Just Enough Is Becoming the Laker Way

T-minus one game, probably, and still not enough thrust. Enough to get by the Sacramento Kings, 93-80, Tuesday night at the Forum, but that’s part of the problem.

The Lakers have been barely getting by, usually. As if they are waiting for something to kick in. As if they are waiting for someone.

“No,” Elden Campbell said after his game-high 23 points that came with nine rebounds. “I don’t sense that.”

Chances are good this was the last game before the return of Shaquille O’Neal, a comeback the probably will begin Friday against the Atlanta Hawks. Or at least begin anew, this being the third time he will return from a strained abdominal muscle.

But the Lakers insist they are not looking to O’Neal too much, supporting evidence of which can be found in the numerous impressive victories that also have come the last six weeks.

“We’re just playing bad,” Kobe Bryant said. “We’re not competing against teams we should be blowing out. Simple as that.”

Tuesday the Lakers took control midway through the third quarter against a depleted team. There were positives--Eddie Jones did his part to hold Mitch Richmond to four-of-18 shooting--but they weren’t overwhelming, either to an opponent or their own coach.

“All in all, it was a subpar performance for us,” Del Harris said.

Another one.

Unlike the previous meeting, Nov. 4 in Sacramento, there were no trade talks to make for a dramatic backdrop, the notion of a Jones-Richmond swap long ago having faded. The Kings eventually may be faced with the prospect of dealing the second-best shooting guard in the league, though it’s unlikely any new talks with the Lakers will gain momentum, but Sacramento had more pressing problems this time.

No front court, for example. Or at least a thin one. Lawrence Funderburke, a key reserve as a rookie after three seasons in Europe, and one-time starter Michael Smith were on the injured list, along with swingman Kevin Gamble. That was costly enough for the Kings.

Then Monday, they lost Corliss Williamson for three games after his fight with Philadelphia’s Derrick Coleman, costing them their starting small forward. The reverberations from that were felt in Southern California too--it cost Laker Derek Fisher a chance to play against his childhood friend from Little Rock, Ark., meetings that had become especially meaningful this season because Williamson had blossomed into the second-leading scorer on the team.

“He had been playing great,” Fisher said. “I was looking forward to playing against him again.”

Williamson was able to make the trip to Los Angeles, but was prohibited by league rules from attending the game. He instead was expected to opt for the next-best setting to watch--Fisher’s apartment.

And still the Kings weren’t in the clear. They put a third rookie in the starting lineup, Tariq Abdul-Wahud (the former Olivier Saint-Jean) at small forward, only to have center Michael Stewart get his third foul with 2:13 left in the first quarter. About 5 1/2 minutes later, power forward Billy Owens picked up his third.

The Lakers were able to take advantage enough to build a 10-point lead shortly after Owens went out, but the Kings cut that to one in the next four minutes. By halftime, Sacramento, despite its considerable problems, trailed only 47-43, the Lakers doing their part by shooting 38.5%.

The Lakers got their cushion back in the third quarter, and then some. They went up, 65-53, and had a 73-63 lead heading into the fourth.

The Kings got as close as 81-75 with 5:21 remaining, then got turned away again. The Lakers’ response was a 10-3 rally, with Jones and Rick Fox scoring four each, for a 91-78 lead with 2:10 to play. Nick Van Exel had three of his 11 assists in that same span, although he missed a fifth consecutive double-double by scoring eight points, making only two of 10 shots.

That made the Lakers 15-7 without O’Neal. They may get him back at the same time they get what is supposed to be the biggest challenge of the longest home stand of the season, when the Hawks come to the Forum.