Schedule Favors Portland

If it comes down to a months-long duel between the Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers for the No. 1 seeding in the Western Conference playoffs--both teams have NBA-best 35-11 records--Portland has the much more favorable schedule to close the season.

The Trail Blazers end one of their last Eastern trips with games in Boston and Milwaukee today and Monday, then play 21 of 34 games at home, where they are 17-3.

The Lakers have two home games before the All-Star break, then have only 14 of their final 34 at home.

The key Laker road moments: a grueling, six-game Eastern trip after the All-Star break, finishing the season series at Portland Feb. 29, consecutive games at New York and Miami March 19-20, a game at Sacramento March 26 and the season finale at San Antonio April 19.

Laker Coach Phil Jackson says that, at this point in the season, he doesn’t mind other teams getting most of the attention.

“I kind of wanted to be somewhere in fourth or fifth and have a good run at the end of the year, be strong coming on,” Jackson said.

“I hate to be the favorite. I like to be the underdog, as far as the team goes.”

Shaquille O’Neal said the players know the value of having home-court advantage against Portland or whomever the Lakers face in the playoffs.

“That’d be good for us,” O’Neal said. “Even though we’re a pretty good road team, I think it’d be real good for us.

“We could stay dominant at home and steal some games on the road. Any type of home-court advantage would be OK.”

The Lakers are 1-3 in playoff series when they have not had the home-court advantage in O’Neal’s three postseasons with the team.