O’Neal Looking for a Killer Instinct

The surprise Shaquille O’Neal felt Thursday night at being ejected for an inadvertent elbow had turned into a combination of anger and frustration Friday, when he challenged the Lakers as a whole, himself included, to gain the proper focus.

He seemed most upset with one teammate in particular.

O’Neal wouldn’t say which one, but a good guess would be Elden Campbell, who played the fourth quarter Thursday against the Trail Blazers only because O’Neal had been kicked out after striking Portland’s Arvydas Sabonis on the top of the head. Campbell has played only 26, 25, 26 and 28 minutes the last four games, losing time to rookie Travis Knight.

“I’m very upset, at the way we played, at the way some of our guys played,” O’Neal said. “We just need to come out with a killer instinct.

“We need to decide what we want, what’s important to us. Whether we want the money or whether we want the championship. . . . Some guys got the money and then think the job is done.”

Campbell signed a seven-year, $49-million deal in the summer.