Payton Isn’t Slumping as He Shoulders Load

SALT LAKE CITY —  It has been almost two weeks since Kobe Bryant left the Lakers in Gary Payton’s hands.

Outside of the occasional moment of postgame dejection, Payton has maintained an even, optimistic manner, played his game and maintained his perspective.

He has said nice things about the inconsistent Lakers around him. Payton has not been able to rely on the same teammate in consecutive games since Bryant sprained his shoulder seven games ago.

Slava Medvedenko scores 22 points against Denver, six against Sacramento. Kareem Rush gets 30 against Sacramento, 10 against the Clippers. Devean George scores 11 against the Clippers, none against Phoenix.

Coach Phil Jackson has had a different starting lineup in each of the last four games, and five lineups over six games.

So it goes for Payton, one of the game’s great ball distributors, often surrounded by youth and timidity.

But he grins crooked and his eyes laugh and he says, “I’m straight. Really, I’m straight.”

In his first 34 games as a Laker, all of them with at least one other dependable scorer on the floor, most of them with three others, Payton averaged 14.1 points, shot 45.9% from the field and averaged six assists. In six games since, he has averaged 16.8 points, shot 49.4%, and averaged 6.5 assists.

The Lakers have lost four of those games, two of them by large margins. But he has helped hold them together emotionally, critical if Rush and Medvedenko and George are to be of any help when Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal and Karl Malone begin taking back their minutes.

Rush, for one, appears to have found enlightenment over the two weeks, both in terms of his game and court demeanor. He has made some shots and defended on some possessions, seemingly benefiting from his extended minutes beside Payton.

“This is only going to be us,” Payton said. “We’ve got to get through it.”

Payton, at times, only looks alone, Jackson said.

“He’s not the lone warrior, but he appears to be carrying a lot of the load,” he said. “He’s doing fine.”

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Brian Cook returned to Los Angeles on Friday to have his broken finger examined by hand specialist Dr. Norman Zemel, and learned he is expected to sit out four to six weeks. Jamal Sampson continued to rest a sprained right ankle that kept him out of games in Memphis and Dallas. Sampson’s status for tonight’s game against the Utah Jazz is unknown.

Zemel did not recommend surgery for Cook, whose right pinky will be immobilized for three weeks.

Meanwhile, reinforcements arrived here Friday afternoon.

Horace Grant, who left the club Jan. 15 to spend time with his ailing father, took part in a light workout and is expected to play tonight. He told team officials that he maintained some of his conditioning while in Georgia, though Jackson might choose to keep his minutes short, if possible.

Bryant, on the injured list because of a sprained shoulder, is expected to arrive this morning from Los Angeles in time for the team’s shoot-around, though he is listed as doubtful. He was in Eagle, Colo., Friday for a court hearing related to his sexual assault case.

He’ll return to Colorado in a week and a half, for more motions hearings Feb. 2 and 3. If his schedule holds -- Bryant has attended every hearing -- he would miss the Lakers’ game in Indiana on Feb. 2, but could make games Feb. 1 in Toronto and Feb. 4 in Cleveland.

With two roster spots available by Cook’s injury and the expiration of Ime Udoka’s 10-day contract, the Lakers are considering activating Bryant and Rick Fox, who has been out since May because of foot surgery.

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Malone did not accompany the team to Salt Lake City, opting to remain at his home in Arkansas for another day or two.

He continues his recovery from a severely sprained right knee, and he hopes to play again by mid-February, probably after the All-Star break.

Malone has seen two doctors, one from the organization and the other for a second opinion, and neither has told him surgery should be considered.

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TONIGHT

at Utah, 6 PST, Channel 9

Site -- Delta Center.

Radio -- KLAC (570), KWKW (1330).

Records -- Lakers 25-15, Jazz 21-21.

Record vs. Jazz -- 1-0.

Update -- Matt Harpring is out for the season because of knee surgery. Andrei Kirilenko, who averages 16.3 points a game for Utah, has a sprained ankle and appears doubtful for tonight’s game. The Jazz has lost four in a row, including Friday night’s 93-82 defeat against the Clippers, and its players have been showing frustration. In recent episodes, center Greg Ostertag was suspended for a game because he fought Cleveland’s Zydrunas Ilgauskas and guard Raja Bell was fined $5,000 for punting a basketball into the stands.

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Road Blues

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The Lakers already have more road losses (12) in a regular season that reaches the halfway point today than the first Phil Jackson-coached Laker championship team had for the entire 1999-2000 season. The road and home records for the Lakers’ nine NBA championship teams in Los Angeles and this season’s team:

*--* Season Road Home 1971-72 31-7* 36-5* 1979-80 23-18 37-4 1981-82 27-14 30-11 1984-85 26-15 36-5 1986-87 28-13 37-4 1987-88 26-15 36-5 1999-2000 31-10 36-5 2000-01 25-16 31-10 2001-02 24-17 34-7 2003-04 6-12 19-3 * 3 games were played at neutral sites in 1971-72

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