Getting Behind 8-Ball

The Lakers never quite made it back to Staples Center when they left for Detroit in June, which is why things will look a little different when they reconvene tonight.

There will be no banners raised, no rings handed out, no championship video montage on the big screen before the season opener against the Denver Nuggets.

There will, however, be the need for a game program.

Shaquille O’Neal is out, Chris Mihm is in. Gary Payton has been replaced by Chucky Atkins. Phil Jackson is now an author rather than a coach. Rick Fox is leafing through TV and movie scripts instead of elbowing through the key. Derek Fisher, having already collected three championship rings, took the money -- a lot of it -- and ran to Golden State. Karl Malone might or might not return, depending on how his injured knee heals and how much he misses the game.

The early drama of last season -- O’Neal ripping Bryant, Bryant firing back, and on and on and on -- has been replaced by a different dynamic: theatrics from afar.

Jackson took a hasty trail back to Montana, but his tell-all diary of last season hit hard in L.A. by portraying Bryant as a self-absorbed, uncontrollable neophyte. Bryant’s response: Phil’s just trying to sell books.

A little farther west of Jackson’s new digs, four-time All-Star guard Ray Allen launched a series of peculiar barbs from Seattle, calling Bryant selfish after they dueled in an exhibition opener. Bryant’s response: I’ll see him on the court.

Everything Bryant says and does this season will be analyzed, cross-analyzed and then submitted for further analysis. Laker season-ticket holders renewed at a 97% rate -- only 1 percentage point lower than last season -- for one main reason: the Bryant Factor.

As in, how far can this team go with Bryant and nine new players, none of them a skilled 7-foot-1, 340-pounder?

“I think we’re right where we want to be right now,” Bryant said. “Everything’s been a pleasant surprise, how quickly we’ve been able to gel together, how much we enjoy playing together, how much everybody’s competing. From Day 1 in training camp, our competitiveness was there in every drill. That tends to carry out on the basketball court.”

Publicly, Bryant has taken the high road in a more-contentious-than-expected exhibition season, sidestepping the harsh opinions of his former coach (Jackson), his new foil (Allen) and his old foil (O’Neal), who has sent out repeated jabs from his new home in Miami.

Privately, Bryant is determined to show he can do this on his own. It’s finally his team. He does not want to disappoint, having been promoted from sidekick to option No. 1.

It was Bryant who assembled many of the players for informal workouts several weeks before training camp. With so many new pieces, he didn’t want anybody feeling puzzled.

“He has been clearly embracing this group of players from organizing practices and encouraging guys, not that he didn’t do that in the past, but I think it’s fair to say he’s embraced his growth as a leader,” Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. “We relied on him as a leader in years past, but obviously there’s a difference this year.”

Bryant won’t make any championship predictions, but Odom, the new option No. 2, has his own beliefs about what the season will bring.

“Playoff team, easily,” said Odom, one of three players acquired from Miami in the O’Neal trade. “We’ve got a guy that’s won three championships. I just came off a playoff run. Caron Butler, Brian Grant have been in the playoffs before. Vlade Divac’s been in the playoffs before.”

As for pundits who predict the Lakers will miss the playoffs for only the second time since 1976?

“It should motivate us a little bit,” Odom said. “It’s easy [motivation] when people expect you to lose.”

Overseeing the on-court reconstruction is Coach Rudy Tomjanovich, who knows the difference between a winner and a first-round flameout after guiding two championship runs with the Houston Rockets.

Ever the optimist, Tomjanovich rarely utters a disparaging word about a player. He is the anti- thesis of Jackson the realist, who would mutter to the media if Bryant shot too much -- or not enough -- knowing full well the effects of his words.

What does Tomjanovich have right now? Not even he can quantify it.

“I don’t know who we are yet,” he said. “I’m getting an idea. I like what I see. I like the energy. I like the attitude. I like the style of play. We have got to catch up to a lot of people who have been working hard at [their systems] for years. We’re basically all new.”

Of the six returning players, only Bryant and Brian Cook played more than half the exhibition games. Luke Walton was out because of a sprained ankle, Slava Medvedenko had a bruised heel, Kareem Rush was bothered by chronic foot pain and Devean George is out a few more weeks because of ankle surgery.

Divac, signed as a free agent to take O’Neal’s place in the middle, hasn’t played a minute, because of an ill-fated spin move in an informal practice last month. He’ll be out at least two more weeks because of a herniated disk in his back.

On more than one occasion, after Tomjanovich presided over scrimmages with Neil Yanke and Ike Nwankwo playing key roles, he referred to injuries as the “biggest crusher of dreams that there is.”

Then there’s Malone, who is keeping an eye on events from his Newport Beach home as he recovers from off-season knee surgery. He has said he will come back to the Lakers if he decides not to retire, although a decision is at least a month away.

Until then, the Lakers will put Odom at power forward, a position he played with success last season, averaging career bests of 17.1 points and 9.7 rebounds.

Butler, a human springboard perhaps on the verge of a breakout season, will start at small forward, and Mihm, a former lottery pick who had a rejuvenating exhibition season, will start at center in place of Divac.

Where there used to be talk of playing until June, there’s talk of a faster, younger Laker team (average age of tonight’s starting lineup: 25.8 years). If the Lakers want to make it into May, much less June, it will be important to grow up quickly -- and perhaps win a lot by a little.

“We’re hoping this group can figure out how to win at the end of the game,” Kupchak said. “So many games are decided by three points or less. Veteran teams know how to win those. We have to win a bunch of close games.”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

BREAKDOWN

* 2003-04 record: 56-26, first place in Pacific Division.

* Coach: Rudy Tomjanovich, first season (503-397 in 12 seasons with Houston).

* Who’s gone: Shaquille O’Neal, Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Horace Grant, Bryon Russell, Jamal Sampson.

* Who’s new: Chucky Atkins, Caron Butler, Vlade Divac, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, Chris Mihm, Jumaine Jones, Sasha Vujacic, Tierre Brown.

* Projected starting lineup: Atkins, Kobe Bryant, Butler, Mihm, Odom.

* Projected bench rotation: Grant, Brian Cook, Luke Walton, Kareem Rush, Slava Medvedenko, Jones.

* Keys to the season: Bryant will score plenty, but can the Lakers come close to matching the inside presence they enjoyed the last eight seasons with O’Neal? In short, no. Mihm, a former lottery pick, has played well in the exhibition season, but Divac has been non-existent because of a bad back. Another important piece is Odom, who looked a little lost during the preseason and must deliver as a No. 2 option for the team to succeed.

* Outlook: With so many new parts, the Lakers could finish anywhere from third to ninth in the Western Conference. They could get a top-three seeding by winning a relatively weak Pacific Division, but almost every West contender improved itself during the off-season. More likely, the Lakers will be a road team in the first round of the playoffs.

* Tickets: (213) 480-3232 or ticketmaster.com.

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ROSTER

GUARDS

*--* No. Name Yr Ht Wt Comment 5 TIERRE BROWN 4 6-2 189 Earned a job with solid exhibition season. 8 KOBE BRYANT 9 6-6 220 No Shaq, no Phil, but there will be plenty of Kobe. 9 CHUCKY ATKINS 6 5-11 160 Will get open shots on many nights. 18 SASHA VUJACIC 1 6-7 193 Rookie has a nice outside touch. 21 KAREEM RUSH 3 6-6 215 Has some tools, needs to be a more consistent shooter.

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FORWARDS

*--* No. Name Yr Ht Wt Comment 1 CARON BUTLER 3 6-7 217 Trying to rebound from subpar season in Miami. 3 DEVEAN GEORGE 6 6-8 240 Out a few more weeks because of ankle surgery. 4 LUKE WALTON 2 6-8 235 Can he take another step after decent rookie season? 7 LAMAR ODOM 6 6-10 230 Back in L.A., this time as a power forward. 14 SLAVA MEDVEDENKO 5 6-10 250 Will be in the mix down low. 20 JUMAINE JONES 6 6-8 218 Afterthought in Gary Payton trade will get some playing time. 43 BRIAN COOK 2 6-9 234 Has added a dependable three-point shot. 55 BRIAN GRANT 11 6-9 254 Will fight for every rebound, assuming his knees cooperate.

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CENTERS

*--* No. Name Yr Ht Wt Comment 12 VLADE DIVAC 16 7-1 260 Balky back has made him a non-factor so far. 31 CHRIS MIHM 5 7-0 265 Was a pleasant surprise during exhibition season.

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Starter Set

The Lakers’ starting lineup for tonight’s opener against Denver, with last season’s averages:

*--* Player G PPG REB AST. Kobe Bryant 65 24.0 5.5 5.1 Chucky Atkins 64 8.4 1.5 3.5 Caron Butler 68 9.2 4.8 1.9 Lamar Odom 80 17.1 9.7 4.1 Chris Mihm 76 6.3 5.4 0.3

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SEASON OPENER

LAKERS vs. DENVER

At Staples Center

Tonight, 7:30, TNT