LAKERS NOTEBOOK: MIHM COMES OFF THE BENCH IN RETURN.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

How good was center Chris Mihm feeling about returning to action Tuesday night after missing the Lakers' previous six games?

So good that Mihm could take a couple of jokes in the locker room about the skin-tight purple undershirt he had to wear to accommodate the protective pad on his sprained right shoulder.

But Lakers coach Phil Jackson wasn't feeling quite as enthusiastic about Mihm returning to the starting lineup and playing major minutes. Jackson elected to bring Mihm off the bench in his first game back from the shoulder injury.

``I'm not satisfied that Chris is back, ready to play,'' Jackson said. ``He's ready to practice, but he's still reaching for the ball, short-arming it. The extension is not there. I'm concerned. I was not pleased (Monday) at practice.''

Mihm checked in with 1:48 left in the first quarter and played 5:22 in the first half. He missed both shots he took and threw a bad pass looking for Kobe Bryant inside.

--Keeping his head: Jackson's biggest complaint with Lamar Odom has nothing to do with the 6-foot-10 forward's scoring, which, it must be noted, has declined every month this season.

It also has nothing to do with Odom's knowledge of the triangle offense, which he still is trying to feel his way though more than 50 games into the season.

Instead, Jackson said he wanted to see fewer games like the one Odom played last week against Atlanta, when he was called for a loose-ball foul at the end of the first half, then was whistled for an offensive foul to start the third quarter.

Odom had to sit all but 37 seconds of the third quarter in foul trouble as a result. He also was hit with a technical foul for arguing a call with referee Eli Roe.

``More than anything else with Lamar, I think I find that he gets himself wrapped up in foul situations or contesting referees calls,'' Jackson said. ``It takes his head away from the game, his mindset, and he's got to get focused about staying in the game, staying on the floor, contributing to the team.''

As for Odom's scoring, Jackson did not seem overly concerned, especially with Mihm coming back.

``Shooting comes and goes with Lamar,'' Jackson said. ``What doesn't is his rebounding, his playmaking ability. That's important. I think he understands that we do need his scoring on this team and he's trying to do that. But I don't want him to force the issue.''

--The kid: Jackson said he wasn't ready for rookie center Andrew Bynum to play a meaningful role, with Bynum still focusing too much on his offensive play and not enough on his defensive rotations and rebounding.

``Andrew really has not shown a lot of ability to go out there and play the way we want him to play right now,'' Jackson said. ``And so he's got to sit back down and think about his game a little bit.''

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Lakers center Chris Mihm returned from a shoulder injury to play on Tuesday night.

Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images