Absent West Still Fond of His Old Team

Jerry West has gained a new franchise, but hasn’t yet lost his rooting interest.

He watched Sunday’s Laker game, among the first without his affiliation in more than four decades, from Memphis, Tenn.

“It’s really not that different,” he said Monday night. “I want them to win. I was a little nervous because they couldn’t get anything going. But, the more you watched the game, you had great confidence they were going to win. It’s great to watch them win. That’s never going to change. I’ll pull for them always.”

He still likes what he built, and what drives it.

“I think they’ll win it all,” he said. “They’ve got two of the best five players in the league and a coach who knows how to motivate people. He knows how to get the best out of them. The most remarkable thing about watching [Phil Jackson] coach is he never looks like he gets uptight. I don’t know what’s going on inside, but he’s so calm, and his players reflect that.”

West’s contract with the Memphis Grizzlies is for $37.5 million over five years. He also received an ownership stake in the franchise.

West, who left a $1-million consulting job after 42 years with the Lakers, is believed to have made a salary of $3 million in his final years as vice president of basketball operations with the organization.

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Kobe Bryant said he awoke every two or three hours Sunday night and Monday morning so he could measure the pain and the swelling in his right knee, and ice it, and flex it.

He’ll continue the routine until game time tonight, Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs, the Lakers’ chance to go to Texas with a two-game lead.

By Monday afternoon, Bryant was convinced he would play, even if it meant altering his game. He was aggressive in Game 1, twice dunking over Tim Duncan to stir a subdued crowd.

Asked if he expected to have full mobility, he said, “Hopefully I’ll be able to move around freely. But, if I can’t, I’ll make the necessary adjustments and play around it.”

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Shaquille O’Neal spent substantial minutes guarding Duncan on Sunday, usually when Malik Rose also was on the floor. In the past, Jackson has preferred to keep O’Neal away from Duncan because of the potential for foul trouble.

On Monday, however, Jackson said he had no problem with the matchup. “Shaq felt comfortable guarding Duncan as opposed to chasing Rose around. If Shaq doesn’t get offensive fouls, he’s going to be fine defensively. Shaq usually saves his fouls for the offensive end. That’s where he’s got to be careful.”

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The Lakers have taken a 1-0 lead in 45 previous best-of-seven series and have won 40 of them.... The Spurs have never won a best-of-seven series after losing Game 1, in nine tries.... O’Neal has 3,056 career points in the playoffs, 32 fewer than Julius Erving, who is 14th on the all-time list. Michael Jordan, who scored 5,987, ranks first, followed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and West.