Jackson says Bryant isn’t back to form, and plans accordingly

Phil Jackson knows that Kobe Bryant will, one of these days, recapture the burst that made him the league’s scoring champion last season.

Until then, he’s Bryant the passer, Bryant the decoy, Bryant the set-up man.

“I’m not going to say that he’s still a shadow of himself, but he’s still quite a ways to go before he’s the ballplayer that we’re used to seeing out there as a basketball player in the full court, in both ends of the court,� Jackson said Monday.

A day earlier, Bryant scored 15 points against Seattle, his lowest total since an 11-point effort last December against Washington, a span of 70 games.

He did have nine assists Sunday but lacked his usual zing as the Lakers fell behind by 26. There would be no comeback, no 15-point individual quarters that became Bryant’s trademark last season on the way to averaging 35.4 points per game. He’s simply not there yet.

“I don’t think so,� Jackson said. “He doesn’t have all his shot back. His turnaround jumper is a little bit flat, his three-point shooting is a little bit iffy.

“I see guys come back after being out for two, three, four games at the start of the season and some of them step right into mid-season form. I didn’t know what to expect out of this. I thought he played perhaps a better game on Friday than he did play on Sunday, but that’s not unusual -- the excitement, adrenaline, perhaps all that activity on Friday was a bit for him to recover from. But he’s going to make progress and he’s coming in early and working hard.�

Bryant said his surgically repaired right knee felt fine -- “I don’t have any pain,� he said -- and maintained he simply had to adjust to NBA speed.

“I’ve still got to get my legs underneath me,� he said. “I’ve got to be able to get the balance that I need to get the ball up pretty quickly. I’m still having to kind of measure up shots instead of coming off and catching and shooting.�

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Jackson’s distaste for rookies is legendary, but he lobbed a compliment toward Jordan Farmar after he scored 14 points against Seattle, making five of six shots in his fourth NBA game.

“If he wasn’t a rookie, I would say he’s playing better than some of our starters and guys who were playing ahead of him,� Jackson said. “But because he’s a rookie, he’s going to be making mistakes. The referees picked on him a couple times [Sunday] night just because he was a rookie. [Ray] Allen just ran into him on one sequence down the floor and they put him on the line because it’s a rookie playing him.

“He’s going to stay out there and if he continues to improve, he’s going to threaten some peoples’ minutes.�

Those people would be Smush Parker and Sasha Vujacic, who have struggled so far. Parker is averaging 7.8 points and shooting 35.7%. Vujacic went four games until finally scoring and is shooting 18.2%.

“I just feel I’m doing my job, coming off the bench and not trying to do too much -- not making mistakes, trying to play solid defense,� said Farmar, the 26th selection in this year’s draft.

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Kwame Brown will see a shoulder specialist today and is expected to be cleared to play Friday against Detroit. He has been out almost three weeks because of a bruised rotator cuff and bursitis in his right shoulder.... Jackson apparently did not like the new rule that led to a technical foul when Bryant threw the basketball at the bottom of the basket support after the Lakers committed a foul Sunday. “When you violate rule 169-dot-dash-32, [referees] don’t have to use their heads, they just make a judgment call,� Jackson said. “That’s the unfortunate part. That’s where rules become problematic. Pretty soon you’ve got a Bible and you’ve got 650 laws running your religion.�

TONIGHT

vs. Minnesota, 7:30, FSN West

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- 570; 1330.

Records -- Lakers 3-1, Timberwolves 2-2.

Record vs. Timberwolves (2005-05) -- 1-3.

Update -- The Timberwolves have been a handful for the Lakers over the years, going 4-4 at Staples Center since 2002-03.

mike [email protected]