Second Round Holds Key: Pain or Gain?

PORTLAND —  It was a soothing ending to a scary story, 40 minutes of reassuring magic and maturity.

But the season starts now.

It was Nick Van Exel playing happy, Del Harris coaching smart, Shaquille O’Neal again being the biggest man in the building.

But the season starts now.

It was a 110-99 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers that ended a first-round playoff series and a city’s sunny day with a thunderclap.

But the season starts now.

With a second-round series the Lakers have not hurdled in seven years.

With a seven-game matchup that will serve as a yearlong report card.

The joy of being a Laker is that when a well-conceived plan is working, as was the case Thursday night at the Rose Garden, the game becomes a joyous string of swishes and dunks and giggles.

The curse of being a Laker is that they can scarcely enjoy it.

Not with this team. Not this year. Not after last year.

The season starts now.

A victory against probable opponent Seattle in the second round next week would mean success without home-court advantage against a team with supposedly smarter players and better coaching.

This same Laker team couldn’t overcome those supposed obstacles in the second round last year against Utah.

A victory in the second round also could mean a smooth ride into the NBA Finals if the Jazz does not come up for air against the Houston Rockets today.

The last time the Lakers advanced that far, Kobe Bryant was 12.

A victory in the second round would paint for us the portrait of a team making tangible improvement.

A loss would make it look as though they were just standing still.

And you know what Laker executives do when their teams are just standing still.

The difference between winning and losing in the second round will be as black and white as Harris’ suit and his hair.

Win, and the year has been a success.

Lose, and it has been a failure.

“We were supposed to win this series,” Robert Horry said. “Our biggest test will be in the next series.”

This first dance against the Blazers was just a little best-of-five.

The next dance will be the best-of-1997-98.

Thursday night was certainly the best of something.

Maybe, the best of a team with the heat turned up.

Before the game, the thermostat in their locker room was pushed up to 75 degrees, about 10 degrees hotter than the Blazers’.

Some thought it was a Rose Garden trick.

“No,” Harris said, “our players wanted it that way.”

Taking the court with sweat rolling down their faces, the Lakers fell behind 12-10, and just looked wet.

Enter Van Exel, in his first appearance since being unhappily benched for the last eight minutes of Game 3.

He made a spinning assist on a fast break. Hit a fall-away bank shot around Damon Stoudamire.

Found an open Corie Blount for another basket. Drove past Stoudamire in final seconds of the period for a basket.

When he was finally benched this time, 11:47 later, the Lakers led, 44-28.

It was a 34-16 run that set the tone for everything that came later.

Harris made the first move Thursday by showing Van Exel he had not lost faith.

Van Exel responded by reminding Harris he should never lose faith.

“It’s been tough for me, I’m just glad it’s over with,” Van Exel said. “I caught the early bus here today, I was just ready to get it on. We shut ‘em up and shut them out.”

One day after both men were at opposite sides of a losing situation, both men ended up winners.

As well as Van Exel played--14 points, seven assists, five rebounds in 32 minutes--Harris coached just as well.

He used his guards for more penetration, his bench for more rebounds.

Before the game he talked to his young team as if they were adults, appealing to their toughness instead of their skill.

It worked, all of it.

It must keep working.

Harris’ joy in being Laker coach is offset by the curse that he probably must lead his team past the next round to keep his job.

Asked to guide a young team closer to an NBA title each year, an appearance in the Western Conference finals will show he has done just that.

If not, his bosses will wonder if he has lost them for good. It may not seem fair, but such is life on Kareem Court.

The question is not whether the players like Harris, but whether they play hard for him. On

Thursday night, in the biggest game of the season so far, they did.

But if they lose in the second round, another question will become more important.

Have they gotten better under him since Shaq arrived?

That loss will say no, and he will go.

The first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers was brilliant and frustrating and ultimately a real blast.

It was also just a start.