Jackson takes foot off the gas

A funny thing happened when reporters were ushered into Saturday’s practice.

It was tough to find any fatigue.

No huffing and puffing, no perspiration, no signs of the Lakers’ stamina being tested, a possible preview of things to come as the regular season winds down and the playoffs start up in six weeks.

The Lakers ran up and down the court for a few minutes to work on their transition defense, but the rest of practice was dedicated to working on half-court offense.

It wasn’t as languid as a walk-through for a football team a day before a big game, but it was definitely toned down, as games and minutes accrue.

“Maybe there will be less bumping and running,” Lamar Odom said about Coach Phil Jackson’s plans for future practices. “He can take us to basketball class for an hour and a half, stretch out our minds a little bit, see how long we can keep concentration. We run things over and over and over. . . . There’s a reason and a purpose for that.”

Jackson has won nine championships as a coach, gaining enough knowledge along the way to glean the importance of easing up as the games get more critical.

“This part of the year, your legs are tired,” he said. “We’re trying to get [players] rejuvenated as often as possible.”

Jackson historically has demanded less in late-season practices with veteran teams, which brought up the question of whether he considered the Lakers to be such a squad.

“Pretty much,” he said. “You’ve got to figure that Lamar has been in enough playoff series now to understand something about that. Luke [Walton] has been through to the end of a playoff sequence . . . he’s got some experience in it. Obviously, [Derek Fisher] and Kobe [Bryant] have a huge number of games that are playoff games.

“Then you’ve got our young group here that is still trying to figure out how that is and what to do and how that game changes and what it’s going to be like” in the playoffs.

That Kobe kid is OK.

Wait, it’s that Coby kid.

Undrafted rookie Coby Karl continues to develop a following as a fan favorite at Staples Center, drawing chants and cheers when he checks into out-of-reach games in the fourth quarter.

His entrance with a few minutes left in the Lakers’ 119-82 victory Friday over the Clippers was enough to entice some fans to stick around. Those that did were rewarded with a pair of Karl three-pointers.

“This whole experience is fun for me,” he said. “Having the fan support is awesome, but it’s all progression toward where I want to be. I don’t want to be coming off the bench last my whole career. To learn from the best is a privilege and then to have the fans on your side is obviously a lot of fun, though.”

People are even recognizing him away from the arena -- to a degree.

“More so now than at the beginning of the season,” he said. “Not as much as when I go out with Luke and Ronny [Turiaf],though.”

Chris Mihm could return to practice in two weeks and has a “great chance of helping us out,” Jackson said. Mihm has been pain-free since having a screw removed three weeks ago from his surgically repaired right heel.

TONIGHT

vs. Sacramento, 6:30, FSN West

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- 570, 1330.

Records -- Lakers 44-18, Kings 27-35.

Record vs. Kings -- 1-0.

Update -- Kevin Martin scored a career-high 48 points in the Kings’ 111-103 loss Friday to Minnesota. The Timberwolves had been 2-26 on the road before beating the Kings, who played without Ron Artest (sore right foot). The Kings have dropped seven of their last eight games, including a 117-105 loss to the Lakers last Tuesday after Bryant scored 17 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter.

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com