Lakers Show far from prime time

Bryant and cast off to slow start L.A. starters on ‘a short, short leash’

Miami Heat star Shaquille O’Neal is recovering from an ankle injury. But he had some shoes to sell out west, so he made a stop at his old Staples Center stomping grounds on Sunday, entering the Los Angeles’ Lakers’ home arena as the purple and gold was playing a tough contest with the, uh, Charlotte Bobcats. Kobe Bryant, he of the longtime public feud with O’Neal, was playing another of his take 30 shots and hope a dozen go in kind of games and the Lakers were just barely hanging on against the second- year Cats.

Bryant claimed he didn’t notice Shaq’s entry, but the folks who run the arena saw fit to welcome the former Laker with a loud rendition of the theme song from Superman as the crowd applauded his largerthanappearance on the scoreboard.

It’s been 16 months since Hollywood said goodbye to the dazzling persona of O’Neal and were left with Bryant as the guy with the biggest dressing room on the block. But fans and Lakers’ management clearly haven’t forgotten Shaq. Coach Phil Jackson is back on the sidelines spouting Zen philosophy and the benefits of his much-ballyhooed triangle offence. Bryant, second in scoring to Allen Iverson, is still one of the most talented players in the league. But the Lakers, in town to face the Raptors tonight, are proving to be a work in very limited progress.

Prior to eking out a win over the Bobcats, the Lakers were in last place in the Pacific Division. They are tied for 24th in the league in shooting percentage with a mark of .426, which is worse than the Raptors’ .435.

Bryant is shooting an abysmal .416, seven points less than erratic Raptors’ rookie Jose Calderon. Despite the cold hand, Bryant already has eight games with at least 30 field goal attempts. “ I don’t see why they ( other teams) even guard the other guys on this team,” Jackson cracked at one point.

Sure, the Lakers have Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown. But there’s also Devin Green, Laron Profit and Von Wafer, giving the 14- time NBA champs a roster that screams Blowtime more than Showtime. Jackson has been talking about changes to the starting lineup. “ They have,” he said, “ a short, short leash.”