Medvedenko Feels Heat From Jackson, Teammates

A year ago Slava Medvedenko was as unknown as unknown could be, a free agent from the Ukraine accompanied by his own baby-sitter/interpreter, former NBA player Alexander Volkov.

Now Medvedenko is about to make his debut as a Laker starter, even if it’s the preseason, in tonight’s game against the Golden State Warriors in Bakersfield.

“Hopefully, that will give him a nice kick in the butt,” Kobe Bryant said.

Of Lakers expected to stay, the 6-foot-10, 255-pound Medvedenko is the second biggest, and far from the least skilled. However, Coach Phil Jackson has questions about him, and his teammates also have some thoughts on the subject.

However you cut it, Medvedenko isn’t an unknown anymore.

“I just have to keep pushing this kid to see what he can contain, from practice to practice, from game to game, how much he really knows and what does it look like when he’s on the court in a real situation,” Jackson said. “Because he’s sometimes very astounding in a practice situation and in a game, it’s like he doesn’t know where he belongs....

“I think the biggest problem we have right now is getting him to talk, so he communicates. It’s not the understanding, he’s pretty good with our language now, it’s the fact that he’s reluctant to speak and you have to talk, playing basketball.”

Something else may be lost in translation, as Medvedenko tries to join the more intense NBA game.

“I’m not particularly happy with the way Slava’s been playing,” Bryant said. “I think he could be playing a lot better, as far as picking up where he left off last year. He could be working a lot harder. He could be practicing a lot harder....

“We talk to him, we tell him, ‘You’ve got to pick it up.’ I mean, a lot of this stuff is mental. Seems like a lot of the stuff he learned last year about the triangle offense hasn’t carried through this season yet. Hopefully, it’ll click....

“He has a tremendous amount of potential. I think we all know that. But we’re looking for some consistency, But if he’s missing his shot here and there, missing a defensive assignment, as long as he plays hard, then everything will kind of fall in place, as long as he works hard every day. And he could be working a lot harder.”

With 20 players in camp on a team with the rotation, not to mention the 12-man roster, already set, Jackson said he expected to cut down Monday but held off, perhaps to make up for his own nine-day absence.

“I’m enjoying having the group I have out there,” he said. “They’re working hard. I tell them they’re not working hard, but they’re working pretty hard. I like the freedom and liberty to do some things in practice.”

Jackson and Shaquille O’Neal will make their preseason debuts, as well, in Bakersfield.

Jackson says he won’t start his normal starters but, after two losses by a total of 35 points in Hawaii, he’d like to see some life.

“Not important to me,” he said when asked about starting his normal top five.

“We want to play well. We’ve been beaten twice by Golden State. Those are things I think, that concern us....

“His [O’Neal’s] effort out there will be important, but it’s just to get him out there in a game-like situation. It gives him a feel for that, referees, the whole bit.”