After This Laker Domination, Rest Is History

Ever since Kobe Bryant stuck that three-point dagger deep in the heart of the San Antonio Spurs near the end of Game 2, the rest of the Western Conference finals was history.

Now the history and the rest are the stories.

The Lakers’ quest for a perfect postseason is a great discussion topic and hotter than ever after they finished off the Spurs, 111-82, in Game 4 Sunday. But the immediate benefit of their third consecutive series sweep is that they escaped without a chance of further injury and gave themselves time to heal.

The earliest the NBA finals can start is Sunday. That means the Lakers might actually get better.

Take Shaquille O’Neal’s mildly sprained left ankle.

“I’ve got five or six days off, so I’ll be ready to come back with vengeance once the finals start,” O’Neal said.

If there was any lesson to be learned from this year’s playoffs--basketball and hockey--it’s the importance of ending a series early. The Philadelphia 76ers let the Toronto Raptors extend them to the limit and Allen Iverson crash-landed on his back in Game 7. The Kings took the Colorado Avalanche to two extra games and it wound up costing Colorado’s Peter Forsberg his spleen.

For the Lakers, fewer games means fewer chances for Robert Horry to injure a body part. In the last three games he has been poked in the eye, scratched on the nose, hurt in the calf and bumped on the knee.

With an 11-0 start to the playoffs, the Lakers have matched the NBA record set by their 1988-89 team. They could learn a lesson from the Lakers’ past as well. In the 1989 playoffs, Coach Pat Riley took the team to Santa Barbara for grueling, two-a-day practices during the long layoff before the NBA finals against the Detroit Pistons. Byron Scott ruptured a hamstring before the series began, Magic Johnson strained his hamstring in Game 1 and the Lakers never had a chance.

Don’t expect a repeat with Chill Phil Jackson running things. The Lakers have today off to have their Memorial Day barbecues, they’ll go hard on Tuesday, then take Wednesday off as well.

The only concern is that the Lakers could lose an offensive rhythm that is flowing so well. It didn’t happen after their six-day break between the first and second rounds and it didn’t happen after their five-day layoff before they played the Spurs. But if the Eastern Conference finals lasts longer than five games, the Lakers won’t play again until June 6.

“You just stay focused,” Kobe Bryant said. “Our coaching staff has done an excellent job of keeping us prepared, keeping us in shape. They’ve been doing that all year long and tonight was no different.”

Well, Game 4 was a little different in that the Laker offense worked at peak efficiency. In the first half the Lakers shot 59% and had assists on 20 of their 26 baskets.

The Lakers are starting to resemble the Chicago Bulls during their championship runs. Those teams took good shots almost every time down the court, with Michael Jordan around to bail them out the few times they didn’t.

If you give any decent player an open look at the basket within his shooting range, he’ll stand a good chance of making it. That’s the reason guys like Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler and even Luc Longley were able to play notable roles in those championship drives.

Derek Fisher’s doing that now, making a ridiculous 75% of his three-point shots in the series. Bryant is playing the Jordan role, drawing the attention of the defense and picking out the open shooters as he pleases. And the Lakers have the added dimension of O’Neal.

“We’re playing together,” said Laker assistant coach Tex Winter, the originator of the triangle offense. “Guys know what their roles are. With the kind of penetration we’re getting with Kobe and with Fisher hitting like he is it makes us tough.

“It’s functioning very nicely right now. Of course, I’m a perfectionist, I still see a lot of room for improvement.”

Ron Harper, a former Bull, said, “I don’t know if it was as good as it was [in Chicago], but I think our team is doing a very fine job of sharing the basketball.”

As a result, every Laker shot was either an inside basket by O’Neal, a driving layup by Bryant or a wide-open jumper.

Right now their idea of a difficult shot is a slightly off alley-oop pass. Even those aren’t a problem. In the first quarter, Bryant used his left hand to collect a Fisher lob that was behind him, then threw it down with both hands.

The Lakers are clicking in so many ways that O’Neal even made like Magic Johnson and pushed the ball up the middle for a three-on-one break with Bryant and Rick Fox filling the roles of James Worthy and Byron Scott on the wings. He dished a no-look pass to Bryant on the right. Bryant shoveled it back to O’Neal for a resounding dunk.

“Rick was open, but I gave it to Kobe because I knew Kobe would give it back to me,” O’Neal said.

Think about what O’Neal is saying, and who could have imagined those words coming from him in January?

There will be a week to 10 days of more speculation, more reflection, more comparisons. And the whole time, the Lakers will be resting. You’d have to say it’s well earned.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at: ja.adande@latimes.com.