Three-Peat Bid Begins Tonight With Quiet Confidence

By the end of practice Monday afternoon at Staples Center, beneath all eight Los Angeles championship banners, Shaquille O’Neal, wet with sweat, shot free throws.

Phil Jackson stood beneath the same basket, lecturing his assortment of power forwards, among them Samaki Walker, his probable starter.

At the far end of the floor, nearest a new banner already in its place, Kobe Bryant made jump shots.

Their three-peat, as they all view it, starts tonight at Staples Center against the Portland Trail Blazers, “Team Meltdown,” swept from the last season’s playoffs by the Lakers.

“Every team now is starting to dislike us,” O’Neal said. “Every team wants a rivalry with us. That’s fine with me. Again, if we do what we’re supposed to do, no team can beat us. Ever.”

Off a summer of toe surgery and a fall of catching up, O’Neal said he begins the season at less than full strength and fitness.

“As long as I get better,” O’Neal said. “That’s what’s important. I might get in trouble [saying this], but I’d rather come in at 85% and have something to work up to. I’ve been doing this all my life.”

The Lakers will try to become the fifth NBA team to win at least three consecutive championships. The last was the Chicago Bulls, who did it twice in the 1990s. By the time it gets very serious, say around March, they assume O’Neal will be sturdy enough, with at least four months of serious basketball behind him.

“What we’re going to do is run our offense, run our rhythm, our flow,” Bryant said. “So, when Shaq is completely ready to play, he’ll just slide right into it.”

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Three weeks into training camp, Jackson seemed resigned to starting Robert Horry at power forward. Walker made a strong late-camp impression, however, and his starting role will allow Horry more fourth-quarter minutes.

Also, Jackson hopes to get an early feel for Walker against the likes of Rasheed Wallace and Karl Malone. After opening against Portland, the Lakers play Utah twice in four days.

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The Lakers put Derek Fisher, Mark Madsen and Joe Crispin on the injured list, and will open the season with 15 players on their roster.

Fisher is expected to return from foot surgery in about a month. He will have a bone scan today, which, if it goes well, could release him to run and jump.

Madsen, recovering from surgery on his left wrist and from a recent abdominal strain, must spend at least five games on the list.

He could be activated Nov. 9 against Memphis.

Crispin’s inclusion is a technicality, because teams are allowed only 12-man active rosters. Officially, Crispin has tendinitis in his right knee.

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O’Neal, Rick Fox and Bryant are tri-captains.... The Lakers did not exercise the fourth-year option on Devean George’s contract. He will be eligible for free agency after the season.