit for a lineup with Rider.

“A lot of this depends upon how well J.R. fits in--Isaiah--fits in to our system and matures,” Jackson said.

See, that’s the problem with Rider. There are too many question marks, starting with what to call him.

Whether it’s Isaiah, J.R., Easy Rider, or whatever, one of the keys to the season will be his ability to mesh with his teammates. A lot of his offense is based on dribbling and using his strength to back defenders in. That could take the Lakers out of their passing game.

And he must show maturity, avoiding the outbursts and unexcused absences that prompted the Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers and Atlanta Hawks to give up on him.

Rider does bring an element of athleticism back to the team. He’s a better defender than Glen Rice and better at attacking the basket.

At 35, Grant can’t cover the entire court the way Jackson once asked him to in Chicago, but he should be able to hold his own inside against the likes of Rasheed Wallace and Karl Malone.

Jackson might be able to get away with smaller lineups of Grant, Foster, Bryant, Rider and another guard for five-minute stretches and let them play fastbreak basketball.

The Laker coaches are intrigued with the idea of Rider coming off the bench to add scoring punch to the second unit.

So they could start Harper and Bryant in the backcourt, O’Neal at center, the 6-10 Grant at power forward and Rick Fox at small forward.

Rotate in Rider, Horry, Foster (6-11) and Brian Shaw and you can see why Jackson likes the flexibility of this team. He even plans to find some time for Mark Madsen, the 6-9 rookie from Stanford.

“He’s qualified and mature enough to play some minutes out there,” Jackson said.

The biggest concern for the Lakers now that Rice has departed is shooting. They don’t have the one guy who can consistently stand outside and knock down three-pointers when the defenses begin to collapse on Shaq. Truth be told, Rice didn’t do such a great job of it last season, but he’s better than anything they have now.

They did get Chuck Person as part of the mega-trade, but they’re not even sure if he’ll show up to camp. Chris Mullin is floating out there in free-agent land, but he became such a defensive liability last season that he couldn’t find his way off the Indiana Pacers’ bench.

For the most part, Jackson sounded ready to go with what’s on hand.

“We have a roster that’s very solid and we have some good players there,” Jackson said.

It’s certainly looking a lot healthier than it was before the four-team trade that brought in Grant and Foster.

“That may not be good enough,” Jackson acknowledged. “Because Portland has really helped themselves.”

Even though the Trail Blazers tried to accumulate every player in the Western Hemisphere, they had to sit and watch this 12-player transaction bring the much-needed frontcourt help to the Lakers.

“I didn’t like it,” Portland General Manager Bob Whitsitt said. “So that tells me it was a good deal for them.”

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J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: j.a.adande@latimes.com.

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Talk of the Town

Comments on the updated version of NBA champion Lakers:

SHAQUILLE O’NEAL Lakers would love an M-V-P R-E-P-E-A-T.

KOBE BRYANT And he’s still only 22.

RICK FOX More points, fewer altercations would be nice.

ROBERT HORRY Less pressure, less bruises as backup.

RON HARPER Just wake him up when the playoffs begin.

JOHN CELESTAND Was more useful in practice than in games.

DEREK FISHER Foot surgery has him sidelined for most of season.

DEVEAN GEORGE Might be time to see what he can do.

TYRONN LUE Could get a chance while Fisher injured.

HORACE GRANT Best Laker in goggles since Kareem.

ISAIAH RIDER Lakers gamble on the former Las Vegas standout.

GREG FOSTER Once a Laker annoyance, now he has Shaq’s back.

MARK MADSEN A tad undersized for NBA, but packs attitude.

ANDY PANKO Spent last summer and training camp with Lakers.

CHUCK PERSON The Rifleman might have fired his last shot.

EMANUAL DAVIS Scored 18 points against Lakers on Jan. 8.

CORY HIGHTOWER Jumped to NBA after two junior college seasons.

BRIAN SHAW “Blazer Beater” expected to re-sign.