For Now It Works, Even if It’s a Pain

When pricked, they bleed. When slapped, they bruise.

When out of position, they brick, and when out of rhythm, they stink.

This will come as a shock to the shocked San Antonio Spurs, but the Lakers’ 86-80 victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Sunday wasn’t only about the champions’ superpowers.

It was also about their vulnerabilities.

It wasn’t only about the raucous standing ovation in the final minute, but also about the scattering of boos in the second quarter.

We’ve heard those cheers. The boos were new.

It wasn’t only about Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant coming to the rescue, but also about the struggling veterans who have required such a rescue.

Superman and Wonderboy, we’ve seen. But Rick Fox, Derek Fisher and Brian Shaw combining to go four for 23, that’s new.

The Lakers walked away from Sunday’s mosh pit of a victory with visible smiles of relief.

But for the third time in four playoff games, they were only moments from regret.

Bryant bit his lip and spun on his painful knee and made a seven-footer to save them Sunday.

Robert Horry struck gold with a rainbow last weekend to save them in the clincher in Portland.

Bryant grabbed a late rebound, and Fox and Fisher each sank free throws to save them from a Trail Blazer rally in Game 2 against Portland.

This time last year, eight of their first 11 playoff victories were double-digit strength.

This year, it has been all savvy.

The giant O’Neal’s tiny bleeding finger injury Sunday was not serious, but symbolic.

The valiant Bryant’s swollen right knee, strong enough to allow him to return to the game, was less about the mishap than the metaphor.

This spring is not last spring. This will not be as easy. This will not be as pretty.

If the Lakers keep leaping moats and scaling turrets and staying one step ahead of the dragon, this spring could ultimately be more fun.

But it also could ultimately be a disaster.

Think the news has reached Sacramento that the Lakers have scratched for four victories against the dysfunctional Trail Blazers and David Robinson-less Spurs?

The bad thing isn’t that Laker fans are booing. It’s that everyone else in the playoffs is watching.

“We are as vulnerable as we were last year,” said Bryant, but he agreed there was a difference.

“I think last year, it just got to the point where teams were intimidated by us,” he said. “When teams are intimidated by you, they cannot see your vulnerabilities and weaknesses.”

This year, that aura of intimidation is slowly dissipating.

Indeed, they have won 20 of their last 21 playoff games, a record postseason stretch for any team in any of the four major sports.

And, surely, it seems unfair to complain that they aren’t winning by enough.

But something is missing. Something big enough that it cannot be swallowed by the emotion of an Horry-to-O’Neal alley-oop. Something that cannot be blamed on the television-caused playoff inactivity that didn’t seem to bother the Lakers last year.

Sunday’s struggles also cannot be attributed entirely to the two injuries to the league’s two best players.

Bryant and O’Neal played together until 8:46 remained in the third quarter. At that point, the Lakers trailed by one.

The next time they both played together, with 4:36 remaining in the game, the Lakers led by one.

Thus describes the unevenness of the Lakers’ effort. Until the final minutes, the team played better with just one of their stars.

“I know we haven’t played our quote-unquote perfect game yet,” Fisher said. “But in the back of our minds, I don’t think that’s a concern. We only care about winning our third straight championship, and we don’t care what form or fashion we use in doing it.”

Fox smiled and said he warned us.

“We know we’re gonna win,” he said. “But before the playoffs, I said that I didn’t know how aesthetically pleasing that would be.”

Aesthetically, so far, they look like this:

A team cruising through games with the calm of one who knows he can hit the gas at the last minute and still win.

A team cruising toward a memorable spot in NBA history.

Or a team cruising for a bruising.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at [email protected].