SAN ANTONIO VS. LOS ANGELES PHILADELPHIA VS. MILWAUKEE

Wednesday, May 30 Lakers are one big lovefest (since April 1) By Scott Howard-Cooper Special to ESPN.com Kids say the darndest things. Shaquille O'Neal had his code words, using "Write what you see" as a pointed dig at Kobe Bryant, and Kobe had his insinuations, about how this mess could have been avoided if Shaq was in better shape, and Phil Jackson had his blindside accusations, about how he heard Bryant sabatoged games back in high school, and a lot of people in Los Angeles were frustrated -- mostly network bosses that they didn't come up with the idea first and turn it into an afternoon soap opera. Danny Ferry may have found the only way to stop Kobe and the Lakers. Now they've all grown up. Shaq says Kobe is the best player in the world, a great olive branch whether he meant it or not, and Kobe (besides thinking that Shaq is right) says O'Neal is his dominating self again. Jackson, meanwhile, went back to picking on a more-typical target. The Sacramento Kings. Eighteen consecutive victories. Ten in a row in the playoffs. Two series sweeps against supposed challengers from the Pacific, the Trail Blazers and Kings, and a 3-0 lead over the Spurs. One group hug. "Winning does that," Bryant said. "Winning obviously brings up the spirits of everybody on the team. I think that brings us closer together." They're the LosAngelesLakers in that case. Joined at the being very hip again, just like much of last season and for glimpses of 2000-01. The surprise should come only in that the turnaround was so sudden, not that it came at all. It shouldn't have taken nearly two months of uninterrupted success to convince anyone that they had the best center and best shooting guard in the game -- wasn't O'Neal overwhelming last season and didn't Bryant prove once and for all he was worth all the hype by blowing your mind in the Finals against the Pacers? This is nothing new. Likewise, it shouldn't have caught anyone off guard that Jackson manages personalities properly, because it would have been wrong to force a mediation to the Shaq-Kobe Conflict at the height of the tension, as some had suggested in knee-jerk fashion. It was the correct move all along, as suggested here at the time, to let things settle (although the high school comment that came later was very wrong). It's why the Lakers don't settle anymore, to the point that just winning is not enough. Their run at the end of the regular season took the Pacific title from the upstarts, the Kings, when a second-place finish would have meant a safer first-round matchup, against the Suns instead of the Trail Blazers, and they still would have beaten Sacramento even without homecourt advantage. Then, they didn't just beat Portland. Same thing in the conference semifinals, when some Lakers clearly liked the idea of sending a statement in the process about how maybe the teams weren't quite as close as Land 'O Cowbells would like to think. "They know now, right?" a gloating Ron Harper said. "They know what type of team we have?" Everyone does. The Lakers have not lost since April 1. They went to the Alamodome, where the Spurs had lost eight times in the regular season and zero times in the playoffs, and went 2-0 to start the conference finals, coming back from a 14-point deficit in Game 2. The wins were overwhelming in symbolism. This is when things start to get interesting. It is incomprehensible to think of anyone going 15-0 -- especially since San Antonio is a veteran, playoff-tested team with composure to match its talent -- but the scary thing about the Lakers is that they can find motivation at every turn to keep the run going, rather than get complacent. They buried the Spurs in Game 3, which should be a push: One more win means another sweep. That will be worth a push. They will be in the Finals. That will be worth a push. Seven weeks -- since April 1 -- seems a forever ago in that context. The Lakers lost to New York that day. Not just that, but it was their third defeat in four games and fifth in eight outings. The next thing anyone knows, they're being compared to the great teams of NBA past. "We felt like we had the ability to play this way the whole time," guard Brian Shaw said. "But Kobe was out for a little while, Harp was out, Shaq missed some games, and then we let some of the outside influences kind of chink our armour, so to speak. But collectively as a group, we've always felt like we had even stronger personnel this year than last year to get the job done. It was a matter of coming together at the right time." Getting healthy was the first step. O'Neal said he has been in shape all along, but he was alone in that standing, even in his own locker room. "He doesn't want to be embarrassed by it," Jackson said. "But I understand that." The Lakers, aware that players needed an easy summer after the long season before, didn't have any major problems with the lack of conditioning at the start of the season, then made it an issue after a couple months. By midseason, they were making it a concerted effort and not caring that anyone knew. He got to 100 percent, and that turned out to have a greater impact than the mayhem it caused opponents: the real value was that Bryant found it easier to defer when he had the confidence that O'Neal could physically handle being The Guy. That development cannot be underestimated in their coming together. The emotional issue was connected to the health issue. That came as Bryant shook the sore foot that cost him nine of 10 games from March 23-April 8 and Fisher returned after missing the first 62 games because of a stress fracture in the foot to make a huge contribution. The emergence of Fisher proved to be the next step, just as the Lakers were in need of a supporting cast. Harper, a starter his entire Lakers career before a knee injury knocked him out in mid-February, did not play again until Game 2 against the Kings, and then only in a limited role. Isaiah Rider had his moments off the bench with scoring, but also had his "moments," so he hadn't played since April 8 and was ultimately left off the playoff roster. Fisher pushed for featured casting by averaging a career-best 11.5 points in the 20 games he did make and, on defense, stopping some of the penetrations that had caused so many problems in previous months. Horace Grant and Rick Fox were keys on that side also. Then O'Neal improved at the line. It was all in the perspective: the 51.3 percent during the regular season was his worst showing since the 48.4 in 1996-97, except that he climbed to 54.3 percent in February, 63.4 percent in March and 65.1 in April before the start of the playoffs. In hard numbers, it was the difference between a couple dozen makes. No big deal over the course of months. In the emotional impact, though, it was invaluable. Coincidence or not, the Trail Blazers and Kings had both mostly stayed away from Haq-a-Shaq, although at least Portland defenders dared to get close enough to foul if the game plan went in that direction. To O'Neal, his improvement altered how teams would deal with him, and that mental advantage could be worth plenty. "I think so," he agreed. "I kind of want them to go to that strategy. I'm kind of shooting them well." He wants the Haq-a-Shaq, or so he says. Sure, why not. Bring it on. Get rid of that problem while they're at it. Olive branches all around. Scott Howard-Cooper covers the NBA for the Sacramento Bee and is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

ALSO SEE Stein: Where have you gone, Mr. Robinson? Kreidler: When will excuses end and respect begin? Dr. Jack: Lakers can run the table