LAKERS NOTEBOOK: SHAQ-KOBE II ON THE HORIZON.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

PHILADELPHIA - One was on Broad Street, the other Broadway, but soon Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal shall meet.

With their nationally televised rematch set for Thursday in Miami, Bryant had one thing to say when asked Tuesday night whether he felt like a big game was waiting around the corner.

``We're playing for playoff position,'' Bryant said before facing the Philadelphia 76ers. ``So I don't get the sense in here that anybody is looking forward to the game on Thursday. It's just another game.''

O'Neal, meanwhile, weighed in on every Lakers subject from Phil Jackson's potential return as coach to the possibility of his former team missing the playoffs for the first time in 11 years before the Miami Heat played in New York against the Knicks.

``You guys have to understand, I'm the son of an army brat, so we know how to be programmed and deprogrammed right away,'' O'Neal said. ``So all that stuff out in L.A. has been deleted from my system and flushed down the toilet. And you can swim in the sewer and go get it and try to conjure up memories but I don't know nothing.''

O'Neal also was asked if the Kobe-Shaq showdowns would hold less intrigue next season. Their Christmas Day meeting was the NBA's highest rated regular-season broadcast in six years.

``I think you guys are always going to bring it up because it markets the game and gets people to watch,'' O'Neal said. ``I don't know what you guys expect from us - you probably expect us to get into a fight at midcourt, but that probably won't ever happen.

``But you guys will probably always talk about it. But off the court, I have nothing to say. Off the court in real life, I have nothing to say.''

O'Neal declared himself to be Jackson's agent and said, ``If he goes back (to the Lakers), we're not taking less than $20 million.''

Jackson's return also should come with general manager duties, O'Neal added.

While O'Neal said he wasn't surprised the Lakers could find themselves out of the playoffs come April, he said a championship could be in store for the Heat, who boast the Eastern Conference's best record.

``I don't like to think too far ahead,'' O'Neal said. ``I don't like to count my chickens before they're hatched. But the team's doing pretty good. I had this feeling before and being that I've had this feeling before, I'd say the outcome should be what we all in Miami want it to be.''

--Welcome back: Bryant proved Tuesday you can go home again ... but in this city you're going to hear about it.

As expected, Bryant was loudly booed by the Wachovia Center crowd, the same reception that greeted him during the 2001 NBA Finals, the 2002 All-Star Game and every game he has played here since.

But Bryant put an interesting spin on the local treatment before the game, saying: ``I love every minute of it, you know what I mean?''

``If I played here, they'd love me because I have the Philly attitude,'' Bryant continued. ``When I'm out there on the basketball floor, I have a chip on my shoulder. When you see me play, I play hard every minute of the game.

``So if I played here, it'd be a different story. But I enjoy coming here because of that because I know what type of basketball they like to see and like to watch.''

Bryant said he left about 30 tickets for friends and family, including many for the current Lower Merion (Pa.) High School team. Bryant led the school to a state championship as a senior in 1996 and the Aces are back in the Class AAAA semifinals this season.

``It's looking good as far as history repeating itself,'' Bryant said.

--Revisionist history: Bryant had a telling exchange with a Washington reporter Monday night who asked about his ``off the court troubles'' being behind him.

``What off-court troubles?'' said Bryant, who reached a civil settlement with his Colorado accuser less than two weeks ago.

``I guess that's the answer to that then,'' the reporter answered.

``Yeah, I don't know what you're talking about,'' Bryant said.