SAN ANTONIO VS. LOS ANGELES PHILADELPHIA VS. MILWAUKEE

Thursday, May 31 Long layoff may be Lakers' biggest foe By Dr. Jack Ramsay Special to ESPN.com The way the Los Angeles Lakers are playing, it won't make a big difference whether they play the Milwaukee Bucks or the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals. They appear to be getting better with each series. If the Lakers can sustain their level of play, they will be crowned the champions for a second straight year. But of the two Eastern Conference teams remaining, I think the Bucks would be a better challenge for the Lakers. The Bucks beat the Lakers in both meetings during the regular season. With perimeter shooters such as Glenn Robinson, Sam Cassell, Ray Allen and Tim Thomas off the bench, they have a more balanced attack than the 76ers. The Bucks also get good help inside from Ervin Johnson, Jason Caffey and Scott Williams. The Lakers split their two meetings with the 76ers. But the 76ers' problem is that they are not nearly as effective if a team can cut down on Allen Iverson's contribution. During the regular season, I saw Iverson have a big game -- scoring 40 points -- in a win over the Lakers in Philadelphia. But when the Lakers beat the 76ers, Iverson was nine of 27 from the field. Since their last meeting on Feb. 14, the 76ers have changed their look, acquiring Dikembe Mutombo from Atlanta. Mutombo would be a factor against the Lakers. But as good as Mutombo is as a defender of big men, he is still no match for Shaquille O'Neal's quickness and power. The 76ers play solid team defense. Aaron McKie would have to defend Kobe Bryant, but really no one can defend him. Larry Brown would get his team defending at a high level, but it wouldn't be good enough against the Lakers. The Lakers are a different team than the one the 76ers and the Bucks saw earlier in the season. They have raised their defense to an entirely different level. While the Lakers ranked 11th (.438) in field-goal percentage defense during the regular season, they have ranked first (.401) among all playoff teams through the conference finals. The statistic is a strong indicator of their defensive improvement. The Lakers' offense is always evident with the presence of Shaq and Kobe Bryant. While their offense is flowing better, ther tightened defense has been the difference in the playoffs. The defense should be equal to the task against either the Bucks or the 76ers. Even though the Lakers are playing at the top of their game, the only drawback could be their nine days off between games. When my Portland Trail Blazers' team won the NBA title in 1977, we had nine days off before the start of the NBA Finals. The layoff caused us to lose our edge, and we lost the first two games to the 76ers. In retrospect, we were fortunate that the first two games were in Philadelphia. By the time we returned to Portland, we had our sharpness back and blew out the 76ers by more than 20 points in Games 3 and 4 in Portland. That gave us the confidence to go on and win the next two games as well for the championship. The layoff could be damaging to the Lakers because they could lose their edge. That much time off is a long time for NBA players, who are accustomed to playing every other day. No matter how much the Lakers or any other team practice, teams can't duplicate game experience on the practice floor. Hall of Fame coach Dr. Jack Ramsay is a game analyst for ESPN Radio and a regular contributor to ESPN.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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