Disappointed by point guard Smush Parker's recent play and encouraged by center Kwame Brown's decision to test his sprained left ankle in a game, Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson shook up his struggling starting lineup Sunday night.

Jackson started rookie Jordan Farmar in place of Smush Parker, who had started every game over the last two seasons, and put Kwame Brown in the lineup at center for the game against the Seattle SuperSonics.

Kwame Brown has watched in agony as the Los Angeles Lakers nearly slid out of the playoffs.

He has watched in frustration as the team has been forced to make double-teaming in the post almost routine because of the inability of either Andrew Bynum or Ronny Turiaf to guard the opposition's center on their own.

And so finally Sunday, buoyed by positive results from recent medical tests and determined to shore up the middle to keep his team afloat, Kwame Brown decided he would tape his ankle and return to action.

Kwame Brown's ankle has been a problem since he sprained it on New Year's Eve against the Philadelphia 76ers. He has been in and out of the lineup since, having missed a total of 34 games. In his latest setback, Kwame Brown has been out for the last six games, with the Los Angeles Lakers going 1-5 over that span.

"I don't know how long he'll play," said Jackson of Sunday night's game.

Any time will be welcome, considering Andrew Bynum, who had been the starter, has been so inconsistent that Jackson removed the 7-footer from the lineup for Friday's game against the Suns in Phoenix, replacing him with Turiaf.

"I said two weeks ago that, if we don't have Kwame back, we are not going to win," said Jackson. "We are not going to go anywhere in the playoffs without him.

"He gives us a post presence. That's really important. [You have to] have someone in there who can stop the charge of the team so they can't just turn and force that ball to the basket. In this game, it's all about power and he's got the ability to hold guys out."

"I should be OK," Kwame Brown said, "unless I want to go out there and do something crazy."

Complaining about Smush Parker's lack of "energy" and his failure to apply sufficient defensive pressure, Jackson had kept him on the bench for the fourth quarter in four of the Los Angeles Lakers' previous six games.

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