Michael Ventre

LOS ANGELES - Phil Jackson and his triangle offense is back.

Too bad he couldn’t bring a triangle defense.

What the Lakers needed last year was a coach, a point guard, a power forward and defense. For this season, they went out and got three of the four, but the most important ingredient remains elusive. That commitment to defense, or lack thereof, was painfully evident in their home opener, as the Phoenix Suns staged a track meet and spoiled Jackson’s regular-season return to Staples Center on Thursday night with a 122-112 victory.

Granted, this may not be the most accurate indicator, since the Suns sport the kind of high-octane offense that would challenge even the league’s most miserly teams. But they torched the Lakers on Thursday without their second best player and top post presence, Amare Stoudamire, who is recovering from knee surgery. The Lakers should have occasionally put a hand in a face, if only to wave goodbye.

Although the Lakers made a run late in the fourth quarter, most of the game they were watching the Suns made mad dashes to the hoop for easy layups. This was the Lakers’ primary problem last year. They didn’t communicate well. They didn’t pressure the ball. They couldn’t stop anybody at critical junctures.

While the Lakers overall look more determined and less aimless than they did last season — when they were finding their way in the post-Shaq era — they still have a long, long way to go before they’ll see another downtown parade.

“They’re obviously a better team than we are right now,” Jackson said afterward of the Suns, “especially in speed, tempo and how they create mismatches. They shot the ball at about 50 percent (50.6, to be exact).”

On the bright side, there does not seem to be any Kobe-Phil tensions brewing, although the team is only 1-1 thus far, so there’s still time. Bryant is playing at his usual stratospheric level (39 points, 7 boards, 5 assists), which would lead to MVP talk if the Lakers find themselves in playoff contention come April.

And while much of the focus has been on whether Lamar Odom will finally have a breakout season, or if Kwame Brown will experience a rebirth in Laker finery after a tumultuous infancy in Washington, the team may have inadvertently found a point guard. No, it isn’t Aaron McKie, who often appears to be suffering from an arthritic body. It’s Smush Parker, a journeyman who has played like an All-Star in his brief tenure.

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“Smush was very entertaining tonight,” Jackson said. “I think he won over a lot of fans.”

Indeed, they chanted his name at one point. He also got a lift up from Jack Nicholson at courtside when Parker scrambled in vain to get a loose ball and wound up at the Cuckoo Man’s feet.

“I can tell my grandchildren someday that the first time I met Jack Nicholson was when he helped me up,” said Parker, who finished with 21 points.

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But the Lakers will have another year like the one that drove Rudy Tomjanovich off the bench and into a full-time scouting gig if they continue to provide free passage to any opponents who ask.

It could be that this team is still coming together. Perhaps in a few weeks the Lakers will show the kind of cohesion on defense that clubs like Detroit and San Antonio have parlayed into bling. But don’t count on it.