Bryant Getting Accustomed to New Position

Five games have passed since Brian Shaw went to the Lakers’ starting back court and Kobe Bryant went to the wing.

Although he occasionally falls back into a guard position, Bryant is most often ahead of the ball, allowing others to initiate the offense.

Bryant, who led the team in scoring in four of the last six games, is averaging 26.2 points, nearly four more than last season. He also leads the club with 4.3 assists a game.

“It’s a process,� Bryant said. “This is new for me. It’s a new role. It takes time to get used to it. The defenses, though, are pretty much the same thing. They really can’t do anything different.�

Bouncing from guard to small forward, sometimes in consecutive possessions, is beginning to get easier.

“Sometimes it’s hard because you get a rhythm on that wing spot,� Bryant said. “You get accustomed to what the defense is going to do and you start setting them up for certain things. You just have to remember that and come back to it later.�

In the last five games, Bryant’s shooting percentage has fallen, from 44.2 to 43, but his scoring has risen from 22.5. He has twice led the team in rebounds and twice led in assists, even as Coach Phil Jackson hounds him to pass more and shoot less.

More important, the team has won four of five games after a 3-3 start.

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Shaquille O’Neal, who played 38 minutes on a sore ankle and a sore Achilles’ tendon Sunday, took treatment for about an hour Monday. He is listed as probable for Wednesday’s game against Golden State.

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After leading the league last season in opponents’ shooting percentage, the Lakers rank 16th in the same category this season. They also are 16th in defending the three-point shot.

After Chicago, the worst shooting team in the league, shot 47.2% and scored 96 points Sunday, everyone agreed the defense had to get better.

“Anybody can play offense,� Horace Grant said. “It takes a hard guy to go out there and play defense. Nobody wants to do it.

“Until we do that, we’ll be in the middle of the pack.�

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Guard Mike Penberthy played 26 minutes Sunday against Chicago and, as a result, found his shooting stroke.

He made five of eight shots, three of five three-point attempts, and scored 13 points. In four previous games, Penberthy shot 27.8% on field-goal attempts, 16.7% from behind the arc.

Worse, the mix of adrenaline and lack of shots led to two airballs.

“I hadn’t shot an airball since I was 6,� Penberthy said.

In 86 minutes, Penberthy has two turnovers and 14 assists. The coaching staff worries that he will be a defensive liability, and opposing coaches are running isolation plays with Penberthy on the court. Penberthy said he is working on that.

Meantime, it was good to have his shot again.

“I feel I can knock down shots when I need to,� he said.

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Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak is attending the Maui Invitational. The Lakers do not have a first-round pick in the next draft. . . . After four games in six days, with the veterans’ legs growing heavier by the quarter, the Lakers did not practice Monday. They return to their facility in El Segundo today.