SAN ANTONIO VS. LOS ANGELES PHILADELPHIA VS. MILWAUKEE

Wednesday, May 30 Fisher, Fox and other Lakers aren't pushovers By Frank Hughes Special to ESPN.com Think back, if you please, to Game 2 of the NBA Finals last season, the Los Angeles Lakers against the Indiana Pacers. Role players like Horace Grant have given the Lakers a big lift. Remember, as far off as it now seems, Kobe Bryant going down in a heap on the floor, crumpled, holding his ankle, unable to continue, gimping back to the locker room on the most speculated upon joint since Achilles. And almost as an unspoken wave that rippled through the Staples Center, you could almost hear everybody mutter in unison, "Glen Rice better do something now." And Rice did. He scored a playoff-high 21 points, carrying the Lakers at a time when nobody else would or could become the counter to Shaquille O'Neal's punch, on this particular day a punch that consisted of 40 points. Thinking back, that game ultimately was the reason I didn't think the Lakers would achieve the same success this season that they did last season. Sure, the Kobe-Shaq feuds were amusing and all, sort of like the third ring at the circus, where you look when you get tired of watching the elephants step on some guy's chest and the tiger sit there while some idiot puts his head in his mouth. (Speaking of violence, what's up with the commercials being broadcast on TNT during the playoffs this season? I was watching some games last week, and, in succession, I saw a guy get dragged onto a treadmill by some doctors until he fell off exhausted; a guy walk in his front door and have a chandelier drop on his cranium; and another guy get his arm bitten off by a killer whale. If they want violence, just show old tapes of the Knicks playing the Heat, when both teams used to be in the playoffs.) Anyway, when it came right down to it, I figured, the Lakers simply did not have that third weapon available in case Shaq or Kobe got hurt, or, even less likely, either one had a poor performance. Who would do it? Isaiah Rider? Well, you have to actually be IN the building to have an impact, and J.R. usually can't be found -- although I have a sneaking suspicion he was somewhere in the vicinity of that helicopter that was landing down on Newport Beach. Tyronn Lue? I saw Shaq cut a toenail one day that weighed more than Tyronn Lue. Fox Rick Fox? Spending too much, or not enough, time on that hair, though I can't decide which. I think Fox has the Dick Versace combover going, but I'm not really sure. My point is, I certainly did not think the Lakers had the role players necessary to repeat as champions. But I'll have to give them credit, through the first two rounds of the playoffs -- all Lakers victories, by the way -- the Lakers' "Other 10" have played just as well as their two superstars. I certainly don't mean to imply that they have played as big a role as Kobe or Shaq, both of whom are averaging better than 30 points a game and look virtually unstoppable right now. But they have done more than has been asked of them -- and that, don't forget, is a big reason that teams are not able to always double Shaq, or always try to get the ball out of Kobe's hands on the perimeter. Once a team focuses on Shaq or Kobe, their supporting cast has been there to offer up some sort of dagger. Derek Fisher has been probably the biggest surprise. Back from injury with only 20 games left in the season -- hey, isn't that about the same amount of time that Alonzo had to get ready? -- Fisher has averaged 13.7 points in the playoffs, almost three points better than his regular-season average. Horry Need a big 3-pointer? Against the Sacramento Kings, the inconsistent Robert Horry made four of eight triples. Fox was like jet lag against Peja Stojakovic: In his head, affecting his body, but Stojakovic could never quite figure out why. When he joined the Lakers, Horace Grant looked old, as if every minute of playing center for the Seattle SuperSonics the year before had taken his remaining years away from him, relegated him to Bill Wennington status. But Grant admitted tanking it a little in the regular season, the savvy veteran biding his time until the playoffs. And through the Lakers' first two series, Grant limited Rasheed Wallace to 16.8 points on 37 percent shooting, and harangued the dearly departed CWebb into 42 percent shooting. Now, those players will have to do as much, if not more, if the Lakers are hoping to get past the San Antonio Spurs and back to the NBA Finals. First off, Grant will have to play even better against Tim Duncan than he did against Wallace or Webber. "I said through the first two series, no one guy is going to stop a great player," Grant said. "It's going to be a whole team effort. I'm just going to try and limit his touches, try to push him off the block, deny him the ball. If I can stay out of foul trouble, I think we'll be OK." No team has had a pair of 7-footers with super long arms who can double Shaq the way the Spurs can, part of the reason that teams have had such a difficult time shooting high percentages against the Spurs. And I can almost guarantee you something else: Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Malik Rose are not going to allow Kobe to come swooping into the lane for uncontested layups the way he did against the porous Kings, particularly in that artistic 48-point performance in the send-off game. Which means that, if Shaq has two giants hanging off him, Grant is going to be left alone to hit the 17- or 18-foot jump shot -- a staple of his offensive diet. Which means that Horry and Fisher are going to have to hit more than their share of 3-pointers. Which means that Fox will need to do the same thing to Sean Elliott and Danny Ferry that he did to Stojakovic. Oh yeah, and the Lakers better hope that Kobe doesn't get injured again. Frank Hughes covers the NBA for the Tacoma (Wash.) News-Tribune. He is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

ALSO SEE Dr. Jack's Breakdown: Lakers-Spurs Stein: Spurs buddies are the anti Shaq-Kobe Aldridge: Breaking down the biggest series Lakers' Grant again has a tough challenge ahead Fred's Points: Lakers-Spurs will be great Hughes: Howard's not a bad guy