If the Talk Is About Auras, Maybe They’re OK

They all seem reasonably happy again, the Lakers having gotten through their monthlong postgame skirmishes of personality and offensive responsibility.

Though Shaquille O’Neal still tends toward lowering his forehead and wading expressionlessly through reporters, Rick Fox said Thursday that O’Neal’s “whole aura is high,” a relief to everyone.

And Kobe Bryant, of course, has gotten through his you-want-the-ball-you-got-the-ball stage, averaging 27 shots in his last nine games and setting three-point records along the way.

Asked if he believed the bickering was done, Coach Phil Jackson said he didn’t know how to answer that, and then did, in rant fashion.

“Just that these lazy guys get their butts in gear and show they are not last-place, surfeit son of a guns, they get back and start playing like champions? Is that what you mean?” he asked with a grin and apparently rhetorically, because the conversation was nearly over by then.

“That’s old history for us. We’ve gone through that. It’s our [annual] December slump.

“I think it’s an alignment of the stars that grates against the personalities of our team.”

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Having won five of seven games, the Lakers have taken advantage of a soft, airy schedule that continues with the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight and the Miami Heat on Sunday, both last-place teams.

And, yet, at their worst, the Lakers lost by 19 points in Cleveland in early November and by 12 in Miami three weeks later.

“Take nothing away from Cleveland, but we owe them one,” Jackson said. “We have to remember what that was like and who they were at the time.”

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Horace Grant is warming to the notion of returning to the Lakers and delaying retirement for a bit longer, according to word out of Orlando.

Former NBA player Dennis Scott, a friend of Grant’s, attended Wednesday night’s game in Orlando and the subject of Grant, released by the Magic, arose.

“I had a brief phone conversation with him two weeks ago,” Scott said. “First he said, no way he would come back out there. Then I went to the game [Wednesday] night, I talked to a few people that know him pretty well, and they said he’s thinking about coming back out there now.”

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Bryant leads NBA All-Star balloting and O’Neal fell farther behind Houston’s Yao Ming among Western Conference centers. The All-Star game is Feb. 9 in Atlanta.

O’Neal, about 150,000 votes behind Yao a week ago, trailed Thursday by about 230,000.

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After taking Wednesday off, Jackson said the Lakers lacked energy and focus during Thursday’s practice.... Bryant had a dental appointment Thursday morning but made it in time for practice.... Samaki Walker, who hyperextended his knee against the Seattle SuperSonics on Tuesday, practiced Thursday.... It’s the shoes: Bryant, negotiating with Nike and Reebok for a deal that is expected to come next month, wore Reebok on Tuesday night when he set NBA records for three-pointers in a game (12) and consecutive three-pointers made (nine).... The record for three-pointers made over two games is 16, by Dale Ellis in 1990 and tied by George McCloud in 1996.

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TONIGHT

vs. Cleveland, 7:30

Fox Sports Net

Site -- Staples Center

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

Records -- Lakers 15-20, Cavaliers 7-29.

Record vs. Cavaliers -- 0-1.

Update -- The Cavaliers beat the Lakers on Nov. 5 and lost their next 15 games. More recently, they’ve lost five of six games. Ricky Davis averages 23 points and 4.9 assists, team highs. Rookie Dajuan Wagner, who sat out the Nov. 5 game because of a bladder infection, is averaging 16.9 points and 35.3 minutes in 21 games.