Fox Steps Up; George Recedes

It wasn’t all that long ago -- 10 days -- that Phil Jackson declined to bring Rick Fox off the injured list, for fear Fox would be overmatched in an NBA game.

Sunday afternoon, Fox played 22 minutes, nearly all of them matched defensively against Vince Carter, while the younger and more agile Devean George sat on the bench.

When the game ended, the Lakers 84-83 winners, Gary Payton having stripped the ball from Carter on the final play, Fox having run Carter toward Payton in the lane, it was Fox, going on nine months since surgery, who thrust his fist in the air.

Fox, it appears, is gaining. George, given the starting job when Fox was injured, is suffering, and teammates privately are wondering if George ever will be tough enough to be an impact player.

“We have basketball players out there I felt weren’t making sound decisions,” Jackson said. “[Fox’s] quickness and experience may not be what they once were, and they may never be again. But it’s great to have him on the floor. He did a sound job for us.”

Fox has not found his shooting stroke. But his foot has held up so far, and he’s moving decently.

Asked if he is ready to resume the role he left on May 12, the day of his surgery, Fox said, “I think we’ll find out [today]. ... I really feel good, though. Maybe the nine months off actually was helpful in a way.”

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Horace Grant, 38, has made his share of flights, and then some. In 16 years, he has developed a philosophy for seamless travel.

Sitting before the game with his feet in a bucket of ice and his knees beneath heating pads, Grant said, “A little ice, a little praying, and hope Shaq [O’Neal] and Slava [Medvedenko] don’t get in foul trouble. Hopefully, we blow teams out.”

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Grant, whose contract runs out after this season, said he hadn’t considered next season yet.

“I’ll wait for that moment,” he said. “And hopefully Karl gets back sooner than March.”

Every minute Karl Malone plays is a minute Grant gets on the end of his career, as Grant sees it.

Malone remained in Los Angeles to rest his ailing knee. He will join the team later in the trip, perhaps in Orlando or Miami. He is not expected to be able to play for another six weeks.

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Guard Maurice Carter, signed by the Lakers to a 10-day contract Friday, was about the only player not to mention the chill in Toronto on Sunday morning.

See, he’d awoken most mornings over the last two months in Bismarck, N.D., where “cold” is just the start of it.

Carter, who participated in training camp with the Lakers, dressed as a Laker for the first time Sunday. In 28 games for the Dakota Wizards, he averaged 19.4 points, sixth in the CBA. He scored 44 points Tuesday against the Idaho Stampede, earning him a call from Mitch Kupchak on Friday, not long after Kobe Bryant showed up with his finger bandaged.

Needless to say, Carter was happy to be in a Laker locker room.

“It was stressful,” he said. “Being in North Dakota, just that whole CBA experience, it’s stressful.”

Carter attended Louisiana State, where he played two seasons with Luke Walton’s brother, Adam, the eldest of Bill Walton’s four sons.

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It never ends for Bryon Russell, whose first-name spelling has confused fans and public-address announcers for more than a decade.

He often ignores it. But when introduced in the first quarter Sunday as “Byron” Russell, Russell snapped at the scorer’s table, “Bryon! It’s Bryon Russell!”

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The Lakers believe Payton will take part in the All-Star skills challenge, to be held Feb. 14, the night before the All-Star game. Payton isn’t too sure.

He said Sunday he’s considering it but would be less likely to compete if the coaches failed to include him on the Western Conference team.

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Luke Walton said he “tweaked” his right ankle on a play at the end of the first half, but did not expect it to be a problem. Walton did not play in the second half after a four-point, two-assist, two-steal first half in which he seemed to click with O’Neal.

O’Neal, of course, appreciated the attention.

“Some of the guys on our team need to learn from Luke,” O’Neal said.