“We’re bipolar.”

That’s how Kobe Bryant described the up and down nature of the Lakers. Then he got a big grin on his face.

So why don’t the Lakers play like they did in game seven every night?

“To make it interesting — it’s Hollywood, you know,” said Lamar Odom with a laugh.

When you’ve been asked the same question 100 different ways for the past few weeks, the answers get less revealing and a little more flippant. And that can make the Lakers seem even more nonchalant than the already laid-back locker room is.

It’s not a question of if the Lakers get it — they do. They know fans are frustrated. Reflecting that, every interview of every Laker has included questions about the up and down nature of the team.

And they’ve all got pat media answers.

“If I knew that I think we would be undefeated right now in this post-season,” said Andrew Bynum, who has been maybe the most up and down of all Lakers. “But all we can do is build and learn and watch the same tape of this game and we are going to see what improvements we made.”

What they don’t really seem to have is an answer as to why. Phil Jackson suggested they may only understand what they need to do on an intellectual level and have not seemed to really internalize it yet. He used the word “consistency” a lot.

All that doesn’t make it any easier for fans who fear what Lakers squad will show up on any given night. The one that destroyed Houston, or the one that got destroyed.

“I think we learned that if we play hard every night and we’re ready to compete, starting on the defensive end, we’re going to give ourselves a chance,” said Pau Gasol. “Hopefully we’re going to carry that into the next round and to a championship.”

We’ll see. Everyone in Los Angeles is feeling a little bipolar right now.