Jackson Groping for Answers

The old Lakers--OK, last year’s Lakers; all right, last month’s Lakers--might have held some assumptions for this weekend.

You know, New Jersey tonight at Staples Center for the quick win, then back to Madison Square Garden for the big NBC game Sunday.

But, these aren’t the old Lakers. The new Lakers have defensive issues that have bled into offensive issues that have bled, again, into personality issues. Net Coach Byron Scott might not recognize the place, other than maybe for the personality thing.

It’s not yet cataclysmic. But, it’s no basketball Shangri-La, either.

So, when asked after consecutive losses and a day of practice if he had any expectations for this game against the Nets, Coach Phil Jackson shook his head.

“I have no expectations,” he said. “How can you expect anything from this team? They haven’t shown anything one way or the other, in the ways of consistency and production.”

The Lakers met Thursday morning, then had a long, arduous practice. They waxed the triangle and then shot free throws, running wind sprints if they didn’t make 75%.

In part, the drill was to get guys pulling for each other again.

“Coach was just saying in practice how sometimes guys don’t root for each other,” Isaiah Rider said. “Or, we like to see the next guy be scored on. I don’t know if ‘like’ is the right word. But it doesn’t bother us and we don’t help each other out. It’s the NBA. Guys will score. So, we have to help each other out. I think if we play team defense, we’ll be fine.”

The Nets are a decent place to start. They rank 25th in the league in scoring and last in field-goal percentage.

*

Since Rider’s contention that the offense had stalled because Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant are the only players taking enough shots to feel involved, that has become one of the pressing topics around the club.

O’Neal had his usual take.

“If I was a shooter and knew my shot wasn’t falling, I would pump fake and try to get to the hole, try to get to the line,” O’Neal said. “You know, you live by the jumper, you die by the jumper. We’re not a jump-shooting team. We’re an inside-outside team.”

Before that’s construed as a total Kobe slam, Robert Horry has missed his last 12 shots, Rick Fox is six for his last 21, Brian Shaw is two for his last 17, and the team is 14 for 55 from three-point range in its past three games.

“There’s a part of coaching that has a love-hate relationship with stars because you guys make such an issue about scoring, their averages,” Jackson said. “It’s not about that. You watch the Philadelphia game [Wednesday] night, they didn’t give the ball to [Allen] Iverson down the stretch at all. They gave the ball to [George] Lynch and they gave the ball to [Theo] Ratliff, guys that are second-round draft picks that have been traded around the league. You don’t need to have superstar players in on every single play to make things work. You just have to operate as a group.”

*

Horace Grant, who has sat out the past two games because of back spasms, had a full practice Thursday and said he expects to play tonight.

TONIGHT

vs. New Jersey, 7:30

Fox Sports Net

* Site--Staples Center.

* Radio--KLAC (570).

* Records--Lakers 26-14, Nets 14-29.

* Record vs. Nets (1999-2000)--2-0.

* Update--The Lakers have won nine of their last 10 games against the Nets. Byron Scott is in his first season as Net coach and his hard-line tactics already have drawn comparisons to Pat Riley, Scott’s coach when both were winning championships with the Lakers. The Nets are without injured centers Jim McIlvaine and Jamie Feick. They have recently started rookie Kenyon Martin there. Stephon Marbury is averaging 23.8 points and 6.6 assists.

* Tickets--(800) 462-2849.