BACK IN FOCUS FOX CAN GIVE KINGS HIS ATTENTION THIS TIME.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO - It was a strange look for a guy accustomed to bringing the fire and the ferocity to the Lakers' lineup.

Rick Fox, the muscle-bound enforcer of the group, the one who never hesitated to knock a disrespectful opponent on his rear, the player most likely to call teammates out in the locker room for getting a little lax, stood in an Arco Arena tunnel, a calm and blissful grin affixed to his made- for-GQ face, a plastic bracelet around his wrist.

The scene was Game 4 of the first-round playoff series between the Lakers and Sacramento last year, and Fox had just returned from a whirlwind 48-hour trip to New York and back to be with wife, Vanessa Williams, as she delivered their first child together. Sasha Fox arrived May 1.

Rick Fox never did arrive for the playoff series.

Physically, he was there. Mentally, he was 3,000 miles away, before and after his daughter's birth.

It was, Fox readily admits, a lost series. One in which coach Phil Jackson lightly bemoaned Fox's lack of focus and was forced to cut the minutes of one of his key reserves.

``Keeping me off the floor was the best thing for our team. Couldn't blame him for that,'' Fox said Friday as the Lakers prepared for another playoff round with the Kings. ``I was just being a father and there for my wife and having a baby. All of that was just spinning around. So there was a lot of emotion.''

And no regrets, of course, in the decision to put family first. Though the Lakers lost two games at Arco, they went on to win the series, and Fox regained his edge for the duration of the championship run. And yet ...

``It's nice to be in another situation,'' Fox says now, ``with a chance to do better.''

That's fully expected. For one, there are no more Williams-Fox babies on the way just yet. And Fox, who often struggled as a backup for two seasons, is now an invaluable fixture in the Lakers' starting lineup.

He replaced Glen Rice, started all 82 games, brought all the defense expected and some offense the Lakers only hoped would resurface. He averaged 9.6 points per game this season, 12.1 points after the All-Star break and 13.0 in the Lakers' first-round sweep of Portland.

Now Fox is one-half of the Lakers' formula for containing the Kings' explosive scoring tandem - and perhaps the key to the series. Fox will guard Peja Stojakovic, who had a breakout season. Horace Grant will be the primary defender against Chris Webber, the Kings' leading scorer and MVP candidate.

A year ago, Fox was in a fog and Grant was on vacation, having missed the playoffs as a member of the Seattle SuperSonics.

Their presence has already made a difference, as the Lakers held both Stojakovic and Webber well below their scoring averages during the regular season.

``This is a team that we feel we are stronger in those positions defending than we were last year in the same series,'' Jackson said. ``Bench-wise, we may not be as deep because we haven't got the backup that Rick gave us last year when he was on the bench.''

The Lakers welcome Fox's emotional edge as well. He mixed it up with Phoenix's Clifford Robinson in the second round last year and Portland's Scottie Pippen in the conference finals.

``We pretty much know Rick can be over the edge sometimes,'' teammate Derek Fisher said. ``We understand whether it's the baby or just a bad hair day, Rick is going to be over the edge. But we respect that about Rick. And sometimes he's the guy that provides us with the fire and the feistiness that we have to bring to a game.''

But his expressiveness has gotten him in trouble as well. When the Lakers and Kings last met in late March, Fox got into a tiff with Stojakovic and drew a technical foul for taunting him. That started the Kings on a 20-2 run that buried the Lakers and gave Sacramento its only victory in the season series.

``Sometimes emotionally I may get a little wound up and get physically or verbally into situations with the opponent,'' Fox said, ``but that's due to the desire to see us be the team that walks away the victor.''

Since signing with the Lakers in 1997, that's been Fox's consistent approach, even when it meant accepting a lesser role or less money. Winning his first championship made the sacrifices worthwhile. Winning another one, as a starter counted on for his 3-point shooting and for taking on key defensive assignments, would be all that much sweeter.

``That's been the focus all year for me, continuing to get better and being a bigger factor in our success and helping the team fill the void that we lost in Glen and a number of players,'' he said. ``This will be a continued growth and experience for me as an individual in this offense and playing under Phil. But I'm definitely enjoying every opportunity.''

NBA PLAYOFFS: LAKERS vs. SACRAMENTO

--Game 1: Sunday, Ch. 4, noon

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) High-spirited Lakers veteran Rick Fox can devote his full attention to the Sacramento Kings.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer