LOS ANGELES -- Phil Jackson stepped up to the mic and answered questions ranging from Ralph Nader speaking out for disgruntled Sacramento fans to his choice of fashion (for the record, Phil says those expensive clothes "just falls in your lap.")

Shaquille O'Neal took his turn, and was asked whether he felt a new arena in downtown Newark would revitalize his hometown (in his mind, Shaq feels the Newark mayor is doing a good job).

Kobe Bryant's time in the hot seat included a query whether he considered horses athletes ("Yeah, because they run around the track," Bryant responded. "I don't know about the guys on their back.")

In the Western Conference finals, the Lakers were bombarded with questions ranging from defending the pick-and-roll to ways to stopping Mike Bibby. Yet entering tonight's Game 2 of the NBA Finals, the Lakers are more likely to answer questions about global warming and the proposed Department of Homeland Security than they are about their Eastern Conference opponent until the Nets either win a game or show they're capable of at least being competitive.

That "close" 99-94 score in Game 1, you ask? Here's my theory: The Lakers get a commission on television viewers still around in the fourth quarter. The Lakers dominated the first quarter, then took a siesta in the second and third quarters. Even when the Nets got to within three points in the final period, there was never any doubt that the Lakers would win.

How much of a breeze was the game for the Lakers? Stanislav Medvedenko played in the first half, Derek Fisher and Rick Fox combined for 27 first-half points, and Samaki Walker shot 50 percent from the field (OK, he was only 1-of-2 from the field).

On the other hand, the Nets had no one capable of banging Shaq, got little production from Keith Van Horn and Kerry Kittles (a combined 8-for-21 from the field) and enjoyed few moments to make this feel like a Finals series.

"We didn't play like we had our life on the line," Lakers guard Brian Shaw said. "It was more like a regular-season game."

The Lakers, perhaps bored with the ease that they dominated the Nets, promised they would do a better job limiting their lackluster moments tonight.

"We're not going to let that happen again," Rick Fox said. "We recognize that we can play better, we will play better."

"The opportunity to win another championship is right in front of us, with three more wins and one game on our home floor coming up," Fox added. "To play the way we played in the first quarter for 48 minutes is the goal."

To play the way the Lakers did in the first quarter -- and for the Nets to duplicate their effort -- might force NBC officials to pull the plug on their NBA agreement early. Watching seven games of Lakers vs. Kings -- and one game of Nets vs. Lakers -- has left me feeling like I've had a fling with Tyra Banks (no offense, CWebb, I'm only using her as an example) before settling down to a lifetime with Linda Tripp.

Here's hoping the Nets can make this series competitive -- and make the Lakers sweat.

Here's hoping the Lakers find themselves playing three games in New Jersey because they're being challenged and not because they want to check out the Thursday evening matinee of "The Producers."

Here's hoping we get back to spending the off-days taking about strategy and matchups and not about thoroughbreds and makeup.

"We've always responded," Nets guard Jason Kidd said of his team's performance when faced with adversity. "It would be great to go back home 1-1, and that's what we're looking to do."

We're with you, Jason. We're with you.

Jerry Bembry is general editor (NBA) at ESPN The Magazine. He can be reached at Jerry.Bembry@espnpub.com.