Fisher Giddy With Thoughts of Returning

Derek Fisher is a month, maybe five weeks away now, he hopes.

By all indications, the stress fracture in his foot is mending without complication. He is strong and he can almost imagine how it will be, running the floor, driving the offense, demanding energy from the lethargic among them.

After the Lakers had beaten the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, Fisher stood in his gray suit, a three-piece number, tasteful tie, rocking back and forth on shiny black shoes. Yes, he said, he can almost feel it.

“That makes it harder, though,” Fisher said, “when you feel like you really can play, but you’re not playing. It gets a little harder to sit there on the side and watch. I just want our basketball team to get headed in the right direction. Nobody on this team, including myself, needs to feel any added pressure of doing more than what they need to do or more than what they do best.

“If our basketball team can get going in the right direction, not only myself but J.R. Rider and Robert Horry and Rick Fox and other guys on this team, we just kind of blend in and roll with it. There’s been so much focus on individuality, we haven’t had the cohesiveness our team needs. Hopefully, I can bring that. I won’t be worried much about statistical contributions upon my return. I’ll be focusing on the intangibles, providing us with energy.”

Asked to identify the day he wished to return, Fisher declined. He has already missed one or two of those goals, and the training staff ribbed him about it.

“I told them I’d zip my mouth in terms of dates and predictions and let them do their job,” Fisher said.

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The NBA is operating under the assumption that Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant will play in the All-Star game Sunday in Washington, because the league has not heard otherwise from the players, their agents or the Lakers.

O’Neal and Bryant were voted into the game as starters. But O’Neal has sat out five consecutive games because of a strained right arch and Bryant has a sore shoulder and hip bursitis.

Bryant, who received treatment Monday, is expected to play Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns. O’Neal, whose foot is scheduled to be reexamined Wednesday, is very unlikely to play against the Suns or in the All-Star game. He has said he will attend, however.

Said a league official: “If you play the game before, we assume you can play in the All-Star game.”

The official refused to discuss possible disciplinary procedures such as a fine or suspension if Bryant were to play Wednesday and sit out the All-Star game.

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M.L. Carr, fired from his pseudo-job with the Boston Celtics last week, told writers recently the Lakers could take a lesson from the Celtics on personality issues.

“We figured it out pretty quick here in Boston,” he said. “You think D.J. [Dennis Johnson] wasn’t a great player? And Kevin [McHale]? And Chief [Robert Parish]? But we all figured out pretty quickly that if you wanted a ring, you get the ball to Larry [Bird]. We all did that and you know what? We’ve got diamonds in our closet. Kobe had better figure that out himself.”