Shaq, Kobe Enjoy a Good Old Night

Now that the Kobe Bryant is back in the Laker lineup, it’s time to put aside all the talk about shot selection and touches and dog biscuits.

If the Lakers are going to win a championship they’re going to have to do a better job on defense, and it’s going to have to start with Bryant on the perimeter.

That was the first thing on Phil Jackson’s mind when he was asked what he wants to see from Bryant after Kobe sat out nine out of 10 games because of foot and ankle injuries.

He didn’t talk about a potential disruption after the team clicked so well last week, when the Big Dog, Shaquille O’Neal, was well fed and the offense flowed smoothly.

Nope, defense.

“The one thing we really want Kobe to be able to do is get down and slide defensively again,” Jackson said. “I felt like, for a kid who was on the first-team all defensive team last year, he has really felt embarrassed by his defense. Not embarrassed so much as inept. He couldn’t make the moves, he couldn’t slide. He was just attacking the ball. As a consequence, we felt defensively he was more a liability. He’s been a great player for us in the past.”

The past came back to life for the Lakers on Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns. For one game, it sure seemed reminiscent of the 1999-2000 season.

“They picked up the defensive intensity like they’d like to win the title again,” Phoenix Coach Scott Skiles said.

Phoenix was a perfect test for Bryant.

The Suns don’t have a real low-post threat. They get their inside game from Jason Kidd’s penetration and transition offense.

Most of Kidd’s shots came on jumpers with Bryant right in front of him. He made some, which is acceptable, but he’s going to miss those more often than not.

You just don’t want him turning the corner and throwing lob passes to Shawn Marion. Then you’ll lose--and get embarrassed on “SportsCenter” to boot. Kidd finished three for 10, his playing time limited to 18 minutes by foul trouble and a why-bother deficit in the Lakers’ 106-80 victory.

Marion didn’t get much of a chance to show his Matrix moves. The Suns scored only 22 points in the paint--compared to 54 for the Lakers.

And as for fastbreaks? Forget it. The Lakers didn’t miss very often, and when they did they hustled back on defense.

Actually, it was the Lakers who displayed the up-tempo offense. It wasn’t exactly Magic to Worthy; how does Mark Madsen dishing to Derek Fisher for a layup grab you? The Lakers used all kinds of combinations to run up a 26-2 edge in fastbreak points.

The big hand in starting those breaks belonged to Bryant, who tied a career high with six steals.

Earlier in the season, Bryant tried to make the big defensive play by reaching for the ball. Usually that only got him a foul 30 feet from the basket or left his man with a clear path to the hoop.

On Tuesday he made it happen the right way, by staying in front of his man, helping out in the key and stepping into passing lanes.

“Kobe was totally disruptive defensively,” Phoenix Coach Scott Skiles said. “He came out being physical early, he mad it for difficult for whoever he was guarding to enter the ball [into the post].”

Good on-ball defense, good help defense, and, oh yeah, unselfish on offense.

For one night, at least, the Lion King changed his tune from “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” to “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.”

An efficient 20 points on seven-for-14 shooting from the floor. Four assists to one turnover. And the appreciation of his teammates for all of it.

O’Neal sought him out for high-fives, and pointedly mentioned Bryant in his postgame comments.

“He played great tonight,” O’Neal said. “One of his better games. He was very aggressive on Jason Kidd, very aggressive on defense.”

O’Neal said the one thing he’d like to see from the Lakers now is consistency. They’ll get their chance to show if this can all be taken seriously when they play Minnesota on Thursday.

On Tuesday night, there was so much love at Staples Center, the only thing missing was a Barry White song.

Rick Fox hugged Bryant and they laughed all the way downcourt after Bryant passed up an acrobatic layup to throw the ball out to Fox for an open three-pointer in the third quarter.

During the “Kiss Me” routine, in which couples in the stands are encouraged to smooch, the scoreboard screen showed O’Neal and Horace Grant sitting on the bench. Grant puckered up and leaned over toward Shaq, who declined the offer but laughed at the gesture along with the rest of the crowd.

That’s what happens when you play defense. You get fastbreaks and blowout victories and laughs and hugs and kisses.

And sometimes even a championship.

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