Struggles Continue for Medvedenko

Slava Medvedenko, one of many expected to improve at least a little bit with the return of Phil Jackson, has shown few signs of doing so.

The reappearance of the triangle offense has not led to the restoration of Medvedenko’s confidence after a poor 2004-05 season. He averaged 2.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in the exhibition season and did not play Friday in the Lakers’ 105-103 victory over the Sacramento Kings at the Thomas and Mack Center.

“My coaches this morning said that Slava has kind of got lost in the process,” Jackson said. “But I count on the fact he knows what we’re trying to get accomplished and is familiar with what we’re trying to do. He hasn’t always been the best student -- some of it’s a language barrier situation -- but he does have a familiarity with what we do and he has the ability to score and that’s always a valuable asset.”

Medvedenko is in the last year of a two-year contract that pays $3 million a year. He averaged 3.8 points and 1.8 rebounds last season, his lowest numbers since his rookie season in 2000-01.

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Lamar Odom, power forward-turned-point guard, had struggled with his new job description before scoring 19 points against Sacramento, his best game of the exhibition season.

“Lamar had a game that I thought gave me a lot of hope at that position,” Jackson said.

Overall, though, he averaged 11.6 points, 3.9 assists and 2.9 turnovers in exhibition games.

“Lamar has the biggest growth spurt that has to happen for our team to be successful, and he hasn’t shown that he can score yet at that position,” Jackson said before Friday’s game. “How does he score and become a really productive player? That’s still the question for him.”

Odom made only 26 of 64 shots (40.6%) in eight games and took too many from three-point range for Jackson’s taste, making only four of 24 (16.7%) from behind the arc.

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Sacramento had preliminary talks with Jackson last summer before he took the Laker job, but the Kings’ interest in him might not be enough to save him from a boisterous, cowbell-clanging welcome when the Lakers play in Sacramento on Jan 19.

Years ago, Jackson called King fans “semi-civilized” and referred to their city as a “cow town,” topics revisited briefly before Friday’s game.

“You can’t do anything about the people that live in your city,” Jackson said, smiling. “That’s something you have to live with [and] deal with, the productivity in your area, an agricultural area. Although I hear the delta is becoming quite an up-and-coming place.

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Kobe Bryant had 24 points on seven-for-19 shooting as the Lakers finished 6-2 in exhibition play. Kwame Brown played with a heavily taped left thumb, the result of a sprain he sustained in practice. He had 15 points and seven rebounds.