LAKERS NOTEBOOK: SCREENS HAMPER BRYANT.

Byline: ROSS SILER Staff Writer

ORLANDO, Fla. -- It seemed as if every time Kobe Bryant dug in on defense against Dwyane Wade in the Lakers' Christmas Day game, the Miami Heat had a big man arriving from one side or the other to set a screen on him.

That left Wade coming off those screens at ``100 miles per hour,'' in Bryant's words, and the Lakers helpless to contain him. Wade finished with 40 points and 11 assists, carving up the Lakers like a holiday turkey in the game.

Even if the Lakers' defensive woes were more collective than individual, it was the third time this season that a player has scored 40 points or more against Bryant. Michael Redd (45 points) and Gilbert Arenas (60 points) were the other two.

It has been a surprising development for Bryant, who has been voted to the NBA's all-defensive team six times in his career, including the first-team last season. Is he still able to give chase and fight through screens as well as before after a second knee surgery?

``We still think that he is the guy that can give us some tenacity and some fight and some spirit out there,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Tuesday, later adding, ``Yesterday, I'm sure he doesn't feel good about that game.''

Jackson said Bryant has done a better job defending with the ball in his man's hands than away from the play. The Lakers' big men also provided little help in stopping Wade from getting into the lane off those screens in Monday's loss.

``I'm fine,'' Bryant said. ``What they did (Monday) with Wade, which was smart, is they set a pick on me so Wade would go one-on-one with Andrew (Bynum) or Kwame (Brown). That was the thrust of their offense in the third quarter.''

``He's already one hell of a one-on-one player, but when you have him going full speed at them two dudes, that's a hell of a matchup situation. But I feel fine defensively.''

Stepping in: Forward Ronny Turiaf hadn't played in the first three games of the Lakers' trip before he was forced into action against Miami with Brown and Bynum both picking up two fouls in the first quarter.

Turiaf finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, and was praised by Jackson, who said, ``He was our best player on the floor.''

But Turiaf continues to battle hip soreness, which has Jackson concerned about giving him a bigger role.

``We do look at that and say, `What is the activity level if he was a day-in, day-out player?''' Jackson said. ``We'll have to measure that at the end of the season as to what could possibly be done.''

Family matters: The Lakers invited their players, coaches and staff to bring their wives, girlfriends and family members to Miami for the Christmas game, leading to a question Tuesday about whether that proved to be a distraction.

``We agreed to do that as a basketball club,'' Jackson said, ``and we'll suffer the consequences because of it ... or if it was because of it.''

Traitor talk: Neither Bryant nor Jackson wanted any part Tuesday of a discussion about Shaquille O'Neal's comments comparing Jackson to Benedict Arnold. Bryant, in fact, asked, ``Who's that?'' at a mention of Arnold's name.

[e-mail]

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

box

Box:

LAKERS at ORLANDO

- Ross Siler