Jackson Taking Season ‘Moment to Moment’

The broadest view of the Lakers belongs to Coach Phil Jackson, who as a rule does not become swept away in the daily tribulations and achievements of the NBA season.

No, the Lakers haven’t played their best, but they haven’t yet spent home-court advantage in the playoffs.

Yes, they have played brilliantly in stretches, but what about the odd loss to the inferior team?

And then there’s Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, and whether they patch things up and keep them patched up.

Given all of that, Jackson was asked if he believes this Laker team, flawed and all, is a championship club.

“You know, it’s moment to moment,” Jackson said. “That’s really what it’s all about. Portland is playing great basketball. They moved ahead of us during the Christmas game. It was a situation where we had that game literally in hand at the half and didn’t come out and play the kind of basketball I wanted to play in the second half. As a result, they took confidence from that game and rolled into a little bit of a roll right now.

“But we’re right there. We’re at the top echelon of the league. But, to do the thing correctly, we need home-court advantage, and we need to put step-by-step in order so we set up success. We’ve got 47 games left in the season to do those steps correctly.”

Somewhere between the culmination of their championship and their protracted defense of it, Jackson feared, the Lakers occasionally have failed to address the daily details.

“[Assistant] Tex Winter has a statement he always wants to hammer home, that you’re only successful at the moment you perform the successful act,” Jackson said. “I think that’s the issue. Success is a limited thing. We were champions last year. We still have to prove it every single night, and it’s been difficult. It’s been a real trial for us, but it’s been good. Given all this stuff going on, and we’re right here. We’re playing good enough ball to be right there.”

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In a hallway at the Laker training facility in El Segundo, Isaiah Rider was stopped by reporters this week. They asked if he wouldn’t mind discussing this thing that had come up between O’Neal and Bryant.

Rider grinned and said that he would not mind, given that the controversy was about somebody else for a change.

Friday night, he told teammates, half in jest, that it had been three weeks since he was late for practice or a game, and wasn’t that cause for celebration?

“You guys gotta pump that up,” Rick Fox said, smiling. “He’s been there for everything. Practices, games, everything, man.”

Rider scored 12 points in 20 minutes Friday against Cleveland and 16 point in 18 minutes Saturday against Utah, making six of eight shots.

“It feels good to get involved,” Rider said. “What happened, I had a pretty good week of practice, offensively. My mind-set now, I can no longer be passive. My friends are challenging me to get 10 shots a game. They told me to start forcing a few things.”

Against Cleveland and Utah, Rider posted smaller, weaker defenders early, then went to his perimeter game. Saturday, it was against John Starks.

“I still have my game, I still have my energy,” Rider said.

Rider has played well for the better part of two weeks, and he seems happier in his work.

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Jackson said. “I don’t use that in a derogatory manner. He’s been comfortable. I’ve asked him in certain ways, which he hasn’t quite got the signal yet, for more demonstration of responsible basketball, and behavior too, so I can feel comfortable in a role that could be expanded.”

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They’re weighing in from all over the country now on Shaq and Kobe.

Eddie Jones, one of Bryant’s best friends, in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel: “I saw that coming a mile away. If Shaq’s in the room, Kobe’s in another. If he’s here, Kobe’s over there.”

Penny Hardaway, a teammate of O’Neal’s in Orlando, in the Arizona Republic: “I always deferred to the guy. I always told him, ‘You’re the man. You’re the franchise player.’ Then, I did what I had to do. Really, I fed off him. I made All-NBA two straight years [1995 and 1996] that way.

“I don’t think there has to be a trade, but something has to give. Either Shaq has to give or Kobe has to give.”