LAKERS NOTEBOOK: PLAYOFF TALK PREMATURE.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

For much of the first half of the season, the Seattle SuperSonics have been locked in third place and the Lakers have been solidly in sixth in the Western Conference standings.

That didn't mean Lakers coach Rudy Tomjanovich or his players were willing to call Tuesday night's game between the teams at Staples Center a first-round playoff preview.

``Haven't taken it that far at all,'' Tomjanovich said. ``Just trying to take one game at a time. Not at all.''

Tomjanovich did speak about the matchup problems the Sonics present with their ``unlimited'' shooting range. Such a series also would feature the subplot of Kobe Bryant and Ray Allen settling their seasonlong feud.

``All the games right now are sort of like playoff games in the West,'' forward Lamar Odom said, ``because it's so tight and everybody's going to be jockeying for position, it looks like, the whole year.''

To move up in the standings, the Lakers would need to bridge a 4 1/2-game gap to Dallas in fifth place. Seattle holds a seven-game edge over Minnesota for the Northwest Division lead and the No. 3 seed that would follow.

Odom was asked how he felt the Lakers had played in the first half of the season. The mathematical midpoint will come Friday against New Jersey.

``It's kind of been like a boxing match,'' Odom said, ``like we're just feeling each other out as far as the team, as far as what we're going to do. I think in the second part of the year, we're going to know what to expect from each other and from the teams that are playing us.''

--Alternate universe: Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has an undefeated team leading the Atlantic Coast Conference and ranked No. 2 in college basketball. Yet he spent more than half of his time during an ESPN interview Tuesday talking about Bryant and the Lakers.

``It would have been an unbelievable honor for me to coach Kobe,'' Krzyzewski said. ``I would try, if I was coaching him, to teach him the nuances of the game, which I think a lot of kids who pass up college do not learn.

``That is the beauty of teamwork and interacting with your teammates and, if you're that great player, how you lead when you are the great player. The great players over the years have been great leaders, too.''

Krzyzewski was offered the Lakers head coaching job this summer after Phil Jackson and the team parted ways. He opted to stay at Duke, although the Lakers' offer was ``magnificent,'' in his words. Tomjanovich was hired instead.

``Believe me, it was an honor to be involved in that,'' Krzyzewski said. ``I thank the Lakers immensely for even considering me and going through that process with me.''

--Also: Bryant is eligible to come off the injured list before tonight's game against the Clippers but will not. The Lakers have all but ruled out Bryant for the rest of their nine-game homestand.

CAPTION(S):

box

Photo:

LAKERS at CLIPPERS

- Ross Siler