FRONT AND CENTER: THE CONTENDERS

Last year, a tank.

This year, a teacup.

Last year, the Lakers rolled into the playoffs surrounded by the armor of 67 victories, a new genius on the bench, a new MVP in the middle, and a new attitude from the kid.

This year, they tread carefully amid the fragility of 11 fewer wins, a doubted genius, a disillusioned MVP, and a kid who is partially responsible for both.

In this space last year, it was proclaimed that if the Lakers did not win the NBA championship, it would have been a failure.

This year, if they do not win the NBA championship, it only would figure.

“Put it this way--the people who watched us all year, they’re not going to be laying bets on us,” Rick Fox said. “This year, people just aren’t sure.”

Despite all the talk of the eight consecutive victories to end the season, those skeptics would surely include the Lakers themselves.

As long as Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant are still standing, this team is still good enough to win a second consecutive title for the second time in Los Angeles history.

But is it good enough to overcome those moments when they are not?

During last season’s playoffs, during those brief moments when either Bryant or O’Neal came up empty, the rest of the team filled in the blanks.

Twice they were pushed to a deciding game, and twice they survived. There was chemistry. There was community. It worked.

This year, who knows?

If Bryant struggles, will Jackson publicly scold him? If O’Neal struggles, will everyone blame it on Bryant? Can memories of finger-pointing losses be erased during nail-biting finishes?

And just who is going to step in and sink the big three-pointer? Glen Rice led the team during last year’s playoffs by making 28 of those shots.

Or how about grabbing the big late rebound? Rice and A.C. Green ranked fourth and fifth on the team in playoff rebounds last season.

While Horace Grant, Robert Horry, Derek Fisher and Fox seem poised to perform in what may be this postseason’s most important minutes, there is still wonder.

Could these Lakers come together and overcome a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit in a Game 7?

Not even The Big Calvin Murphy knows.

“We’re almost there,” O’Neal said of last year’s feeling. “But we’re still getting it back, game by game. Hopefully, by the Western Conference finals, it will be back.”

The Lakers certainly are good enough to conceivably sweep their way to the Western Conference finals, win a seven-game battle with San Antonio, then sweep through Philadelphia for a second consecutive championship.

They also could lose at home to Portland today and be on vacation by next week.

“We have pieced together our community as of late,” Fox said. “But it is still a fragile community.”

How fragile?

This will be the first postseason in recent memory conducted during a star player’s honeymoon.

With all this talk about Phil Jackson and Jeanie Buss, we forgot about Kobe Bryant and Vanessa Laine.

The usually talkative Bryant doesn’t want to discuss last week’s wedding, but we’re guessing it’s not only about privacy. After all, this is a happy occasion, and weddings are noted in everything from media guides to trading cards.

The thinking here is, Bryant doesn’t want Jackson--who believes personal events directly affect basketball performance--to think the wedding will be a distraction.

Too late for that. Not that we’re going to tie tin cans to Bryant’s sneakers and spray paint “Just Imprisoned!” on his jersey, but the kid’s concentration initially will be an issue.

While O’Neal is the man, it is Bryant who holds the master key.

It was Bryant’s recent foot injuries, remember, that gave this team its biggest boost. When he returned, his physical limitations forced him into becoming the sort of team player that turned last year’s Lakers into champions.

If Bryant continues to play as if he doesn’t want to be the MVP, he can be the MVP.

If the offense flows through O’Neal, he again will be unstoppable.

If the other players get enough touches, they again will be inspired to play hard on the other end of the floor.

If Jackson actively keeps everyone in line, he will regain an aura to complement that soul patch.

If all this happens, the Lakers again will win a championship.

If only it all weren’t so uncertain.

By virtue of their struggles this year, the Lakers will not get any of the breaks of last year.

The referees won’t initially be so deferential--remember the two illegal-defense calls that quickly ended Sacramento’s chances in that deciding Game 5?

The opponents won’t initially be so intimidated--remember how the Lakers won all four series opening games by an average of 17.5 points?

“We have to acknowledge the fact that we played well enough this year to be champions, and carry ourselves like it,” Jackson said.

In other words, after finishing only two games behind league-best San Antonio, the Lakers need to walk the walk.

Last year, a wide and well-paved road.

This year, a tightrope.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at his e-mail address: bill.plaschke@latimes.com.