STARTING TONIGHT, LAKERS LOSE THEIR CRUTCH.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

EL SEGUNDO - OK, boys, you can get serious now. You can act interested. You can play like there's something on the line.

Because for the first time in the Lakers' championship run, they have a regular season that offers real meaning. An unusual regular season that offers a test and opportunity.

The Lakers have looked like a team searching for motivation somewhere. You'd think having to play the first dozen games of the season without the most dominating player in basketball might prove inspiration enough, but it hardly appeared that way.

Too often most of the Lakers looked like a team punching the clock. Putting in time. Doing that business-like thing. Playing too much uninspired, disappointing basketball, while waiting ...

Tonight they get a much needed fresh start with the expected return of Shaquille O'Neal. Instead of the black Patton, now he gets to play the black Jack Nicholson. Imagine Shaq, raising pointed eyebrows, grinning, ``I'm baaack!''

Yes, sound the trumpets, toss the rose petals, roll out the red carpet, the Big Whatever he is this week, should again tippy toe out on the court and start crushing everything in his path.

And the Lakers can begin in earnest their quest for a fourth consecutive title. It hasn't appeared an earnest endeavor thus far.

Your Lakers open the night in last place in the Pacific Division, owners of a 3-9 record, two of the victories coming at home in overtime. They've lost seven of their last eight.

``It humbled us,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

It should have. It should have embarrassed them. Made them very nervous. Made them wonder whether their aging supporting cast favors too much the aging and not enough the supporting.

Shaq's absence, however self-inflicted by his delayed surgery, was a chance for other Lakers to step up. Instead, they went downward. The Lakers are shooting .378 from the field. Every player on the team but Brian Shaw is shooting worse than last season.

Derek Fisher is knocking them down at a .324 clip, Rick Fox .342, Robert Horry .371, Samaki Walker .386. And although they haven't gotten some of the easy shots available when playing with Shaq, they've missed more open shots the past few weeks than there's been OO7 commercials.

``We're definitely learning that things don't get easier as success comes,'' Fisher said. ``Often, success brings more problems or more hardships.

``We're learning it takes even more work to go out on a nightly basis and really focus on the details about playing basketball. It takes a tremendous amount of professionalism that we're lacking at this point as a group.''

When Shaq was out in the past, the Lakers typically would play at least .500 ball. But with their dismal start, the Lakers are now faced with a true challenge.

The Lakers are 12th in the Western Conference, and as you might recall, only eight teams get invites to the postseason.

A Lakers team that has often treated the regular season as some necessary evil suddenly has motivation and challenge before them in the winter months.

They can start slowly with things like trying to get back in the playoff hunt. Then work up to .500. And then try to climb the playoff roster until they at least get home court the first two rounds of the playoffs.

The Lakers can point to their loss of Shaq - and to Fox missing six games with a suspension and Devean George the last five with ankle tendinitis - but what of the Sacramento Kings?

``We've had our injuries, too,'' Kings center Vlade Divac said.

The Kings are without their playoff superstar, Mike Bibby. They started without Chris Webber. And the Kings are 9-4, tied with Seattle in the Pacific, and 3 1/2 back of unbeaten Dallas in the West.

``We can't worry about the Lakers,'' Divac said. ``We have to worry about Dallas right now.''

Not that they would want to kick the Lakers when they're down. In the world of fill-ins, Samaki Walker is clearly no Bobby Jackson, but the Kings have managed to play at a top level.

The Lakers have managed to look out of sync, uncomfortable, a team exposed with a supporting cast built around their superstar in the middle and not on the wing.

It's left them with a regular season to get interested in, with an almost foreign sense of urgency to games that would otherwise just be dates on the calendar.

``Ultimately, I think everyone feels like we'll be OK, but it's just not fun walking through the mud right now,'' Fisher said.

They've looked a little too comfortable in it for their own good while waiting for Shaq. Now he's back, now it's time to get serious.