Staying Ahead of Chase Party

CLEVELAND â€”  Maybe a 42-40 record will be good enough to make the playoffs in the Western Conference, a ridiculous proposition when the season began but a likely possibility given present-day circumstances.

The Lakers, 34-33 and in eighth place, haven’t won or lost more than two consecutive games since the All-Star break, but they haven’t had much pressure from the teams below them.

Houston can’t sustain any streaks other than losing without Tracy McGrady. Utah recently lost to Miami by 38 points -- first quarter score: Miami 41, Utah 14 -- and followed it up with a loss to hapless Orlando. The luster has definitely dulled for New Orleans, which has lost eight consecutive games, and Golden State, a trendy playoff pick before the season whose players don’t like to shoot from anywhere inside 23 feet.

The Lakers, neither good nor bad at this point of the season, still feel the need to string together some victories.

“We’re dodging bullets left and right,� Kobe Bryant said Saturday. “We’re losing games that we really want to get, but we’re dodging bullets in the sense that teams that need to win for their own sake are losing. We can’t rely on that. We’ve got to come out and take care of business at some point.�

Cutting out a few more losses would also be a decent idea psychologically for Laker fans and, it turns out, Phil Jackson’s friends.

“It wears on people,� the Laker coach said. “The friends I have that are still Laker fans, and friends that are still friends, they have to turn it off and go to bed sometimes because they see the ending as being a painful event.�

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How tired is Bryant?

He pretended to pass out in a reporter’s arms after facing another round of questions about his general well-being following Saturday’s practice.

Bryant’s production has slipped -- 38.1% shooting over the last six games -- as his minutes have increased to 43.8 per game over the same span.

He said he was not feeling the effects of so many minutes Friday, but came closer to acknowledging some fatigue Saturday.

“It’s a lot more work [this season],� he said. “I’ll just go out there, rely on my teammates to not have to work so hard out there during the game. Let them pick me up.�

Bryant might see some relief with the return of Devean George, who has sat out six games because of a slight fracture in his right wrist. George shot around with the team Saturday and could play today against Cleveland.

“He’s getting a little tired, needs a little help,� George said of Bryant. “I want to get in there, help out, contribute.�

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Maybe New Jersey Net Coach Lawrence Frank wasn’t that omniscient.

He said he knew which inbounds play the Lakers would run in the closing seconds of Friday’s Laker loss, and even called it by its name, but Jackson fingered the real source of information Saturday -- Net assistant coach Bill Cartwright.

“He was my assistant for five years and played for us [in Chicago] for 10,� Jackson said.

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Bryant, on the changing tides of the Lakers: “At the start of the season, a lot of people were saying we weren’t going to make the playoffs. Now, it’s, ‘Well, they should be in the playoffs.’ � ... The networks might not want to over-hype a head-to-head matchup of Bryant and LeBron James because Jackson said he would stick Lamar Odom on James. “They can hype all they want,� he said, “but it’s going to be Lamar guarding James, hopefully.�

TODAY

at Cleveland, 10 a.m., Channel 7

Site -- Quicken Loans Arena.

Radio -- 570; 1330.

Records -- Lakers 34-33; Cavaliers 37-29.

Record vs. Cavaliers -- 1-0.

Update -- Cavalier forward James continues to be a five-category producer, averaging 30.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.56 steals and 0.89 blocked shots.