HOW THEY MATCH UP

STARTERS: EDGE, LAKERS

With Jason Kidd, a longtime Laker thorn, back in the lineup, Phoenix has the most mobile group of starters in the league. Kidd and Penny Hardaway are passers, scorers and rebounders; forwards Shawn Marion and Cliff Robinson both can run the floor and defend; center Luc Longley is a shooter and a passer. What’s missing is the size and aggression it takes to keep Shaquille O’Neal from ruling the paint, and that’s a big void.

BENCH: EDGE, SUNS

Explosive forward Rodney Rogers struggled against the Lakers this season (34% field-goal shooting, 22% from three-point distance), but overall this season, he was devastating, averaging 13.7 points and making 43.9% of his three-pointers and earning run-away Sixth Man of the Year honors. Kevin Johnson, Todd Day and former Laker Corie Blount all had big moments in the first-round victory over the Spurs.

OFFENSE: EDGE, LAKERS

The Suns lost Kidd and Hardaway for large chunks and lost Tom Gugliotta for the season, but Robinson accepted the scoring burden (a team-leading 18.5 average), and five other players averaged 10 or more points. Against the Spurs, though, Phoenix averaged only 83 points. Led by O’Neal (29.4 average vs. the Kings) and Bryant (27.8), the Lakers are the only team averaging in excess of 100 points in the playoffs.

DEFENSE: EDGE, LAKERS

Under Coach Scott Skiles, and with Robinson as an active helper across the middle, Phoenix has become more defense-minded, as evidenced by their shut-down of the Spurs, who averaged only 81.8 points and shot only 37.2% in the four-game series. The Lakers, who held the high-octane Kings to 96.1 points per game, get key defensive play out of Ron Harper, who will match up with Hardaway, Robert Horry, who will probably guard Robinson most of the time, and O’Neal, who will have freedom to roam.

COACHING: EDGE, LAKERS

Skiles has given the Suns new intensity and resiliency, keeping things together despite all the misfortune. Jackson managed to maintain a reasonably steady Laker ship during the tense moments of the Kings’ series, setting the stage for the Game 5 fireworks, and possibly for a breakout in this series.

KEY TO THE SERIES: EDGE, LAKERS

Will O’Neal shoot close to 60%? When he does, the Lakers are almost unbeatable, and it took a lot of bruising play by Vlade Divac and Scot Pollard and several instances of Chris Webber’s illegal defense to keep O’Neal in check against Sacramento. If Phoenix cannot come up with some approximation, there’s not much even Kidd, Hardaway, Rogers and Robinson can do. Pick: Lakers, 4-1.