FWIW - HOUSTON -- The scenario coach Phil Jackson once referred to from a distance as "disturbing" is upon the Lakers now -- a critical three-day stretch of the playoffs during which Kobe Bryant will be attending court hearings rather than practicing, then racing the clock to make tipoff.
Bryant flew home with the Lakers following Sunday's game against the Houston Rockets, but he won't see them again until sometime Wednesday evening after spending three days in Eagle, Colo.
In the meantime, the Lakers' preparations for Game 5 will be unavoidably handicapped without the presence of their floor leader.
"It hurts the chemistry of the team," Jackson said.
Bryant is scheduled to leave early this morning for Eagle to attend pretrial hearings in his sexual assault case. He plans to return home every evening, but Jackson said he generally has no contact with Bryant during the periods he is away. They probably won't speak again until Bryant walks into Staples Center for Game 5 on Wednesday.
"This is a time you normally really gear up and spend a lot of time prepping the game for their opponents, the adjustments they've made for any new sequences you're going to work on," Jackson said. "And we'll just have to stay pretty much status quo during this period of time."
Tipoff Wednesday is 7:30 p.m., and it's unclear whether Bryant will be back in time.
"That could be a problem, but we don't think it's going to affect the game," Jackson said. "I don't think the outcome is going to be affected by that."
The court has scheduled another round of hearings, if needed, for May 10-12, in the middle of the second round of the playoffs.
Tuneup: For a few minutes Sunday, the Lakers were not the most dissonant entity in the building. That honor was usurped by William Hung, the oddly popular "American Idol" castoff, who was booked as the halftime entertainment.
Two and a half hours before tipoff, in a mostly empty arena, Hung "rehearsed" his unique renditions of Elton John's "Rocket Man" and Ricky Martin's "She Bangs," while a dozen Toyota Center security guards stood in the tunnel, transfixed and giggling.
Hung and Jackson passed each other in the hallway as Jackson met with reporters before the game.
Observed Jackson: "Things are deteriorating, aren't they, in the NBA?"
Also: With a need for consistent perimeter shooting, Jackson said he considered starting Derek Fisher over Gary Payton. "We thought about the possibilities," he said. Jackson has also considered starting the pair together and moving Bryant to small forward. ... Devean George replaced Rick Fox in the starting lineup. Fox had started every game since Jan. 24 but has been hampered the past two weeks by a dislocated thumb. ... Slava Medvedenko played Sunday for the first time since injuring his right Achilles' tendon in the first half of Game 2. ... Veteran referee Joey Crawford had to leave the floor after suffering a calf strain in the middle of the first quarter but later returned midway through the third quarter. ... Rockets owner Les Alexander told a local TV station that Karl Malone should be suspended for his physical play, citing incidents in the first three games of the series. "The way he pushes people around is just wrong," Alexander said.
