It’s Only Two Games, but Smush Is a Smash

It could be his name, but more likely it’s the flair with which he plays and the results he has produced early in the season.

Either way, Laker guard Smush Parker is quickly becoming a star, and he has the car to prove it.

Parker, second on the team with a 20.5 scoring average in his first two games, drives a 2004 silver Cadillac Escalade he has dubbed the Smushcalade.

“Because it’s all Smushed out,” he said.

But the vehicle is being worked on and probably won’t be ready until the Lakers return from a four-game trip Nov. 14, Parker said.

For now, he has borrowed a Nissan Altima from a cousin.

“It’s going to feel odd driving a Nissan Altima to the Staples Center,” Parker said. “I might have to hitchhike.”

He leads the Lakers with five steals and has only two turnovers, despite a sometimes flashy style he learned growing up on playgrounds in New York City.

Coach Phil Jackson said the key is whether Parker can continue to play at that level.

“We just hope he can sustain it, “Jackson said. “He’s going to go around the league a couple of times ... and we hope he has the strength and physical ability to contribute as he’s contributed so far.”

Parker, who is 16 for 26 from the field, including five for 12 on three-point attempts, said he’s up for the challenge.

“I’m ready,” he said.

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Jackson said he might activate forward Luke Walton for tonight’s game. Walton has been sidelined for nearly a month with a torn left hamstring but practiced Friday and Saturday.

“We’ll see what it’s like [this morning] and make a decision,” Jackson said.

The news came as a surprise to Walton, who said Friday he hoped to return sometime during the upcoming trip. Still, if Jackson asks today, Walton will answer the call.

“If he says he wants me to play a couple of minutes, I’m up for that,” Walton said.

“If he says he was planning on playing me 40, I might try to talk him out of it.”

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TONIGHT

vs. Denver, 6:30, FSNW

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- 570, 1330.

Records -- Lakers 1-1, Nuggets 1-2.

Record vs. Nuggets -- 1-0.

Update -- The Nuggets got their first victory of the season Friday, a 107-68 thrashing of Portland, after consecutive close losses to start the season, including a 99-97 overtime defeat against the Lakers. . Nugget backup center Nene was lost for the season with a torn knee ligament in the season opener at San Antonio.

Tickets -- (800) 462-2849.