O’Neal Experiences Limitations of Zone

Shaquille O’Neal figured, eventually, it would come to this: Him, without the basketball, crowded by two or three defenders, the Laker offense puttering along without him.

He took 11 shots on Wednesday and scored 10 points in the Lakers’ 89-68 victory. He took three shots in the second half, in 13 minutes.

It seemed a fair enough conclusion to his self-proclaimed “[Mess] with Shaquille Week,” during which harassment came cheap, on the floor, in his wardrobe and in his wallet.

The new zone-tolerant defensive rules were part of the reason O’Neal nominated Kobe Bryant for most valuable player, and while O’Neal has seen the occasional multi-coverage, the Denver Nuggets were the first to have any success with it, and that came at the price of a 21-point defeat.

Three weeks ago, when O’Neal dropped 36 points and 13 rebounds on his helpless Phoenix Suns, Coach Scott Skiles was asked why he didn’t surround O’Neal in zone. He responded that teams couldn’t simply incorporate a zone if they hadn’t committed plenty of practice time to it, and that it was too early for that.

Perhaps, then, there will be more of it as the season progresses, and certainly when the playoffs arrive, when off-days are plentiful and preparation can be more precise. In the meantime, scoring around the league is up, and Laker Coach Phil Jackson noted recently that there appeared to be more ball movement, leaving behind teams still trying to create and live with isolation plays.

“More teams are running system basketball,” he said. “They have a system where they’re at least lining up and looking to see what the defense is doing.

“In the process, the teams that don’t do that, like the New York Knicks, are having a dastardly time out there. The offense will come and go from night to night. It’s obvious teams are taking this as a serious threat to our game and you’d better be ready to play a system.”

Tex Winter, the architect of Jackson’s beloved triangle offense, said the new rules have had a “negligible” impact on the Lakers, again among the league’s scoring leaders.

“They don’t usually get a chance to double Shaquille because of the way we spread the floor and the way the ball is moved,” Winter said.

Instead, Winter said, the differences--and even these are subtle--have come in the other rules: eight seconds to get the ball to mid-court and the defensive three-second violation.

“I thought we’d see more full-court or three-quarter-court pressure,” he said.

The scoring numbers for O’Neal and Bryant are not dramatically different from last season, and Bryant appears intent on raising other parts of his game. He leads the league in steals and averages 7.3 assists. He has had 27 assists in his last three games.

“My prediction will come true,” O’Neal said of a league MVP award for the 23-year-old Bryant. “What I said about the award, it’s true. He’s keeping everyone involved and playing well.”

*

Devean George’s four blocked shots against Denver on Wednesday were a career high.... Since playing a season-low three minutes in Houston on Nov. 15, Mitch Richmond has found a more regular place in the rotation. He played 20 minutes and scored 13 points in Denver.... Derek Fisher and/or Mark Madsen could be activated from the injured list as early as today.

TONIGHT

vs. Golden State

7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Net

Site: Staples Center.

Radio: KLAC-AM (570).

Records: Lakers 10-1, Warriors 6-6.

Record vs. Warriors (2000-01): 3-1.

Update: The Lakers have won 13 consecutive home games against the Warriors, a streak that dates to the 1993-94 season, the last of the Randy Pfund era.... The Lakers have won three in a row since their Nov. 16 loss in Phoenix.... Their 10-1 start is the second best in franchise history. They were 11-0 in 1997-98.... The Warriors are 4-3 on the road. Danny Fortson averages a league-high 13.0 rebounds.

Tickets: (800) 462-2849