Jackson: Jordan Can Top Scorers

Michael Jordan dropped 41 exhibition points on the New Jersey Nets this weekend, and while much of the reaction concerned the fact that Jordan still could, Laker Coach Phil Jackson’s was that Jordan has little choice.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Michael won the scoring title, to be honest with you,� Jackson said Monday morning, before the Lakers practiced. “He’s going to have to manufacture a lot of excitement for that team. [Richard] Hamilton’s a good shooter. But for them to be competitive, Michael’s going to have to generate a lot of offense and he can probably still do that.�

Whether Jordan believes a scoring title is critical to his comeback and the Washington Wizards, only he knows.

“For Michael, I once made a plea to him that we’re going to have a team-oriented offense, and you’re probably going to have to give up your scoring championship,� Jackson recalled. “[I told him], ‘No one’s won a scoring championship and a [team] championship in the same year since, like, Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] in 1971 or something like that.’

“He said, ‘I don’t see how that’s so difficult. You only have to get eight points a quarter to get a scoring championship here.’ He said, ‘That’s not that tough.’ That’s how he approached it.�

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It seems a matter of days before Kobe Bryant, at 23, becomes co-captain--with Shaquille O’Neal--of the Lakers.

Though Jackson said Monday he would discuss the challenges with Bryant, he appears already to have made up his mind.

“I think he’s really ready,� Jackson said. “But I do want to talk to him about how he feels about the responsibilities.�

The same, probably, that he felt about them two years ago, when Jackson asked him, “Do you want to be captain of this team?�

Bryant: “Definitely.�

Jackson: “At what age? 25?�

Bryant: “I’m ready right now.�

Jackson: “You’re only 21. A lot of these guys are married, with kids almost your age. Maybe you should wait a couple of years, get some experience, a little maturity.�

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A week from the season opener, the Lakers are unsettled at power forward, either at starter or backup, depending on what Robert Horry doesn’t play, and at backup center.

They also require depth at guard. Starter Derek Fisher will be on the injured list for at least two weeks into the season, and even then the stress fracture in his right foot could recur.

Jackson said he was fairly certain the holes could be filled with players already in camp, though there are options.

“The almighty thing is always between a coach and a general manager,� he said. “The general manager’s looking for young players who fit into the future. The coach is looking for who can help me today. That’s where Mitch [Kupchak] and I will talk about the direction this club has to go in to meet our responsibilities.

“We’ve had feelers. We think we’ve got enough where we can do it. We’d like to be bigger in our backup center position, especially early in the season if Shaq is not ready to play 36 to 38 minutes.

“But we’ve got enough young kids where we can probably do some tag-team playing out there, patch it together.�

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The Lakers (1-4 in the exhibition season) play the Memphis Grizzlies at 7:30 tonight at the Arrowhead Pond.... While more than 8,000 school children screeched their delight at seeing their heroes at Staples Center on Monday afternoon, police closed streets two blocks away because of an anthrax scare.... After telling the children last year to “sit down and shut up,� Jackson was left out of this year’s program.