What a difference a year makes! A year ago, the Philadelphia 76ers were riding the crest of success. They were leading the Eastern Conference with a 19-7 record after starting the season with 10 straight wins. They were defending tough with center Theo Ratliff -- then the league's leading shot-blocker -- guarding the hoop. Allen Iverson was their irrepressible catalyst -- scoring about 30 points a game, shooting better than 40 percent from the field, and making game-winning plays at both ends of the floor. The only negative was an injury to playmaker Eric Snow, whose fractured right ankle would force him to miss the next 32 games.

	Kobe Bryant may miss the Finals rematch against Allen Iverson and the Sixers.

In February, the Sixers made the blockbuster trade that brought them Dikembe Mutombo and Roshown McLeod from Atlanta -- for Ratliff, Nazr Mohammed, Toni Kukoc and Pepe Sanchez. It was a trade often disputed by Sixers fans and the Philadelphia media, but one that provided big dividends in the playoffs, as Mutombo became a key figure in his team's advance to the NBA Finals.

Last year's Lakers, by contrast, were plodding along at 14-7 amid rumblings of discontent between their star players, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant ... and also between Kobe and coach Phil Jackson. They were scoring well enough (more than 100 points a game) but not defending well -- allowing almost as many points as they scored. Jackson, known for his inclination to let his players find solutions to their problems, sat back and watched, but wasn't optimistic about the outcome. He confided as the season advanced that he didn't think his team would come together in time to hold on to its NBA title.

But they did. Coincidental with Derek Fisher's return after missing 62 games with a stress fracture in his right foot, the Lakers reeled off eight straight wins to end the regular season, then 11 more in the playoffs before losing the opening game to Philadelphia in the Finals. They won the next four and are still kings of the NBA.

As the teams prepare to meet on Christmas day in this rematch of last year's finalists, it's the Sixers who are struggling, plagued by injuries and inconsistencies. Iverson and Aaron McKie elected to wait until late summer for surgeries that forced both to miss all of training camp, preseason games and the early part of the regular schedule. The Sixers made trades that sent Tyrone Hill and Jumaine Jones to Cleveland for Matt Harpring, Cedric Henderson and Tractor Traylor; then sent George Lynch and Traylor to Charlotte, and Henderson to Golden State in a three-team trade that brought them Derrick Coleman, Vonteego Cummings and Corie Blount. Reserve forward/center Matt Geiger retired from the game because of endless knee problems.

On top of all that shuffling of personnel, Snow fractured his right thumb prior to the beginning of the season and has just recently returned to action. Coach Larry Brown has had to constantly mix and match his personnel. The Sixers yet defend well, allowing a league-best 88 points a game. But the offense has sputtered badly. Iverson is shooting under 40 percent, and leads the league in field goal attempts -- about 27 per game. Ball-handling by rookie Speedy Claxton and Cummings in early games was spotty, and Snow is still getting the rust off his game.

Coleman (about 16 points and 9 rebounds) and Harpring (13 and 7) have played well enough, but the quick ball movement and smooth team play, characteristics of Brown-coached teams of the past, are missing. The Sixers show flashes of high-quality play -- as in a recent rout of the Boston Celtics -- but followed that with a drab home loss to Charlotte. It's been one step forward and two steps back for the Sixers most of this season.

The Lakers underwent some minor personnel changes themselves. Gone from last year's champions are Horace Grant, Isaiah Rider, Tyronn Lue and Greg Foster. Added to the roster are Samaki Walker, Lindsey Hunter and Mitch Richmond. But the main corps of players is yet there. Shaq and Kobe are playing even better than last season -- and appear to be enjoying the experience. Among Walker, Robert Horry and Slava Medvedenko, the big forward position is more solid. Hunter proved to be a shrewd acquisition as Fisher had further surgery on his injured foot and missed the first 12 games of the season. Richmond has not yet gotten his game going, scoring only four points per game and shooting under 40 percent from the field, but it hardly matters.

The Lakers are playing much better than a year ago. They are rolling through the opposition with only an occasional speed bump to slow them down -- the most recent being a loss to Memphis on Friday after Kobe left the game with a strained right rib muscle and was ineffective after returning. But the Lakers lead the league in field-goal defense -- allowing a mere .414 field goal percentage and only an average of 91.9 points -- and score more than 100 points a game.

Shaq and Kobe combine for more than 50 points, giving Jackson an unstoppable force from either the perimeter or inside. Unfortunately, both missed practice Sunday and their status for the game against the Sixers is day-to-day (Kobe with the bad rib, Shaq because of a sore toe). But small forward Rick Fox adds consistent play at both ends of the floor, and Devean George is producing good things off the bench. The Lakers look like a three-peat team to me.

Christmas day will provide a fitting stage for the first meeting of the teams this season. The Sixers need to get their train back on track, the Lakers want to show they still are the best in basketball.

It should be a good one.

Hall of Fame coach Dr. Jack Ramsay is an NBA analyst for ESPN.