LOS ANGELES -- If you have a kid who's distracted right now, who can't concentrate on his homework, who can't do anything but count down the hours until Christmas, then you know what's wrong with the Lakers. They can't wait until Dec. 25, when they get the Boston Celtics under their tree.

Everything before that is just busy work, like this series of 10 games in which they've faced only one team with a winning record. It's failed to stir the best from them. That's why they've lost ground to the Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers in the public's eye even while pulling away from the rest of the Western Conference by winning four in a row and eight of 10.

There's a difference between winning basketball and championship basketball, and even though the Lakers came from 15 points down to beat the New York Knicks on Tuesday night at Staples Center, Sasha Vujacic could still be heard muttering "terrible game" in the victorious locker room.

Teams don't win titles by giving up 65 points by halftime and letting opponents connect on 11 of their first 23 3-pointers, which the Lakers did Tuesday. When facing a team on the second half of a back-to-back, a championship-caliber club should not need its star to invoke his superpowers, as Kobe Bryant did by making four of five shots in the fourth quarter.

After the Lakers survived, 116-114, Phil Jackson said he expected a close call.

"I think we anticipated that as a staff," Jackson said. "But I don't think our players anticipated that kind of a ballgame."

Jackson knows what's going on. Normally, he'd be the first to point out his team's flaws, but since so many others have been doing it for him, he has become a little protective of his club, blaming the media for exaggerating its shortcomings and explaining away the mini-malaise.

"These games aren't always easy," Jackson said beforehand. "You have to work your way through the schedule.

"We're seeking perfection. That's always what you're trying to do. Sometimes it takes competition to raise that level."

They got it, unexpectedly, from the Knicks, who ran around and rained 3s and brought boos down on the Lakers from the disgruntled fans.

Granted, the Lakers weren't in top condition. Pau Gasol (whom Lamar Odom called an "MVP candidate") was sent home with strep throat. Odom himself played through a respiratory infection, returning to the starting lineup in Gasol's place and recording 17 points and 12 rebounds in 38½ minutes.

But that didn't explain the lackluster performance. Maybe the Lakers can't focus while they're waiting for the green team, or maybe they were distracted by everything going on at the start of this game.

Bryant did a double-take when he entered the layup line and saw Stephon Marbury sitting courtside along the baseline. Vujacic had his pregame stretch interrupted by Spike Lee, who ran down and gave him a hug. (Yeah, me too. Vujacic said they've been cool ever since they started jawing at each other in Madison Square Garden a couple of years ago. Vujacic, by the way, gives a good review to Spike's "Miracle at St. Anna.")

Trevor Ariza, Marbury's former Knicks teammate, and fellow New York native Odom came over to give Marbury a hug, which is more interaction than any of the Knicks had with him. The Knicks' company line, from Mike D'Antoni to Nate Robinson, was they didn't see Marbury. But it was almost as if they were under orders not to talk to him.

When Al Harrington stood near Marbury, waiting for the ball to be inbounded, Marbury said something to Harrington. Harrington just nodded, barely even looking Marbury's way.

Marbury has spent the past couple of weeks in Los Angeles since buyout talks with the Knicks broke down. Knicks president Donnie Walsh didn't make the trip, so there was no chance they could meet to negotiate further. Marbury was there on his own, another spectator, even if he's the only one getting paid almost $22 million by the Knicks to be in the seats and not on the court.

As for his time in L.A., Marbury said he's "lovin' it. I got no complaints. I've got the greatest job in the world."

No progress toward a buyout?

"Just waiting," he said.

He'll do some of that waiting by the docks, like something out of Season 2 of "The Wire," waiting for shipments of his Starbury athletic apparel to come in so he can distribute them over the Internet.

As for his basketball freedom?

"I don't even worry about it," he said to a group of reporters at halftime. "They're going to do what they're going to do, and when they're ready, they'll make a decision.

"All I've got to do is get paid. Once I get paid, the team that I go to, I think a lot of people will be shocked."

He ended the session by swaying side to side, saying, "Still doing my thing, still doing my thing," then hugging a blogger he'd never met before.

We'll now blast off from Planet Starbury and return to basketball.

The Lakers had better return to their early-season ways, when they held four of their first five opponents below 90 points. Four of their most recent five have scored over 100 points.

The Lakers have been lulled into defensive complacency because their offense is so good.

"We know we can score," Odom said. "It doesn't matter what team you put in front of us, we can score. We've got 12 guys who can hit shots. We can do it offensively. We just have to focus on defense."

"We're still 21-3," Andrew Bynum said. "We're going to be able to go out there and execute the defense later on as we build together as a unit. I think everybody in here is pretty happy."

That's not the vibe I got. But maybe they've been content, satisfied, feeling they can turn it on whenever they want. But if the Lakers and Celtics keep playing the way they have lately, the Lakers won't want to see the Celtics on Christmas day.

J.A. Adande joined ESPN.com as an NBA columnist in August 2007 after 10 years with the Los Angeles Times. Click here to e-mail J.A.

Dimes past: Dec. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6-7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13-14 | 15 | 16