Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant, Lakers Kobe Bryant

LOS ANGELES - Sasha Vujacic and Laron Profit aren't the Los Angeles Lakers generally associated with being clutch players.

Then again, it's difficult to know who is ready for that role for the Lakers, other than Kobe Bryant. No one else has much of a chance to shoot.

Bryant was averaging an NBA-high 29.5 shots a game heading into Friday night's late game against the Timberwolves at Staples Center. That was 4.2 shots more than the No. 2 player in that category, Philadelphia 76ers star Allen Iverson, who leads the league in scoring. And no one else was even close to Iverson's shot total, let alone Bryant's.

The Lakers have been struggling this season in large part because players are learning coach Phil Jackson's triangle offense. It's a different team from the one he had two seasons ago, his last with los angeles before returning this offseason.

Jackson said the coaching staff "force-fed the offense on these players" at the beginning of the season. The triangle offense is an intricate set that relies on players moving without the ball and not relying on one-on-one moves to score. Each pass through players positioned in a triangle on the court can lead to a different play or shot.

Jackson said Bryant is the only player on the team who understands how to get shots out of the offense, so that's why his shot totals are so high.

"A lot of these players don't understand the nuances of the offense and how to do that because it's such an alien thing in this day and age," Jackson said. "We allowed Kobe to do a lot of things that might have been over the top to most people. We think it's OK at this time. We don't want this to go into December and January where he's having to use so much energy just to continue to make us competitive."

Thursday night, with Bryant on the bench because he fouled out, Vujacic made a three-pointer down the stretch and Profit added two free throws as the Lakers pulled out a 105-101 overtime victory at Utah.

Forward Lamar Odom was the quarterback, so to speak, in overtime and helped get his teammates shots.

"In this offense, it's really intricate and in-depth," Odom said. "Every pass can set a different offense or a play or a sequence. I'm just continuously learning."

So while Odom and others learn, Bryant takes over. He attempted 26 shots and scored 28 points in an 88-74 loss at Minnesota on Nov. 9. He began Friday as the NBA's second-leading scorer with 33.2 points a game.

Bryant's Lakers teammates fall in line and don't complain.

"That's his nature, and that's what he's good at," Odom said. "We're not going to take anything away from his game. That's what he's good at. He's capable of leading the league in scoring."

And he just might. Imagine if his shooting percentage (41.9) were better.

"Kobe's obviously our main scoring threat," center Chris Mihm said. "That's no secret. But the reason he's been forced to take as many shots as he has is because our offense tends to stagnate and then we just have a tendency to throw him the ball. When we don't keep moving, then he's kind of forced to get something up."

Bryant became a starter in 1998-99, his third season in the NBA after turning pro out of high school. His highest shot average before this season came in 2002-03, when he hoisted 23.5 attempts and averaged 30 points a game.

His average of 3.9 assists a game is his lowest since 1998-99 and is down from his career-best 6.0 last season.

"Previously, I was more of a facilitator, kind of a point guard so to speak," Bryant said of last season during an interview with the Pioneer Press last month. "Now I'm being asked to put the ball in the hole, so it's a very different role for me."

Bryant wore a wide smile late in the Utah game after his teammates made big plays.

"This is the first time we've had to go without Kobe BryantBryant on the floor," Jackson said. "It's an important factor that players have confidence that they can get something accomplished. We have confidence that they can."

They just generally haven't had the opportunity