Bryant Says He’s a Rework in Progress

Kobe Bryant’s arms have flared some, and he has been wearing a sleeveless warm-up top on game nights.

It appears that while the Lakers have made use of growing camaraderie -- and a soft schedule -- to win 10 consecutive games and 13 of 14, Bryant found time for hours in the weight room, reworking a body gone stringy with summer neglect.

In a four-week period in which the Lakers will play nine games, only two of them on the road, the emphasis is on his legs. After back-to-back games this weekend -- Friday against the Dallas Mavericks and Saturday in Portland -- the Lakers won’t play until Dec. 19, a home game against Denver.

That’s a lot of triangle time for Karl Malone and Gary Payton, a lot of rehabilitation time for Rick Fox, and a lot of gym time for Bryant.

While Dec. 19 also is significant as the date of his next hearing in Colorado, Bryant all along had established the coming weeks as a time when he hoped to begin to feel like himself again, physically. He’s closer. And the Lakers are 18-3, building a buffer for the months of January and February, when the opponents and the destinations will provide more of a test. From Jan. 2 to March 3, 22 of their 32 games will be on the road.

New Year’s Day will mark seven months since Bryant’s knee surgery, seven months and a day since his life changed forever. He believes he will be able to rebuild his body, his focus now on the gaps between real-life stuff.

He has played in 20 games since missing the season opener, averaging team-highs in scoring (21.8 points) and minutes (36.8). But his jump shot has been flat and short and he often has been unable to get to the basket, leaving his field-goal percentage (43.5%) at its lowest point in six years.

Late Tuesday night, in the glow of another win, as Payton gabbed and Malone philosophized and Shaquille O’Neal laughed, Bryant spoke confidently of soon retaking his game. He also spoke of the luxury of not needing it right now, of the team’s flow carrying everything and everyone along with it.

“I’m feeling pretty good, even though I’m struggling with my jump shot a little bit,” he said. “My legs aren’t there yet.”

He said he practiced well and hard Monday, but was stiff by Tuesday night.

But “we have a team this year that I don’t have to force the issue with my jump shot,” he said. “I can kind of lay back.... It’s just not going in for me right now. I’m not too worried about it.”

Asked specifically about the process of muscling up again, and whether he’s actually gotten larger, Bryant smiled.

“A little bit,” he said. “I don’t have the pipes like Karl does. Who does?”

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Payton’s T-shirt bore the likeness of an old gangster, along with his name, Bugsy Siegel.

While Payton chatted after Tuesday night’s eight-point win over the Knicks, O’Neal brushed past and primped in the full-length mirror near Payton’s locker.

“Bugsy Siegel?” he asked over his shoulder. “What you know about Bugsy Siegel?”

“That’s my guy,” Payton said.

O’Neal nodded.

“You know who my guy is?” O’Neal asked. He whispered, “Tony Montana.”

Payton grinned at the mention of the character portrayed by Al Pacino in “Scarface.”

“Aw,” he said, “that’s my guy too.”

*

The Lakers who played 20 minutes or more the night before were given Wednesday off. For the first time in four games, Derek Fisher qualified for rest.

Payton has replaced him in the starting lineup and the other guard, Bryant, is a minutes hound. That leaves Fisher, who could choose to be a free agent at the end of the season, without much.

“Winning helps everything,” he said. “As tough as it is, if we keep going the way we are, that helps everyone deal with any of the individual issues they have.”