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No. 1 L.A. Lakers vs. No. 8 Sacramento
L.A. Lakers win series 3-2
| REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS (Lakers won series 3-1) |
| Date |
Final Score |
| 12/8 at SAC |
Sacramento 103, L.A. Lakers 91 |
| 3/12 at LAL |
L.A. Lakers 109, Sacramento 106 |
| 3/26 at SAC |
L.A. Lakers 90, Sacramento 89 |
| 4/14 at LAL |
L.A. Lakers 121, Sacramento 114 |
| HEAD COACHES |
Phil Jackson, L.A. Lakers
First year with Lakers, 10th year overall
Playoff record: 111-41
Best Finish: NBA Champions (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)
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Rick Adelman, Sacramento
Second year in Sacramento, ninth year overall
Playoff record: 38-36
Best finish: Took Blazers to Finals twice, lost to Detroit in '90 and Chicago in '92
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| STARTING FIVE |
| L.A. Lakers |
| Ron Harper, G |
Well-schooled in running Phil Jackson's triangle offense. |
| Kobe Bryant, G |
Explosive perimeter threat can bury
jumper or slash by defender. |
| Glen Rice, F |
If teams double on Shaq, he can make them
pay with outside bombs. |
| A.C. Green, F |
Ironman still brings toughness, all the
intangibles to court. |
| Shaquille O'Neal, C |
Nobody in the league could stop the
big guy this season. |
| Sacramento Kings |
| Jason Williams, G |
Makes lots of flashy plays, some of
them not resulting in turnovers |
| Nick Anderson, G |
Coming off worst-shooting season of his
career |
| Corliss Williamson, F |
Lowest-scoring season in four years |
| Chris Webber, F |
MVP-type numbers but doomed by Shaq's
dominance, which likely will carry on through series |
| Vlade Divac, C |
Has to have big series against Shaq for
Kings to be competitive |
| THE BENCH |
| L.A. Lakers |
| Robert Horry, F |
Two titles with Houston. Knows what it takes to win. |
| Rick Fox, F |
Underrated defender and can hit big 3-pointer. |
| Derek Fisher, G |
Backup playmaker when Harper needs breather. |
| John Salley, C |
Fills up space while Shaq catches his breath. |
| Sacramento Kings |
| Peja Stojakovic, G |
Kings best perimeter threat |
| Jon Barry, G |
If he's healthy he's capable of making big shots
|
| Tony Delk, G |
Emerged late in season as backup to Williams
at point |
| Lawrence Funderburke, F |
Some brawn down low |
| Scot Pollard, C |
7-footer is Kings' third-leading rebounder
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| HOW THEY GOT THERE |
| L.A. Lakers |
|
They simply are the best team in the NBA, piling up three
double-digit win streaks in their regular season domination. Shaquille
O'Neal has had an MVP season, at or near the top of the league in scoring,
rebounding, blocks and field-goal percentage. The other half of the killer
combo, Kobe Bryant, has developed into perhaps the game's best all-around
shooting guard by excelling at the defensive end.
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| Sacramento Kings |
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At the midway point of the season, Williams' wild
3-pointers were going down and Sacramento was in the hunt for a upper-end
seed in the West. But a mediocre March and an awful April took care of
that. Still, the Kings could have nabbed the seventh seed -- a much more
favorable draw, Utah -- but lost to Seattle on Tuesday at Arco Arena,
torched by Gary Payton's monster triple-double (33 points, 14 assists, 11
rebounds). It's the type of game a quick guard (Kobe Bryant) can have
against the defensive-challenged Kings.
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| SERIES OUTLOOK |
| Shaq has pounded the Kings for 33 points and 12 rebounds a game, and
then there's lightning-quick Bryant going against the league's 25th-worst
defensive team (allowing nearly 102 points a game). The one area where the
Kings have an advantage is the bench, which could see a lot of action if
the Kings' starters continue to struggle like they've been over the past
couple months.
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| PREDICTION |
Kings will be lucky to get one off L.A. Lakers in 4.
Prediction by Simon Fishler, Sportsline.com NBA Editor
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