Brown Could Be Out Two Weeks

Power forward Kwame Brown, who suffered a strained right hamstring Friday night during the 97-91 loss to the Clippers, will be sidelined for up to two weeks.

Coach Phil Jackson said the break may actually benefit Brown, who has been ineffective and lacking in confidence.

“He needs to take the pressure off him so he can come back and play the game the way we anticipate he can play,” Jackson said.

For tonight’s game against the Chicago Bulls, Brown’s replacement probably will be Brian Cook or, if the Lakers decide to go small, Devean George.

George and Chris Mihm, both nursing sore ankles, were held out of Saturday’s practice.

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Has Kobe Bryant become to the Lakers what Allen Iverson has for so long been with the Philadelphia 76ers: a ball hog out of necessity?

Bryant, who trails only Iverson in scoring with an average of 31.9 points a game, is the NBA’s leading shot-taker, putting the ball up an average of 28.1 times a game.

Iverson last season led the league with an average of 24.2 field-goal attempts. Bryant was well behind at 20.1.

That’s closer to the number of shots Bryant and Jackson believe he should be taking, because it would mean the ball would get into more of his teammates’ hands.

In the loss to the Clippers, Bryant took 35 shots, which resulted in only 36 points. Two nights earlier, he took 36 shots and scored 42 points in a 97-92 victory over the New York Knicks.

Bryant was said to be receiving treatment and was not available for interviews after practice Saturday. Jackson, however, said the focus of the light practice, which involved mostly the study of film, was to try to relieve the burden on Bryant by getting others more involved.

That has been the goal all season but especially of late, with the Lakers having lost four of their last five games, in part because of the heavy reliance on Bryant and Lamar Odom, the second-leading scorer at 14.8 points a game.

As games have worn on, opponents have found ways to eliminate the Lakers’ third, fourth and fifth options.

“We can’t always rely on Kobe to have big fourth quarters,” Odom said. “We have to become more cohesive on the offensive end toward the end of games, and on the defensive end as well.”

Added Mihm: “I think that when we run into problems is when we get kind of stagnant. We make two or three passes and then stand around, and that’s when Kobe tends to seek out the ball, and then guys kind of stand around and wait for him to put up a shot. And when we do that we have no rebounding balance and it’s all on Kobe to make a really tough shot.”

Bryant’s field-goal percentage is just under 44% and the team average is 43%. Remarkably, Bryant didn’t make his first three-point basket until Friday. He has attempted 12 three-pointers.

TONIGHT

vs. Chicago, 6:40, FSNW

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- 570, 1330.

Records -- Lakers 4-5, Bulls 3-5.

Record vs. Bulls (2004-05) -- 1-1.

Update -- The Bulls, who have lost three games in a row, are winless in four tries on the road. Their leading scorer is Kirk Hinrich, averaging 15.1 points.