LAKERS NOTEBOOK: GM: TEAM NOT QUITTING.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

The mountain the Lakers now have to scale to make the playoffs might have given even Sir Edmund Hillary pause - trailing the Denver Nuggets by 5 1/2 games with 14 to play - but general manager Mitch Kupchak refused to concede the season.

``We're still in a playoff hunt because of the teams out there that are banged up,'' Kupchak said Friday. ``I read the paper every day and it seems like another guy is going on the injured list. ... It is the only approach for this team to take.''

Kupchak also said that perhaps interim coach Frank Hamblen had gotten too caught up in the Lakers' seven-game losing streak when he accused the team of quitting in the second half of Thursday's 117-96 loss to the Nuggets.

``I know what the guys are going through,'' Kupchak said. ``When a team like Denver is playing well and we're not, and have lost a bunch of games in a row, in our case, the perception is that you've given up. Our guys have not given up.

``But if you turned on the television and saw the second half of that game, you might think, 'Oh my gosh, they've quit.' They haven't. But they're not playing with the same energy and confidence of a team like Denver.''

The Lakers, who last missed the playoffs in 1994, are one more loss away from sole ownership of the second-longest losing streak in franchise history. They need to finish 9-5 to avoid only the seventh losing season since moving to Los Angeles in 1960.

Kupchak said the Lakers knew their March schedule would be unforgiving. They played eight of their past nine games on the road, touching down in all four time zones. Twelve of the Lakers' 18 games since the All-Star break have been away from Staples Center.

``We kind of knew this was going to be a tough stretch for us with our schedule,'' Kupchak said. ``When you're not at full strength, all you can do is not get discouraged, stay together and just play as hard as you can and work your way through it.''

Kupchak said injured forward Lamar Odom, who will have his strained left shoulder re-examined Sunday, wanted to play Thursday against Denver but the team erred on the side of caution.

In addition, Kupchak said center Vlade Divac, who underwent back surgery in January to repair a herniated disc, still is expected to return in April.

Kupchak also said he would wait to draw any conclusions about the Lakers' defense until after the season. The Lakers have given up 104.1 points per game since Hamblen took over Feb. 2 and have fallen into the bottom third of the NBA defensively.

``I will say the one area of the game you can control just by effort alone is defense,'' Kupchak said. ``You can't make the ball go down, but you can control your effort defensively. We have to play better defense every game.''

--Wait till next year: The Lakers announced their 2005 exhibition schedule Thursday. They open with games Oct. 11 and 12 in Honolulu against Golden State, play at Staples Center on Oct. 20 and 21 and close Oct. 28 in Las Vegas against Sacramento.

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com