By MIKE DOUGHERTY
The (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News

We've been down this road before. Until somebody figures out how to dethrone the Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA playoff landscape will not change much. Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant are poised to win their fourth consecutive title.

And while they showed a vulnerable side earlier in the season and come into the postseason seeded fifth in the difficult Western Conference, the Lakers are headed in the right direction. They have a 26-7 record since the All-Star break.

"You take our last three months of the season and our record is the best in the league," Robert Horry said. "So we're feeling pretty good about ourselves. We've had, not a great season, but it's still better than what, 9/10ths of the East?"

Absolutely.

If the Lakers are going to get knocked off, it probably will be sometime before the NBA Finals because the Eastern Conference is a mess. Aside from the New Orleans Hornets, no team has momentum.

Not even the New Jersey Nets, who got swept away by the Lakers a year ago.

"Whoever comes out of the Eastern Conference is going to figure it out in the playoffs," Milwaukee Bucks coach George Karl said. "It's a bouncing ball."

Unlike their past three runs, the Lakers have to be road warriors. They lost homecourt advantage back in November while O'Neal was recovering from toe surgery. First up are the Minnesota Timberwolves, who've never made it past the first round of the playoffs.

"We know how to win in hostile environments and in clutch situations," Bryant said. "It gives us a mental edge."

The series could have one unusual twist. O'Neal and his wife are expecting a baby. The due date is April 27, the day of Game 4 in Los Angeles, and he's not missing the birth. Inducing labor isn't an option.

"She's not ready, and I'm not going to force it," he said. "When the baby comes, I'll be there."

There is no built-in advantage should the Lakers send Kevin Garnett packing and meet San Antonio in the second round. Tim Duncan and company won all four meetings between the two this season, but they first have to deal with Phoenix. Lakers coach Phil Jackson has to get this group focused on the defensive end. A year ago, the Lakers were much better defensively. They were atop the league in field goal defense, but have slipped to 17th this season.

Only stingy teams hold up gold trophies.

"They spent most of the year not playing any defense at all," Jackson said. "So right now we're hoping they have some defense left in their bones."

It would be a handy device against the fluid Sacramento Kings, who are lurking on the other side of the bracket along with the Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz.

Chris Webber is hoping the Kings are properly motivated after last season. They lost in seven games to the Lakers in the conference finals and are still upset over a number of calls. This is supposed to be their best chance.

"The one aspect that worries me is, are we as hungry as we were last year?" Webber said. "Did it make us hungrier or because we believe we won that series, does that give us a moral victory when we haven't done anything? I'm really hoping that it just kicks in, that sense of urgency.

"If we don't win the championship, if we don't play our best, we only have ourselves to blame."