The Lakers of Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal the last thee years have perfected the art of dealing with the drudgery and irrelevance of the NBA regular season. Basically, they endure it, playing well enough to keep an edge and not well enough to blow away the competition. Then, when the games count, they put it together and plan a parade.

Two seasons ago, they didn't really start playing until April, having ceded the regular-season conference crown (assuming there is such a thing) to the Spurs. They then vaporized San Antonio in four games en route to their second title of the Shaq Era.

	As long as his toe is OK, Shaq will be dunking on the NBA the next seven months.

Last year, they didn't even win their own division. But when it mattered, they rallied from a 3-2 hole against the Kings and then annihilated the Nets in the Finals.

They are on a similar aimless cruise this season already, but there is an asterisk (Jackson's favorite qualifier) to their otherwise hideous 3-9 start. They haven't had Shaq. They've also been hit hard by injuries, but, basically, they haven't had the single most dominant player in the game. That is going to change and, with O'Neal's expected return tonight against the Bulls, so, too, will the Lakers' fortunes.

(Here's hoping Shaq isn't coming back because he thinks Brad Miller still plays for Chicago.)

The Lakers had hoped this day would have come sooner, but O'Neal wasn't ready. He delayed surgery and then had a longer-than-anticipated rehab. But just seeing him in Laker gold should give the cellar dwellers of the Pacific Division -- clip and save those standings because they'll be valuable someday -- a much needed psychic boost, not to mention an unstoppable option inside.

"We've been searching for something to get us turned around," Rick Fox said.

Or someone.

Shaq carries a heavy burden in his latest, 'Here comes the cavalry' moment. The Lakers have always managed to tread water when he has been out before. Not this time. They've been playing underwater for three-plus weeks. True, they're only a couple of possessions or bounces away from 6-6 (you think someone could have picked up Jerry Stackhouse on his game-winning dunk?). But, if there ever has been an open-and-shut case for Shaq's MVP campaign, his teammates made it for him in the first 12 games.

On two occasions, they've failed to score as many as 73 points in a game, which is so Denver. They just came back from Texas, having endured a bludgeoning in Dallas and a spanking in San Antonio. They've lost to Cleveland, for goodness sakes. (They still, however, found a way to beat the Clippers.)

They've lost seven of their last eight, the only victory coming at home, in overtime, against Golden State. In fact, they've had only one win all season (the Clippers, of course) that came in regulation. Kobe has led them in scoring every game, whether he goes for 46, as he did in a loss to Houston, or whether he goes for 16, as he did in the loss to Dallas. Jay Leno has had a field day with Lakers jokes in recent monologues, going so far Thursday night as to suggest weapons inspectors should forget about going to Iraq and instead try to find the Lakers' offense.

In other words, the timing could not be more propitious for Shaq to be ready for his closeup.

The unknown at this point is whether O'Neal's toe will hold up to all the weight and pressure it bears from supporting a 350-pound leviathan who runs and jumps a lot. Shaq is beginning his 11th season. He will turn 31 in March. Injuries have been an unwelcome constant in his Laker incarnation. In his five, non-lockout seasons in Los Angeles, he has played 331 out of 422 games. He already is on record as saying that he wants two more titles and then plans to leave the game while still recognized as the game's top player.

	You can slobber all you want to about Kobe's myriad gifts, but without O'Neal he's like Bob McAdoo. The Lakers are Shaq's team and they go where he takes them.

He sees what happened to Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon and he promises that that will not happen to him. No 10-to-15 minute reserve stints. No self-delusion about skills and impact. Maybe it's easier to say that when you still have your "A" game, as O'Neal assuredly has. Or maybe he doesn't want anything to do with Shawn Bradley.

The bottom line is clear for all to see. With Shaq and Kobe operating at full throttle, the Lakers are the team to beat regardless of their record or their playoff positioning. (Can we go out on a limb and predict that they will qualify for the postseason?) Their role players like Fox, Robert Horry and Derek Fisher always seem to play better and make huge and timely contributions when the Big Two are around. Funny how that is.

(And when things are at their darkest, there's always the referees to bail them out, as they did in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals last year.)

O'Neal is an Army of One out there and everyone knows it. Or everyone should know it. Maybe it's only a matter of time before the NBA becomes Yao Ming's domain, but, for now, Shaq is the biggest difference-maker in the game. You can slobber all you want to about Kobe's myriad gifts, but without O'Neal he's like Bob McAdoo. The Lakers are Shaq's team and they go where he takes them.

If you didn't know that by now, the 3-9 start should be ample proof. I give the Lakers eight games to get back to .500 and, by then, we'll have forgotten about their odious opening. Mr. June has his eyes firmly fixed on a fourth straight title, something Michael Jordan never did, mainly because MJ retired before he had the chance. Shaq isn't going anywhere for the time being, except back to the floor of the Staples Center.

If you're a Lakers fan, that's the best news since June. If you're anyone else, that means you better be prepared to watch the Lakers in June. Other teams (Sacramento, Dallas, San Antonio) might have other ideas, but until proven otherwise, when Shaq wants to get something done, he generally has his way.

Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.