Butler Takes His Shot at Guard Spot

Caron Butler chewed on the question for a second or two before answering it.

“Five whole minutes,” he said, then quickly revised it. “Maybe three. Five would be generous.”

The Laker small forward started Wednesday night against Minnesota at shooting guard, a position in which he had as many minutes of experience as there are fingers on a hand, at most.

Butler started in the spot normally reserved for Kobe Bryant -- “just trying to put a veteran on a veteran,” was the way Coach Rudy Tomjanovich described it -- a move that could continue until Bryant comes back from a severely sprained right ankle, which remains Jan. 31 at the earliest.

Butler, who matched up mainly against Minnesota shooting guards Trenton Hassell and Latrell Sprewell, had played one other game at the position in the days after Kareem Rush was traded.

“With Kobe healthy and everything, he was in there a majority of the time,” Butler said. “I didn’t get that much time, because it wasn’t needed. Now with the injury, [it’s a] good opportunity to get out there and play a little [shooting guard].”

Good opportunity?

“It’s a little more energy being put into the position when you’ve got guys like Spree or [Allen Iverson].... You’ve got to exert yourself a lot on the other end trying to guard guys like that,” Butler said. “Sometimes you have a little advantage because you’re a little bigger on the offensive end, you can take them down on the post and try to operate a little bit.”

There’s wasn’t even a little advantage at the start for Butler, who had a turnover on the game’s first possession, losing control of the ball while trying to spin around Hassell at the top of the key. He committed a traveling violation a few minutes later. But Butler finished well, hitting the go-ahead shot with 35 seconds left.

Butler, averaging 14.1 points before Wednesday, scored 16 points on five-for-14 shooting against the Timberwolves. Sprewell had 23 points, and Hassell was scoreless in 29 minutes.

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The Lakers, who played the last two games at home, have seven more in a row at Staples Center, including a designated road game against the Clippers.

“I’m hoping this thing’s going to work out the right way,” Tomjanovich said. “I’ve never seen a schedule where there’s nine games in a row in one site. Could it be a situation that helps us or hurts us? If we don’t have Kobe and don’t win these games ... “

Twenty-four of the Lakers’ final 38 games are on the road.

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Rookie guard Sasha Vujacic scored seven points off the bench after two consecutive starts. He averaged 7.5 points as a starter.... Jumaine Jones started at small forward.