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No. 1 L.A. Lakers vs. No. 3 Portland
| REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS (Series tied 2-2) |
| Date |
Final Score |
| 11/9 at POR |
Portland 97, L.A. Lakers 82 |
| 12/3 at LAL |
L.A. Lakers 93, Portland 80 |
| 1/22 at LAL |
Portland 95, L.A. Lakers 91 |
| 2/29 at POR |
L.A. Lakers 90, Portland 87 |
| HEAD COACHES |
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Phil Jackson, L.A. Lakers
First year with Lakers, 10th year overall
Playoff record: 118-44
Best Finish: NBA Champions (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)
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Mike Dunleavy, Portland
Third year with Blazers, ninth year overall
Playoff record: 28-21
Best Finish: Took Lakers to NBA Finals in 1991, losing to Bulls in five games
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| HOW THEY GOT THERE |
| L.A. Lakers |
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Second round: They were shaken again in the second round by
Phoenix. It took a Kobe Bryant hanger with 3 seconds left to win Game 2 and
a fourth-quarter rally to take Game 3. A couple disturbing trends emerged
in the series for Phil Jackson's boys. No. 1, the defense was riddled by
the quick perimeter Phoenix players (Portland's got a ton of them, too) --
Penny Hardaway, Jason Kidd and Cliff Robinson. Secondly, an old one was
back: Shaq wasn't coming through at the free-throw line when the games were
still undecided.
Second-round overview
First round: Phil Jackson wanted the bullet-proof Lakers to suffer
some adversity and they got it in the first round with Sacramento, getting
pushed to the decisive fifth game. But the dominant Lakers again emerged
to easily win that one, 113-86, and once again looked like the favorite to win the NBA title.
First-round overview
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| Portland Trail Blazers |
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Second round: At times they looked like they were toying with the poor, old Jazz. Scottie Pippen took his turn, then Rasheed Wallace busted a move, then the Portland bench ran circles around the Jazz reserves. The Blazers had nearly every advantage going into the series and the wide array of talent was on full display, particularly in the three blowout wins to begin the series that sank Utah well below ground with the final shovelful of dirt coming on Pippen's 3-pointer in Game 5 that demonstrated he's the main guy in the Rose City.
Second-round overview
First round: The Timberwolves gave them all they could handle in the
first round, which the Blazers ended up winning, 3-1, but only outscored Minnesota by eight points total.
The key to the series was the play of Pippen in the closing minutes of each close game. He's won six title
rings and all that experience showed up when things got tense.
First-round overview
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| SERIES OUTLOOK |
| Things aren't as grand in La-La land as they were before the Lakers showed
their mortality in their five-game match with Sacramento in the first
round, and the closer-than-it-seemed second round skirmish with Phoenix.
The key for Portland could be hulking 7-3, 300-pound center Arvydas
Sabonis, who is one of the few guys in the league that takes up nearly as
much room in the paint as the Lakers giant center, although he does plod at
glacier speed. If Shaq is contained to 30 points or less a game and
forced to get half his points at the free-throw line then the Blazers have
an excellent shot at beating the team almost everybody crowned as the NBA
champs.
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| PREDICTION |
The Blazers will keep it close and force Shaq to beat them at the line,
where he won't. Blazers in 7
Prediction by Simon Fishler, SportsLine.com NBA Editor
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