FROM FEUD-ALISM TO OPTIMISM PRIME START HELPS LAKERS PUSH ASIDE KOBE-SHAQ WOES.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO - The morning after a glorious opening night was spent working, sweating, laughing, and the Lakers felt pretty good about all of it.

There were no team meetings Wednesday, no huddles between team officials and star players, no gag orders or fines, nor were any necessary.

There was only hopeful reflection after a 16-point rout of the Dallas Mavericks, coinciding with the apparent end, for now, of the verbal scrap between Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

Wherever that unpredictable relationship goes, the Lakers are resting more easily now, having seen Gary Payton reignite their fast break, having watched Karl Malone muscle his way to the rim, and having witnessed O'Neal walk away satisfied though he scored just 16 points.

The new, quicker, older, smarter Lakers pushed the ball around for 32 assists. They put six players in double-figure scoring. It was one game, but it was a nice start for a team angling to regain the championship.

``I'm not giddy,'' coach Phil Jackson said, ``but we're hopeful.''

By the time they play again, Saturday night in Phoenix, they hope to be whole, as well. Bryant sprinted, shot jumpers and played in a half-court scrimmage with other guards and forwards and said afterward he could make his debut against the Suns.

By then, the Lakers figure to also have distanced themselves from the toxic feud that erupted between Bryant and O'Neal early this week.

``Overall, I think the air is pretty clear and the energy's good,'' Derek Fisher said. ``Everybody's attitude was good coming in today.''

It isn't clear how O'Neal, who was thoroughly savaged by Bryant on Monday, is feeling about the matter. He again chose not to speak to reporters but smiled and waved as he walked into the training room.

But those close to O'Neal said he was upbeat and seemingly unconcerned about what transpired. For his part, Bryant continued to put a positive spin on the issue, saying over and over that ``we're moving on.''

``Everybody's great,'' he said. ``Joking around, same as usual, talking trash, competing. It's good. We said what we had to say, you let it go, you move on. It's that simple.''

Two days earlier, Bryant had angrily derided O'Neal as ``selfish,'' ``unprofessional'' and ``jealous.'' That attack came a day after O'Neal chided Bryant for not knowing ``how to play team ball'' and dared him to opt out of his contract next summer.

``It's over,'' Bryant said of the feud. ``I know Phil seems to think that there's going to be some continuing stuff going on, but you know how Phil likes to drag on drama, anyway. But it really isn't. We're just moving on from here, period.''

Indeed, the prevailing feeling in the organization is that the rift isn't necessarily healed, but that it simply will be dealt with more quietly now, behind closed doors.

``If indeed we do have a recurrence of it, it's going to be inside of our locker room or on our practice court. That's what we want,'' Jackson said. ``I just think it takes a watchfulness, that's all. It's just an alertness that we have to be just constantly working on our personal relationships as a team and as members of this ballclub and as a staff.''

The worry now is where this leads the franchise, and Bryant in particular. Though he has announced he will opt out next summer, the decision has been viewed as some combination of a financial move and a power play - giving him ultimate leverage with the organization.

Of course, he also could pack up and go, leaving the Lakers with two aging Hall of Famers and a third, O'Neal, who is on the downside of his career. Bryant said he's not thinking about that decision yet.

``I put it away,'' he said. ``The time when I told you guys what I was going to do (with the opt-out), the reason behind that is so that I don't sweat it during the season. You know what I'm going to do and when the time comes, I just think about it then.

``Right now, I'm just going to think about the season, think about practice, think about the games, and that's it.''

Bryant expressed no regrets for what transpired.

``You have to live with regrets whether you regret something or you don't. You live and you learn. You make mistakes. Sometimes, you make right decisions, sometimes you make wrong ones. Sometimes, you go about them the wrong way. But it's all part of life.''

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Photo:

(color) From left, Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant are hoping their overwhelming victory against Dallas is a sign of things to come.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

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