LAKERS NOTEBOOK: THIS IS NO FINALS REMATCH.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Hard as it might be to believe, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Karl Malone and Gary Payton all shared the same cramped locker room at The Palace of Auburn Hills during the NBA Finals only eight months ago.

``It seems like years ago, actually,'' Lakers interim coach Frank Hamblen said Wednesday. ``All the things that have happened since then ...''

The Lakers, who return to the Palace tonight, will be barely recognizable from the team with four future Hall of Famers that lost to the Pistons in one of the great upsets in NBA history, leading to one of the great overhauls in sports history.

They will send out five new starters, two of whom were with the Miami Heat and three of whom were with Boston Celtics last season. They have been through two coaches as well since Jackson and the team parted ways in June.

Only four players remain from the team that lost in five games to Detroit and reserve forward Brian Cook likely will play the most minutes of them all against the Pistons tonight.

With the Lakers fighting just to make the playoffs as the Western Conference's No. 8 seed, Hamblen said tonight will be a Finals rematch in name alone. The teams will play again Feb. 25 at Staples Center.

``It may be for them,'' Hamblen said, ``but the way we're playing, the state of our team, I wouldn't consider us a Finals team.''

Point guard Chucky Atkins added: ``It's a situation where it's a whole new team here and we're trying to make something else happen.''

Bryant said he hadn't spent time thinking about what would have happened had the Lakers beaten the Pistons to win their fourth title in five years. Jackson likely would have been retained and O'Neal might not have demanded a trade.

``I have a lot on my plate to think about as it is,'' Bryant said. ``I just focus on what we're doing as a team here and keeping the ship moving, keep it in the right direction.''

--Injury update: Bryant tested his ankle during a workout Tuesday, said it was still sore Wednesday and did not sound optimistic about returning before the Feb. 18-20 All-Star break.

``The initial diagnosis I think was three to six weeks or something like that,'' Bryant said. ``Hopefully we'll be back before that six weeks. It's just about getting it healthier. Now we need some help from Mother Nature.''

Also, Hamblen said forward Devean George could be activated from the injured list for Sunday's game against Cleveland. George and Bryant also served as tutors with Hamblen installing some new sets Wednesday.

--Welcome back: Atkins spent three years playing in Detroit plus another 40 games last season before being traded to Boston in February. He came to the Pistons along with Ben Wallace as part of the Grant Hill trade, then had to watch as his former team won a title without him.

``If they had traded me to another team that was in contention for a championship,'' Atkins said, ``I still would have been sad but I wouldn't have been as sad.''

Atkins remains close with Detroit point guard Chauncey Billups and Wallace. Atkins found the starting job he wanted with the Lakers but left no doubt for whom he was rooting in the Finals.

``I thought (the Pistons) could win from Game 1, before the series even started,'' Atkins said.

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-Ross Siler