They Make Other Guys Look Great

Don’t include intimidation among the assets Gary Payton and Karl Malone bring to the Lakers.

If you printed out all of the box scores from their numerous great games, did the same thing for Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, then stacked the papers high on the court, then maybe that would mess with their opponents’ minds. But the sight of these All-Stars in the same uniform hasn’t scared anyone. Instead, it has inspired their opponents.

“It’s always been that way,” guard Derek Fisher said. “There’s something about the Lakers and the purple and gold that just brings out the best in people -- in particular when we go on the road. It’s one of the three or four sellouts the whole year, so instead of 8,000 people, now it’s 20,000. So now it’s more friends, more girlfriends, more wives, more people there. Now they want to step up and play with more pride and more toughness.”

The Lakers have played five road games. In four of those games, their opponents set or matched their highest point total of the season. The fifth team, the Memphis Grizzlies, surpassed the 105 points they scored against the Lakers with 107 points against the Orlando Magic two nights later.

Of course, the Lakers’ poor defense has played a large role in these scoring outbursts.

But it’s interesting to see how teams play against the Lakers.

Milwaukee guard Michael Redd scored a career-high 36 points with his funny-looking jump shot against the Lakers on Nov. 4. He scored 18 in the third quarter alone. In New York the next night he scored 17 points.

The San Antonio Spurs are shooting 38% from the field and 29% from three-point range this season. Playing without stars Tim Duncan and Tony Parker on Nov. 6, they made 47% of their three-pointers to push the Lakers to double overtime.

The New Orleans Hornets handed the Lakers their first defeat of the season Nov. 7 -- then turned around and lost to the Chicago Bulls (who were 2-4 at the time) the next night.

Phil Jackson is used to the elevated play when his team comes to town. The 1995-96 Bulls team he coached, which set the NBA record with 72 victories, lost games at Denver (season record 35-47), Charlotte (41-41) and expansion Toronto (21-61).

“That’s one of the wonderful things about being a high-profile team,” Jackson said. “You get teams that are psyched up. They know the crowd’s going to be the biggest. They know the game is important, it’s going to be televised, and they can gain some bragging rights if they have a good game. It makes your team play harder every night. I think it prepares you for playoff kind of intensity. It’s not playoffs, but it’s still not just another game for players. We take pride in it, but we have to be well-served that the focus is going to be better and usually the play is better when we play teams.”

Sights

A 40-year-old with a bad hamstring diving all over the court for loose balls during the Lakers’ 94-89 victory over the Pistons on Friday. That would be Malone.

“I said I want to leave it all out here,” Malone said. “I’ll rest when I retire. When I put my uniform on, they expect me to play. And I expect myself to play.

“When I’m done, I might look back and say, ‘That was stupid.’ But right now I want to do one thing: That’s win.”

Sounds

Still not sure what prompted Fisher to go off on this tangent, but it’s an interesting take on the current state of the NBA from a seven-year veteran.

“It’s a different game,” Fisher said. “The game isn’t as physical as far as really getting in a guy’s face and having to answer to a guy. You’re not scared of Shaq if you don’t have to really face him. There’s no more elbowing, there’s no more pushing, there’s really no more [late] ‘80s style basketball.

“The game’s kind of different. There’s not as much hatred for another guy, another team. Players are moving. You’re in Minnesota one year, you’re in New York the next year, so you never really get to identify with: ‘I hate that guy, I hate that team.’

“Us and Sacramento kind of brought that back the last couple of years, us and the Spurs the last couple of years. I think it’s kind of getting there; LeBron [James] and Carmelo [Anthony] coming in ... everything has its transition period.”

Faces in the Crowd

Ashton Kutcher, Eric Gagne, Seal and Don Rickles on Wednesday at Staples Center vs. Toronto.

Alex Rodriguez, Adam Sandler and Anne Archer on Friday vs. Detroit.

In a Word

“Frupulous.”

Shaquille O’Neal’s description of reporters. “I don’t know what it means, but it sounds good,” he said.