Bryant’s Doing What He Can to Help Teammates

Kobe Bryant, whose 26 shots per 48 minutes last season trailed only Allen Iverson, Jerry Stackhouse, Chris Webber, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter, took five shots in his final exhibition game Friday against the Phoenix Suns.

In 31 minutes, Bryant passed, directed, prodded and defended, but rarely shot.

Having tried to nudge along the offensive games of Slava Medvedenko and Devean George, Bryant said he spent the last minutes of his exhibition season hoping to enhance Samaki Walker’s sense of the triangle.

“I feel confident with my game, what my game can provide for the team,” Bryant said after Sunday’s practice. “I was trying to see what my teammates can do, to get everybody else involved. It’s important for Samaki to know where the gaps are in the defense.”

Bryant made 57.4% of his preseason field-goal attempts, and, more important, proved last season’s ankle sprains and knee tendinitis did not linger through the summer.

“He’s not pushing anything and he’s very comfortable with how he’s going to play,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “He’s going to find a way to score out there. We won’t have to worry about that.

“But I don’t think he’s going to get in a position where he feels like he has to flail or overrun the team or the game to get those points. He’s going to score.”

The Lakers probably will open the season with 15 players on their roster, the official version of which is due in the league office by 3 p.m. today.

Derek Fisher (foot) and Mark Madsen (abdomen) should start on the injured list. Another of the 13 remaining players also will be designated as injured.

The club has all but decided it can afford to carry 15 for at least a few weeks, delaying the choice that appeared to come down to guards Mike Penberthy and Joe Crispin.

Long-term concerns about the league’s luxury tax make it unlikely the Lakers will carry more than 13 or 14 for the bulk of the season.

While the Laker staff and brass mull the ramifications of the league’s new defensive rules, it appears the players have chosen their course.

In eight exhibition games, the Lakers took 149 three-point shots, or 18.6 a game, more than three a game more than they attempted last season.

They were nine for 25 from the arc against the zone-minded Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, then three for 16 Friday against the Suns. Neither team had anything with which to counter Shaquille O’Neal, and still the long-range shots flew.

Lindsey Hunter took 27 threes in 175 minutes and Crispin took 25 in 101 minutes. Bryant made six of nine threes, and Rick Fox made 10 of 21.

Not satisfied with Medvedenko’s play at center Thursday, Jackson gave those backup minutes to Walker on Friday against the Suns.

Walker started at power forward, as he might in the regular season, then spelled O’Neal for short periods at center. Medvedenko’s minutes were spent at forward.

Jackson is expected to notify his players today that Bryant will join O’Neal as team co-captain.... Jackson hopes to get Mitch Richmond at least 20 minutes per game, while also saving the veteran’s knees for the playoffs.