Hurts so good

Most of the Lakers were packing their bags at the El Segundo practice gym Tuesday afternoon and preparing for the short flight to Sacramento for today’s regular-season finale when Kwame Brown emerged from the locker room, dressed and ready but walking with a hitch in his step.

One look at his footwear told the story. On his right foot he wore a normal shoe, but on his left he wore a big, clunky walking boot, the device’s black Velcro straps cinched tight to cushion his sore ankle, keep it straight, and protect it from additional harm.

The Lakers’ center clearly was not trying to make a fashion statement.

The statement he wanted to make is that he intends to play as hard as he can when the NBA playoffs start this weekend, that he’s prepared to grit his teeth and get through the pain of the sprained ankle he sustained on New Year’s Eve and aggravated on April 3.

Brown is also eager to salvage something from what has been a wreck of a season for him. He’s focusing on the possibilities that remain for him and his team, not the 41 games he lost to shoulder and ankle woes.

“It’s all about how you finish,” he said Tuesday. “Nobody remembers how you start if you finish well.”

By no definition are the Lakers finishing the first 82 games well. More like it’s just as well that they’re finishing.

Their 3-8 slump, the latest of many flat periods in an absurdly uneven and injury-pocked season, hardly awakens echoes of their 11-3 sprint into the playoffs a year ago.

But Brown’s return on Sunday after a six-game absence gives them some reason for hope, regardless of whether they play the league-leading Dallas Mavericks or the second-ranked Phoenix Suns in the opening round.

Brown was impressive against the Suns in last season’s playoffs, averaging 12.9 points and 6.6 rebounds in the Lakers’ seven-game loss. He can provide the post presence they will need against the Suns’ Amare Stoudemire or the Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki, and Lakers Coach Phil Jackson recently singled Brown out as indispensable to the team’s prospects.

Without Brown, Jackson said, “we are not going to go anywhere in the playoffs.”

Forward Luke Walton agreed.

“Kwame’s huge for us. Big time,” Walton said. “He makes huge plays on the defensive end. He can stop pretty much anyone down there on the block.

“Having him out there is definitely a bonus for us.”

That could prove especially true against the Suns, who love to run and fling and give no more than a passing thought to playing defense if they think of it at all.

“You’ve got to go inside against them. You’ve got to slow the game down. That’s what we tried to do last year,” Walton said. “That’s no secret. Everyone knows that’s what gives you the best chance to beat them. You can’t run and outscore them.

“Myself, Lamar [Odom], Kwame, hopefully we can slow the game up and have a chance to win.”

Brown isn’t at full strength. Starting in place of the flailing Andrew Bynum on Sunday, Brown mustered a three-point, four-rebound performance in 27 minutes in the Lakers’ playoff-clinching, 109-98 victory over Seattle. The walking boot is evidence that he hasn’t had time to attain the fitness or game sharpness he will need if the Lakers are going to have a semblance of a ghost of a chance against Phoenix or Dallas.

Still, he’s willing to try to do as much as his aching body will allow, and that’s encouraging for a team that needs every bit of positive thinking it can find. The extent of Brown’s impact may do as much to determine the Lakers’ playoff fortunes as the number of 50-point games Kobe Bryant throws out there and whether Smush Parker or Jordan Farmar starts at point guard.

Brown has been icing his ankle, undergoing treatment and wearing the unfashionable but supportive boot. He limited his practice activity Tuesday to some half-court work, trying to build up a sweat and improve his conditioning without putting too much stress on his ankle.

“At the beginning of games I feel pretty good. It’s just that as games go on, my ankle starts to get weak and I start to fatigue a little bit,” said Brown, who is averaging 8.2 points, six rebounds and 1.2 blocks.

“It’s all about sucking it up. Adrenaline got me through the first game. I’m just going to see if I can match or give a better effort in the next game.”

Despite his solid play against the Suns last spring, Brown said he had no preference between the Mavericks and Suns this time.

It’s a little like picking your poison, anyway.

“It’s not like there’s a huge gap between the two teams,” Brown said. “We just have to go out and play better basketball.

“It’s all about us at this point. It’s not about the opponent.”

To him, that included taking tonight’s game as if a playoff berth depended on it.

“We can’t look at any game being a warmup or a tuneup, the way we’ve been playing,” he said. “We’ve just got to win and get some momentum for the playoffs.

“It’s all about our own momentum. We were 2-8 before we won the last game, and hopefully we can come out and bring that defensive energy and win the next game.”

Brown played well inside offensively against the Suns last spring, and the Lakers might try that again.

“The way Kobe has been playing, we’ll have to use the outside man. Maybe put him inside,” Brown said, smiling.

“He’s playing unbelievable basketball right now and he’s healthy. I’m a little banged up, so I don’t know what I can do as far as scoring the ball right now, but we’ll see.

“I’m sure Phil’s got something. He’s great at these moments of the playoffs. Nobody gave us a chance last year. I’m sure nobody’s giving us a chance again this year. But who knows?”