From Laker land the series is almost upon us. The Spurs shine up the boots and belt buckles and seem destined for another NBA championship. Hold on before you crown them. They need to first defeat the Lakers. 4 hall of famers on the roster and Laker fans doubt if they can advance past the Spurs.

The Lakers road is filled with bumps and potholes all season. The journey while not smooth continues on and proves to be the biggest hill that I can remember a team must climb in order to advance in the playoffs. But this is what greatness has to be measured against other great teams.

The Lakers coming off a series that saw Shaq knock down the basket not with slam dunks but with free throws that should be outlawed. I don't believe Shaq will fare any better against San Antonio.

The mailman stood and delivered a couple of body punches to the Houston Rockets after Nachbar knocked him to the ground on a couple of plays. But off the hardwood came the old mailman a resurrection occured and Malone played the rest of the series as if he was back to the old Karl Malone. Which Malone will show up against Tim Duncan and the Spurs.

Kobe is going to face his toughest defensive matchup, Bruce Bowen. Kobe gets caught to many times trying to prove he can beat Bowen one on one rather than play team basketball and work in the rhythm of the offense.

Slava Medvedenko has played his best basketball this year. Can he play well enough to cause matchup problems for the Spurs.

Gary Paytons' glove is gone removed by the referees. He'll play Tony Parker the hottest player in the playoffs next to Sam Cassell. This matchup is not in favor of the Lakers but can Payton at least make it even on his offensive possessions.

Shaq is not (mde) most dominant ever this year. He needs (mdp) more dominant plays some (mdd) more dominant defense. If Shaq doesn't play well the Lakers will end up short of the next round. Shaq needs good defense vs the pick and roll, good shots, smart passes and stay out of foul trouble. He should be able to school Nestrovic, Horry or Duncan. The problem is when Malik Rose or some other unknown guards him he doesn't dominate. Foul shooting is his weakness and I look for Popovich to explore some Don Nelson Hack-A-Shaq tactics in the series.

The Coaching staff of the Lakers track record speaks for itself. They know how to make adjustments and prepare for a series. This is the pinnacle of series for the Lakers as well as this coaching staff. Can they take advantage of the Spurs mistakes which don't occur that often. Will they go deep on the bench and use some fouls on Bowen, Duncan and Parker. The Spurs don't shoot free throws well and Fox, Cook, Walton have fouls to give.

The keys to this matchup have been explained in newspapers across the country. The keys I think the Lakers need to focus on are these:
Use the Good old fashioned Detroit Pistons defense with hard fouls.
Play Byron Russell for defense and offense purposes.
Take Kobe out when he goes to much one on one. (Not to long a break for him)
Get the ball into Shaq, if Ducan doubles Karl Malone will have to knock down the jumper.
Mano Ginobili and Tony Parker have to be stopped at all cost. This is the only way the Lakers will win. These two players are the heart and soul of this Spurs team. Yes, Tim Duncan will get his points he always does. But these are the playmakers, the scrappy hustle type players that continue to stop runs, and pump up their team and fans.