LAKERS NOTEBOOK: ATKINS TRASHES JARIC'S JAB.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

The title of Los Angeles' top professional basketball team would be decided on the court later, but Lakers point guard Chucky Atkins left no doubt Wednesday about who talks the best game in the city.

Atkins proved as much with a blistering response to Clippers point guard Marko Jaric's claim to reporters after practice Tuesday that ``Right now, I don't think that they are a better team than we are.''

``When I heard it was him, I was like, `Wow,' '' Atkins said. ``If Elton Brand would have said it or Corey Maggette would have said it, it would have been like, `OK.' But coming from Marko Jaric, it don't even mean much.''

As Atkins got up from his locker room chair, he added: ``That's like the punter saying something.''

Just like that, Jaric was cast in the role of outspoken Indianapolis Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt, who called the New England Patriots ``ripe for the picking'' during this month's NFL playoffs.

The Lakers found all the motivation from Jaric's comments they needed at Wednesday's morning shootaround. Forward Lamar Odom said he was informed of them by a family member and he brought the paper to pass around with his teammates.

The season series stood at 2-0 in the Lakers' favor entering Wednesday's game. With the Lakers also having won 26 of the past 29 games against their crosstown counterparts, Odom was asked how Jaric could make such a statement.

``It's their right to say whatever they want,'' Odom said. ``They're a competitive group of guys. I know they want this game. I know it means a lot to them. It always meant a lot to me when I was a Clipper and I played against the Lakers.''

--Kobe watch: The Lakers have said Bryant likely won't play again until Feb. 6 at the earliest as he continues to recover from a severely sprained right ankle. That would keep Bryant sidelined for three weeks, with the possibility of more to come.

``I want him back when it's the right time,'' Lakers coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. ``I could get into all that selfish stuff for our needs and whatever. But he's our main player and we need to have him not back too early where he re-injures something.''

--Odom added: ``Kobe is so determined to come back. He's a strong dude. We're just waiting for him to come back anytime now.''

Bryant did take care of decorating the Lakers locker room, hanging a Philadelphia Eagles T-shirt and visor on the wall next to his stall. Bryant, a Lower Merion (Pa.) native, also displayed an Eagles mini-helmet and checkers set.

``He just showed up with it,'' said Lakers strength coach Joe Carbone, Bryant's longtime trainer.

--Memory lane: Odom was asked whether he thinks about the Clippers team that could have been the core of himself, Maggette, Brand, Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson been kept together.

--More to come? Forward Slava Medvedenko has played only 41 minutes all season but that didn't stop Tomjanovich from offering effusing praise of his end-of-the-bench reserve after Tuesday's loss to Seattle.

``It isn't about what kind of player he is,'' Tomjanovich said. ``We had a rotation that got established when he was hurt. We did reasonably well. What I do is I try to stay loyal to that rotation. Somebody's got to really fail or the team has got to really fail for me to change that thing.

``The guys that were playing have done a pretty good job. It could very well have been him who got the job and somebody else was injured.''

--Also: Forward Luke Walton sat out with a sprained left ankle. Walton suffered the injury Tuesday but didn't feel it until the next day.

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com