LAKERS NOTEBOOK: BYNUM SHOWING MATURITY.

Byline: ROSS SILER

Staff Writer

When he has talked about the growth of teenage center Andrew Bynum this season, Lakers coach Phil Jackson has regularly cited the words of athletic performance director Chip Schaefer that the biggest thing they can teach Bynum is a work ethic.

The embodiment of that work ethic was shooting jumpers on the floor at Staples Center before Friday's game. Even in his fifth NBA season, Yao Ming still takes the rookie bus to the arena and shows up to practices two hours early.

With a window to negotiate a contract extension arriving after next season, the Lakers have to see Bynum put the same effort into his game before they commit tens of millions of dollars to a player before his 21st birthday.

"He has to find that," Jackson said. "We always say you can't change a person's character. You have to just develop what's there. Andrew's shown us that he wants to get better, and that's an important part of it. Yao's dedicated to what he does and he does it his own way and Andrew's got to do it his way."

The Lakers have played Bynum more than they could have imagined this season as a result of injuries to Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm. Bynum came into Friday's game averaging 7.9 points and 6.3 rebounds while playing 22.7 minute a game.

Bynum's play has been largely up-and-down -- Jackson thought he didn't adjust well Tuesday when he had to start at the last minute for Brown -- but the coach did credit the changes he has made in regard to nutrition and sleeping habits.

"There are times when I think that Andrew's really motivated," Jackson said. "There are times when he hasn't got the energy to do that. He's like a young colt. He just doesn't have enough energy to put into the game.

"We're trying to get him to a point where he can maintain the kind of energy it takes to play this basketball game. That's a real big thing."

Injury report: With the playoffs less than three weeks away, Jackson said he was hoping Vladimir Radmanovic would return from a shoulder injury next week. In fact, he said it loud enough so Radmanovic could hear as he headed to the court to shoot.

Jackson added that Maurice Evans might have to play through the pain in his right knee and then consider off-season surgery if things didn't improve.

"The injuries that we have in this league right now," Jackson said, "is it, 'We're playing too much basketball? Are we doing too much (in the) off-season? Is our training too intense?"'

Jackson said a 75-game schedule would be preferable to one with 82games and would "help these players have a better opportunity to perform and not perform under fatigue, which is where they get hurt."

Call me: Jackson said he had yet to get an official call from the Basketball Hall of Fame informing him of his selection. Jackson is all but a lock to be part of the Class of 2007, though he won't be able to attend the formal announcement Monday in Atlanta.