Series Is in the Present and Tense

SAN ANTONIO —  It’s not about the four-game sweep two years ago, when Kobe Bryant, as he pointed out, was single and without facial hair or championship ring, so considerably less encumbered.

It’s not really about the MVP vote, though we’ll probably have to wait until Shaquille O’Neal’s next book, “Shaq Doubles Back” perhaps, to know for sure.

For the Lakers, it is about repeating last season’s NBA title, nearly forgotten in this season’s tumult and the surge through the playoff’s first two rounds.

For the San Antonio Spurs, it is about recapturing a championship they were unable to adequately defend last postseason, when their best player, Tim Duncan, injured his knee.

At the outset of the Western Conference finals--Game 1 is today at the Alamodome--what stands to be determined is if the Spurs’ dynasty was put off by Duncan’s balky knee, or if it was killed in infancy by the maturing Lakers--by O’Neal and Bryant and Phil Jackson.

“For the last two years, we thought we’d be here,” Laker guard Ron Harper said. “We thought our team would play their team. Now, it’s here.”

It is here, with the fury of three of the best 7-footers the league has ever known, the sound of Jackson whistling on his pinkies, the strategy of what the Spurs can do with Bryant, and what the Lakers can do with Duncan.

The Lakers are the best offensive team left in the playoffs, and the Spurs are the best defensive team remaining, so Jackson’s triangle meets Gregg Popovich’s reputed zone, the winner advancing to an NBA finals most assume will be a four- or five-game formality.

It is a test of the momentum and spirit gathered in the Lakers’ 15-game winning streak, born six weeks ago from a season that was ugly long before anyone thought it worthy of a championship repeat. The outcome will hang on the acts of men and their athletic primes, some not yet there, some in them, and some past them, and the on-court matchups that develop between them.

O’Neal, at 29, will often defend and be defended by 35-year-old David Robinson, a league MVP five years before O’Neal was. Horace Grant, at 35 still a sturdy defender, guards Duncan, 25.

While the four of them lean on one another, the team that wins could be the one that makes early jump shots and keeps making them, running off the double-teams down low. In the regular season, the Spurs made 40.7% of their three-point attempts. The Lakers made 34.4%, then fell to 28.0% in seven playoff games, when the offense went through O’Neal and Bryant.

“The team that shoots the basketball most consistently will probably have a better chance of winning the series,” said Laker guard Derek Fisher, 10 for 29 from the arc in the postseason.

“Everybody knows how solid both teams can be defensively. So I think those things will be there. You know what kind of defense we’ll play, you know what type of offense we’re going to run. Same thing for them. There are no question marks. The team that plays with the most confidence, that can knock down the open shots they get will win. Obviously, you have to focus inside on Tim and David and focus inside on Shaquille with us. That leaves the rest of the guys, the eight or nine other guys, to be confident and ready to play. That’ll be the difference.”

For the Lakers, made jumpers mean space for O’Neal and guards running at Bryant. Guards rushing to put a hand in Bryant’s face usually means penetration for him, which usually ends in a dunk--his or O’Neal’s.

“They can’t come out and guard him on the wing,” Jackson said. “Derek Anderson not being healthy to start with is going to put them in a position where the speed player who’s going to have to guard him will be Antonio Daniels, who’s not quite as big. That does give advantage to Kobe, but he’s not going to have post-up situations.”

The Lakers are an offensive team that finds time for defense. The Spurs score off their defense. While Anderson, their best transition finisher and Kobe defender, has a separated shoulder and isn’t expected back until later in the series, the Spurs are content to play Daniels in his place. They have little choice, though he stands several inches shorter than Bryant. Sean Elliott, whose rickety knees won’t allow him to stay with Bryant, can help for only a few minutes at a time.

“I can shoot over their guards any time,” Bryant said, “but I don’t know if that’s going to be to our benefit for me to do that. I think I have to pick my spots. We need to move the ball, get Shaq early post position and get everybody else involved. As far as myself, my own game, I can use it to the strength of this team, getting off whenever we need me to.

“They’re an excellent defensive team. Really, we have a lot of similarities. It’s going to be difficult to break them down.”

Bryant averaged 42 points in the final two games of the conference semifinals, 30.7 in the playoffs so far. If the Spurs spend too much time on O’Neal, or commit too much to take away the outside play of Fisher, Rick Fox and Brian Shaw, that frees Bryant. Otherwise, the Lakers go to O’Neal, who averaged 34.5 points in two games this season at Staples Center against the Spurs and half of that in two games at the Alamodome.

“There’s two 7-footers against one,” O’Neal said. “Most of the time when I get doubled, I’ve kicked it out. They have to double. If they don’t double, they’ll be in trouble.”

O’Neal punished the Spurs, he said, “Because I’ve gotten the ball deep, I was aggressive, I just played. If we give them a chance to double, then their defense will be effective. If we can keep the ball moving and keep everybody involved, we’ll be fine.”

The Lakers would love to have Grant make a few early jumpers, and he might. He averaged 10.5 points and shot 61.5% from the field in four regular-season games against San Antonio. Robert Horry, who likes shooting in Texas, made 62.5% of his attempts against the Spurs.

“We have to get San Antonio out of their zone,” Jackson said. “If they can play both Duncan and Robinson on Shaq, he’s got two 7-footers to beat. That’s our responsibility. Our power forwards are going to have to make some shots.”

*

LAKERS AT SAN ANTONIO, 3:30 Today, Channel 4

*

INSIDE

Mark Heisler: The truth is out there. Finding it is tough. D8

Matchups: Lakers given a slight edge in a close series. D8

Laker Notes: Bryant says only nice things about Jackson. D8

Spur Notes: Popovich not planning on having Anderson. D8

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Rolling Seven

It takes 15 postseason victories to win an NBA championship and the Lakers are off to a 7-0 start. NBA champions with the best win percentage in the playoffs:

*--*

Pct. Season Team Record .923 1982-83 Philadelphia 12-1 .882 1988-89 Detroit 15-2 .882 1990-91 Chicago 15-2 .882 1999 San Antonio 15-2 .857 1970-71 Milwaukee 12-2 .857 1981-82 Lakers 12-2 .833 1985-86 Boston 15-3 .833 1986-87 Lakers 15-3 .833 1995-96 Chicago 15-3

*--*