DREAM SEIZIN' START TO LAKERS' RUN IS REMARKABLY SMOOTH DESPITE POTENTIAL SNAGS.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

Only in a Lakers fan's dream could one play, one up-court rush, one revolution of a highlight reel, have laid to rest this many of a team's recent worries.

Welcome to that dream, as it unfolded Tuesday night in vivid color on Channel 9.

There's Karl Malone stripping the ball from the Milwaukee Bucks' Tim Thomas and knocking it to Gary Payton. Payton pushing it up the middle of the floor and bouncing it to Kobe Bryant. Bryant pivoting in the lane and shoveling it to a trailing Shaquille O'Neal. O'Neal slamming it through the hoop and absorbing a foul. O'Neal sinking the free throw.

There's a quartet of proud All-Stars happily and healthily sharing the ball on the three-point play that sealed a 113-107 victory in Milwaukee.

There's the moment that summed up the Lakers' fantasy first week.

The trip from opening night to doomsday could have been a short one for the Lakers, loaded with as much peril as promise. By now, Bryant's under-rehabilitated knee, or Bryant's off-court distractions, or O'Neal's trouble with coach Phil Jackson, or the Bryant-O'Neal word war, or the Bryant-O'Neal-Malone-Payton ego overload could have brought a couple of defeats. Had that happened, the recriminations might have flown, talk of trading a troubled Bryant might have taken on its own life, and April might seem an eternity away.

Instead, the Lakers are 4-0, Bryant is healthy enough to lead the team in scoring the past two games, all four stars as well as Devean George and Derek Fisher are averaging double figures, and everything seems to be breaking their way as they play NBA champion San Antonio - conveniently missing Tim Duncan - tonight at SBC Center.

Nothing is perfect as Bryant's felony charge in Eagle, Colo., hangs over him, the franchise and the league.

But think about all of the other nightmare scenarios that were floating around Staples Center nine days ago when the Lakers opened the season with an easy victory over Dallas.

Those scenarios have not come to pass.

The Lakers have.

--Bryant's physical condition: After missing the opening win, and shooting 4 for 12 for only 15 points Saturday in Phoenix, Bryant had a team-high 21 Sunday against Golden State and a team-high 31 - nine in the last four minutes - in Milwaukee. Although his legs haven't regained their usual spring, Bryant is showing that his ``out of shape'' is other people's midseason form.

--Bryant's emotional condition: Instead of bus-blocking protesters and ear-burning hecklers, he has faced relatively tame crowds at the Lakers' two road games, perhaps setting a restrained tone for cities ahead on the schedule. It helped that the two games were in Phoenix, where there have always been a lot of L.A. fans, and Milwaukee, not one of the tougher sports towns. Fans in both places booed Bryant when he touched the ball, but the Milwaukee faithful booed ex-Buck Payton louder. When Bryant went to the bench after the last of three late jump shots Tuesday, he wagged a finger at teammates, Dikembe Mutombo-style, and mouthed, ``No, no, no, no, no.'' A fan yelled, ``That's what she said''; another, ``You don't know the meaning of the word (`no').'' It was unclear to courtside observers whether Bryant heard the taunts.

--Kobe-Shaq and Kobe-Shaq-Karl-Gary unity: If that sensational fast break in Milwaukee symbolizes the quartet's comfort with sharing the glory, the four-game statistics prove it. The Lakers have outdone their opponents in every game in assists, double-digit scorers and field-goal percentage. So much for Jackson having to send the team onto the court with a basketball for each player.

``I didn't even know what to expect, to be honest with you,'' Bryant has said of the challenge of assimilating free agents Malone and Payton. ``We just kind of came in ready to play. Just trying to learn the system as quickly as we can. We're still not there yet. It's surprising how quick we're catching on.''

After the games in San Antonio tonight and New Orleans on Friday, the Lakers play seven of nine against teams that were under .500 last season, raising the possibility they could be 15-0 before they face the Spurs again - with a healthy Duncan? - at Staples on Nov. 28.

Of course, there's a lot of basketball to be played before then, and at least one Colorado court hearing to be held.

For now, it's enough to say the Lakers are off to a start that only a dreamer could have predicted.

Lakers vs. San Antonio

Today, 6:30 p.m. at SBC Center

TV/Radio: TNT; 570-AM, 1330-AM

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

(color) Among potential pitfalls, Kobe Bryant's knee and reception on the road have not affected the Lakers' play this season, for which many have high expectations.

Morry Gash/Associated Press

Box:

(1) BALANCED PERSPECTIVE

(2) LAKERS vs. SAN ANTONIO

- Howard Beck