Lakers will persevere through midseason soap opera

We gather once again to discuss the Los Angeles Lakers, who play in Oakland tonight. In this annual mid-winter forum, we mock their petty arguments and third-rate Hollywood script. We jump to alarming conclusions and, in the end, write them off as a championship contender.

And once again, we will be wrong.

Make no mistake, this is the perfect time for the Warriors to play the defending champs. Although the Lakers bring a five-game win streak into tonight's game, they have serious issues to address. There isn't a player on the roster whose value, health or commitment hasn't come under scrutiny.

It probably doesn't mean much in the end - not when you fast-forward your imagination to the playoffs, with Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol forming the most devastating inside-outside combination in the game. It's just that the Lakers, unlike fellow contenders San Antonio and Boston, refuse to be cohesive. Sometimes it seems as if they manufacture drama, just to fend off complacency.

Just for fun, let's examine exactly what ails this team lately:

Kobe Bryant's shot selection. Nothing could be more unsightly than the extremes: Kobe trying too hard to take over a game, while his teammates stand around like statues, or Kobe pouting his way through tedious stretches of pass-first reluctance. After essentially brow-beating his teammates two weeks ago, in the wake of embarrassing losses to Miami and Milwaukee, Bryant took the floor in a "statement" game (against the Spurs) and missed his first 13 shots in what proved to be a 15-point loss.

"We're all familiar with Kobe's ability to take over," Gasol told the L.A. media. "It can keep you in games, and even sometimes win you games, but it can also lose you games. I think we're more effective when our offense is balanced and everybody's contributing."

This ties directly into the Lakers' biggest asset, one they often ignore completely: Gasol's low-post game. Can you imagine the Warriors with a reliable back-to-the-basket threat (or Miami, for that matter)? Life is so much easier if you can dump the ball inside to someone who can score, pass, draw double-teams and generally create ideal spacing. You're thinking Kevin McHale, Hakeem Olajuwon, perhaps even Dwight Howard if he keeps improving. Gasol is that type of player. The Lakers' offense should run directly through him. Too often, like raw collegians choosing their own agendas, they simply forget.

Level of concern: mild. When it's time to get serious, the Lakers wake up.

Ron Artest's mentality. He's been completely out of sorts this year, arguing with coach Phil Jackson, admitting his problems with the triangle offense, getting stupidly aggressive with his defense (against LeBron James and Amare Stoudemire in particular). Before Matt Barnes went down with a knee injury (requiring surgery and some two months off), he was getting far more fourth-quarter playing time than Artest.

Level of concern: grave. Never forget that Artest saved Game 7 of last year's Finals, at a time Bryant couldn't throw a pea in the ocean, but when Kobe said "it only takes one guy" to disrupt the focus, and "you're only as strong as your weakest link," he had to be talking about a guy who could single-handedly ruin the whole thing.

Lamar Odom's focus. He and his wife, Khloe Kardashian, have launched a plan for their own reality show on the E network. I'll never understand why anyone would invest any time in the nauseating Kardashian family (I plan to be opting for "The Long and Colorful History of Asphalt"). But isn't this perfect?

Level of concern: zero. Odom will have his fun, and show up on time when it matters.

Defense. We're all familiar with the Lakers in a vulnerable state, but getting blown out at home by Milwaukee and Memphis? The Lakers are looking old and disinterested on defense, particularly in transition, and that's a simple lack of pride.

Level of concern: serious, especially if the players keep sniping at each other.

Andrew Bynum. The Lakers look so much bigger and more dominant than anyone else when he's healthy.

Level of concern: significant. There's no indication he'll ever stay healthy for very long.

Bryant's health. If he's willing to admit to the withered condition of his right knee ("it's almost bone on bone"), it looms as a crisis.

Level of concern: medium. The Lakers will survive as long as he puts on the uniform. Nobody in sports plays harder, or better, through pain.

The bench. With Barnes out, and the team feeling a bit of Trevor Ariza nostalgia, this is a down period.

Level of concern: a bit, temporarily. This problem could easily disappear. Few teams have the luxury of Steve Blake, Shannon Brown, Theo Ratliff and a healthy Barnes in reserve (recently acquired Joe Smith has contributed almost nothing so far).

Kobe vs. Phil. Jackson has been quick to chide Bryant for taking too many shots, and at one point, an exasperated Bryant said he wasn't buying "Phil's Zen B.S."

Level of concern: none. This is how things work in Lakerland. It's all quite unbecoming, for those of us who prefer the Giants or Stanford football as our models for team cohesion. Stay tuned for the big finish, though. The Lakers tend to persevere.

Inside

Ellis should play: Despite missing two days of practice with flu-like symptoms and needing an intravenous injection, the Warriors' guard probably will play against the Lakers. B7

E-mail Bruce Jenkins at bjenkins@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle