The Lakers, the NBA's two-time defending champions, aren't worried after suffering a decisive loss at the hands of the Celtics at home on Sunday.

“I never panic,” Kobe Bryant said. “It’s just fuel to get better. Would we like to win these games? Absolutely. But the point is to continue to get better.”

So far this season, the Lakers are 0-4 against the Celtics, Spurs, Mavericks and Heat – and those four losses have come by an average of 13.2 points.

“We’re not playing very well against the top teams. So we need to elevate our level and we need to get better if we’re to defend the throne,” Bryant said.

Phil Jackson didn’t sound too worried either.

“It’s not the playoffs yet,” Jackson said. “We’re still playing regular season games. We’ll get there in time.”

Shaquille O'Neal heard a mixture of cheers and boos on Sunday afternoon as he returned to the Staples Center as a member of the Celtics.

O'Neal played for the Lakers from 1996-2004 and won three championships.

When it was announced that O'Neal fouled Andrew Bynum on the Lakers first possession, O'Neal was greeted by more boos than cheers from the L.A. crowd.

"He looks to me like he's getting some opportunities and he has some really good games," coach Phil Jackson said. "I know he's going to be physical. He'll bring the physicality to it."

Since being traded from the Lakers in 2004, O'Neal has played for Miami, Phoenix, Cleveland and now Boston.

Phil Jackson was asked how he expects Shaquille O'Neal to be greeted at Staples Center for the first time as a member of the Boston Celtics.

"I think they'll greet him warmly," said Jackson. "He's become kind of a ... I was going to say comic figure, but not that. More of a familiar person, you know, commercials and a lot of the things he does. He's become America's symbol of salesmanship. He's done a good job of that. He sells a lot of things."

O'Neal was traded to the Heat in 2004 by the Lakers for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant.

O'Neal has also played for the Suns and Cavaliers since his departure from Los Angeles.

Hakeem Olajuwon, who saw Kobe Bryant pass him for eighth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list on Friday night, talked about the guard's legacy and praised his work ethic.

Olajuwon was interviewed by Lakers.com prior to Friday's game against the Kings.

"Kobe's accomplishments speak for themselves. His work ethic, his determination to be the best ... when you talk about Kobe, you talk about his work ethic and how great it is for someone to maximizing his potential," Olajuwon said.

"Kobe has reached his whole potential, and maintained it, pushed it as far as it can go. When he passes me on the all-time scoring list, I think there's no question that it is well-deserved. He's just a great, great scorer. Just to be mentioned as one of the all-time scorers is a huge accomplishment for me."

Kobe Bryant is going to scale back his practice workload.

Bryant pledged he would be returning to the practice court after the Lakers were manhandled by the Heat on Christmas Day.

He had cut his practice time down significantly this season in "early-to-mid November," according to a team source, to save wear and tear on his surgically repaired right knee.

Bryant began the week with a full practice Monday, but hasn't practiced with his teammates since.

"I'll refrain from saying something really smart-ass," Bryant said when asked about his practice time.

Kobe Bryant passed Hakeem Olajuwon for eighth on the NBA's all-time scoring list with a dunk in the first quarter against the Kings on Friday night.

Bryant entered the game needing 13 points to reach 26,947 for his career and surpass Olajuwon.

On the NBA's all-time scoring list only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O'Neal, Moses Malone and Elvin Hayes are ahead of Bryant.

The Lakers lost 100-95 to the lowly Kings on Friday night and afterwards Lamar Odom blamed the loss on the media.

"Yeah, I'm blaming this on you guys," Odom said. "You guys are jumping to the Boston game."

Odom was joking, but the talk prior to Friday's game against Sacramento was dominated by questions about the Celtics, who the Lakers will play on Sunday.

The Lakers had put a gag order in place, saying no one was allowed to talk about the Celtics until after the Lakers finished off the Kings.

"Like I've said, teams they come in here and they are looking for a 'W'," Odom said. "You don't do the small things that you need to do defensively and take people out of the game. … They got comfortable.

"But I don't think anybody looked ahead. We got beat. We got our [butts] beat. … We got hit on the chin."

Kevin Garnett, who endorses a shoe company from China called Anta, will wear special all green shoes in Sunday's game against the Lakers.

The shoes have the numbers 152-120 on the tongue, which represents Boston's all-time record against their rivals from Los Angeles.

Boston last played the Lakers last June in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals.

The NBA announced the Western and Eastern Conference starters for the 2011 All-Star Game on Thursday, which will take place in Los Angeles on February 20th.

Western Conference
• Chris Paul, Hornets
• Kobe Bryant, Lakers
• Kevin Durant, Thunder
• Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets
• Yao Ming, Rockets

Eastern Conference
• Derrick Rose, Bulls
• Dwyane Wade, Heat
• LeBron James, Heat
• Amar'e Stoudemire, Knicks
• Dwight Howard, Magic

• Click here to view RealGM's All-Star page.

The Knicks have surpassed the Lakers as the NBA's most valuable franchise, according to findings from Forbes.

New York is valued at $655 million, while the Lakers are close behind at $643 million.

The Bulls, Celtics and Rockets comprise the remainder of the top-five.

In the wake of LeBron James leaving in free agency, the Cavaliers had a single-year decrease of 26%.

Full Rankings
1. Knicks
2. Lakers
3. Bulls
4. Celtics
5. Rockets
6. Mavericks
7. Heat
8. Suns
9. Spurs
10. Raptors
11. Magic
12. Warriors
13. Pistons
14. Blazers
15. Cavaliers
16. Jazz
17. 76ers
18. Thunder
19. Wizards
20. Nuggets
21. Nets
22. Clippers
23. Hawks
24. Kings
25. Bobcats
26. Hornets
27. Pacers
28. Grizzlies
29. Timberwolves
30. Bucks