Iverson Says the Pressure Is on Lakers

Don’t expect Allen Iverson to fall for the Lakers’ spin that the Philadelphia 76ers should be favored because they won so many individual honors this season.

“Everyone on the outside looking in has us already counted out,” Iverson said. “We are supposed to come to this series, get swept and go home for the summer, I guess.”

Iverson said all of the pressure is on the Lakers and not the 76ers, especially not with him.

“There’s no pressure in basketball, to me,” he said. “Pressure is real life. It’s coming from where I come from. It’s growing up and going through what I’ve been through to get to this point. The pressure is supposed to be all on them. Everyone has those guys favored to beat us. It’s on us to be relaxed, play basketball and expect a war. We’ve been in wars every series. We know what it’s about by now.”

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If the Lakers decide to give point guard Derek Fisher the difficult job of defending Iverson, Fisher shouldn’t worry about being scouted by the league’s leading scorer.

“I really haven’t studied him,” Iverson said. “I’m an offensive guy. When I’m watching [games], I’m looking at what people do on the offensive end of the court anyway.

“I don’t know what kind of defender he is, but I’ll find out. I’m looking forward to it.”

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The key to the series may be the role players. Aaron McKie, Eric Snow, Tyrone Hill, Jurmaine Jones and Raja Bell are as important to the 76ers as Fisher, Rick Fox, Robert Horry and Brian Shaw are to the Lakers.

“It’s going to be a big key because they are going to try and change things up on Allen,” Snow said. “We look for them to put Kobe [Bryant] on him a little, Derek Fisher and Brian Shaw. I’m sure they are going to put a lot of attention on him.”

McKie went so far as to say that the Lakers’ supporting cast is the most important aspect of their playoff run.

“With Shaq [O’Neal] and Kobe, we have to be able to contain those guys individually with a little help,” McKie said. “We can’t be blatant and double- and triple-team them. We have to pretty much play those guys heads up so we can keep guys like Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Brian Shaw and Robert Horry from hurting us. They become big when you have to double Shaq or double Kobe and they swing the ball so they have clean, open looks. They are pretty good shooters, and that’s where they hurt you.”

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Snow has been playing with a broken foot, but he said it will not affect him against the Lakers.

“It’s a situation where it is not going to get any better, but it doesn’t feel any worse either,” he said. “Basically, it feels the same since it happened.”

Forward George Lynch, another injured 76er, participated in some drills with the team Tuesday and said there’s a chance he will return before the series is over.

“Doctors just want me to shoot around and see how I feel walking on the floor,” the former Laker said of his broken left foot. “I’m hoping [to return by] Game 4. I feel pain in my rehab . . . but I felt that pain in August. It’s nothing different now.”