This Challenge Could Leave Jackson Steamed

You have to hand it to our gutsy little Lakers, who dug deep and showed a “lot of heart,” as Paul Sunderland said on TV last night, somehow, some way managing to beat Denver and Cleveland at home without the help of Shaq, Kobe & Malone.

Don’t know how they pulled it off.

Cleveland and Denver had come to Staples with a combined 17 wins in their last 119 games played on the road, and I’m guessing Coach Phil Jackson rallied the stiffs by telling them you never know when No. 18 was going to come.

Whatever he said to Slava Medvedenko, I hope he has it on tape and replays it for Shaq when he returns. You have to admit, it’s a nice change of pace to witness an all-out effort in January by a Laker team.

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I KNOW there has been a lot of hand-wringing the last few days because of injuries but the NBA has so many average teams, and the Lakers still have Jackson, players with NBA Finals’ experience and a future Hall of Famer.

That should still make the Lakers the favorites in almost every game they play, and in those games that it doesn’t, it’ll be kind of fun for a change to watch Jackson work as hard as every other coach in the league to scratch out a victory.

In fact, work with me here, Phil.

It’d be exciting if you accepted this as a challenge, pushing your make-shift lineup to the conference’s best record -- or second-best to Sacramento’s Rick Adelman, who isn’t eligible to coach the All Stars because he did last year.

That game is going to be played in Staples Center next month, and the best NBA coach of all time -- if you don’t ask Red Auerbach -- should represent the West.

And Phil, it’s a job made for you. You just have to sit there and do nothing but show off the pretty suit Jeanie picks out for you to wear.

Let’s face it, Phil, armed with four Dream Team performers and no reason to miss any hot tub time with Jeanie because the game is here, it would have been inexcusable if you hadn’t guided the Lakers to the best record.

The injuries make it more difficult now, but you’ve won 800 games, and some people think it’s all because of Jordan, Pippen, Shaq and Kobe. Now you have the chance to show everybody you can do it with the likes of Slava. What an opportunity.

Work with me, Phil. You coach the All Stars in Staples, and I won’t have to accuse you of holding the Lakers back next season, or even tanking at the deadline to stay home with Jeanie and avoid going to Denver for the 2005 All-Star game.

It’s all about the hot tub, and I’m here for you, big guy.

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I PUT in a call to the Boston parking lot attendant who is trying to buy the Dodgers with no money. I got a return call from his wife, Jamie McCourt, who said, “Hi,” and then indicated everything else would be off the record.

I said, “Goodbye,” and then indicated to her that I wasn’t interested in talking if no one else could be privy to what was said. After all, I wouldn’t want to get off on the wrong foot with the Boston parking lot attendant if he learned later his wife was whispering sweet nothings to me.

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IT APPEARS Chairman Bob Daly wants us to believe he’s the buffoon who has refused to improve the Dodgers, and not Dan Evans, although Daly refused the opportunity in Ross Newhan’s story today to make things right and recommend Evans remain as the team’s general manager. Daly might be a buffoon, but he’s not crazy.

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STOPPED BY Pauley Pavilion Thursday night, and I’d like to say it was entertaining, but unfortunately three Pac-10 referees also showed up. They apparently thought everyone was there to watch them blow their whistles.

The Bruins won, but then as you remember, the UCLA football team took advantage of a weak schedule and opened fast with a 6-2 mark. Ben Howland’s Bruin basketball team has done the same thing, the latest victim being a Division II-looking Arizona State.

But as football Coach Karl Dullard learned, it’s all about how you finish, and now that Howland has raised expectations with a 5-0 Pac-10 start, we’ll get a hint of how good they might be after the next two games with Arizona and Stanford.

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ONE THING is already apparent with the Bruins. T.J. Cummings’ improvement has been dramatic, proving if you hang in there with someone like T.J., things eventually will get better. Wouldn’t you agree?

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JOHN McENROE will host a topical talk show on CNBC beginning later this month. I would imagine the first topic will be the use of steroids and how it can help someone become the host of a topical talk show.

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I WISH folks hadn’t made such a big deal about banning a University of Kentucky football fan from buying season tickets for 27 years for unapproved contact with recruits. You can see how that might become a problem now at UCLA.

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LAST WEEK the top-rated TV program here was the Eagles’ playoff game, finishing ahead of the Colts’ contest.

“CSI” and all its dead bodies placed third, followed by the Panthers-Rams and a glimpse of Georgia Frontiere. (I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not going there.)

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TODAY’S LAST word comes in e-mail from Dan Ellington:

“I read the sports pages almost every day and this means I end up reading your negative LA sports column. I don’t always disagree with your thoughts, but I don’t know if I should take you seriously because everything you say is a negative.”

Whoever helped you to write your e-mail did a good job. Seriously.

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T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.