Words Don’t Nick Shaq

Shaquille O’Neal, in full glower, considered Nick Van Exel and his assessment of the Lakers, that the best teams in the NBA no longer fear the three-time champions.

“Who’s that?” he said.

Nick. Van Exel. Dallas guard. Former Laker teammate.

“I only listen to important people,” O’Neal said. “Important to the league, important to their teams.”

While playing, they say, to reach the fifth or fourth position in the Western Conference playoffs, the Lakers seem more likely to land in sixth. In that case, and if the San Antonio Spurs catch the Mavericks, the Lakers and Mavericks would play in the first round. Most consider the Mavericks an easier draw than the Spurs or the Sacramento Kings.

“Whoever the best may be, that’s who we want to see,” O’Neal said. “We’ll be ready. I think teams are more worried about us than us worried about them.”

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Samaki Walker hasn’t played a minute of power forward in more than a month, Coach Phil Jackson more interested in getting Robert Horry ready for the postseason and distributing the rest of the minutes between Mark Madsen and Slava Medvedenko.

So, Walker is a center, a position he’d tried to avoid in the past.

On Thursday night, during a game of H-O-R-S-E against Tracy Murray and Jannero Pargo, Walker swished a 25-foot runner to stay alive against the jump shooters. He laughed and shouted, “I just play center.”

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James Worthy, Bill Sharman, Chick Hearn and Tex Winter are finalists for induction in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. Inductees will be announced Monday.

Sharman, a Hall of Fame player, is nominated as a coach. Only John Wooden and Lenny Wilkens are enshrined as both. Hearn, who died in August, and Winter were nominated in the contributor category.

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Kobe Bryant’s father, former NBA player Joe Bryant, is coach of the Diablos of the made-for-television SlamBall league. The show is filmed in Los Angeles.... The Lakers will honor O’Neal’s 20,000th point in a pregame ceremony Sunday.

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TONIGHT

at Memphis, 5 PST

Channel 9 (6 PST)

Site -- The Pyramid.

Radio -- KLAC (570), KWKW (1330), KIRN (670).

Records -- Lakers 44-31, Grizzlies 26-49.

Record vs. Grizzlies -- 3-0.

Update -- The Grizzlies have lost five in a row.