Webber Looks to Fill Void, O’Neal Looks to Avoid Fouls

Sacramento’s Chris Webber still shoots too many jump shots and commits ill-advised fouls at times, but the King forward has a chance to answer some of his critics tonight.

After Webber re-signed with the Kings last summer, some detractors did not believe him when he said that he returned to Sacramento to win a championship and not because of the money.

Now, Webber is one major step away from backing his words up with the Kings, who lead the best-of-seven matchup in the Western Conference finals, 3-2, heading into tonight’s Game 6 at Staples Center.

But before Webber and his teammates celebrate, they will have to deal with a determined Laker team, which gained confidence with its play in a one-point Game 5 loss at Arco Arena on Tuesday.

A breakdown of tonight’s Game 6:

LAKERS’ MOVE--Shaquille O’Neal has to find a way to stay out of foul trouble because when he’s on the court and not shying away from contact, the Lakers are a difficult team to defeat.

By flopping every time O’Neal touches them, the Kings have done an awesome job of drawing the Laker center into fouls, but he definitely helped them out Tuesday by picking up a couple of questionable fouls away from the basket.

O’Neal needs his teammates to play better on-the-ball defense and he has to have more of a presence when the Kings use a pick-and-roll with Mike Bibby. Samaki Walker, Rick Fox and Derek Fisher should also set more off-the-ball screens for O’Neal on the offensive end.

Fisher also has to allow the game to come to him and not force his play at bad times. He’s been through too many wars not to step up when the Lakers need him most, especially on the defensive end. Fisher should never go underneath a screen against the Kings.

The Lakers also have to find a way to turn around the disparity of calls going against them in the series. During the regular season, the Kings and Lakers shot nearly the same number of free throws. But after five games in the series, the Kings have attempted 37 more shots from the line.

KINGS’ MOVE--Coach Rick Adelman has to make sure that his players keep doing what they do best, and that’s shoot and pass the ball with efficiency.

Bibby has been a warrior for the Kings, and Kobe Bryant is the only Laker who has had success against him. If Laker Coach Phil Jackson assigns Bryant to Bibby more, the Kings have to make sure that he remains involved in the team’s offense.

Peja Stojakovic, who returned in Game 5 after sitting out nearly two weeks because of an ankle injury, should be more effective after playing a little bit Tuesday. With Stojakovic and Hedo Turkoglu, the Kings can do something they haven’t done yet this series, and that’s go big at small forward and shooting guard.

The Kings can only help themselves if they start making their free throws. They miss way too many from the line for such a good shooting team.

KEY POINT--In last season’s championship run, the Lakers’ role players were a dominating force with their timely outside shooting. But Ron Harper is gone and Fisher, Fox, Robert Horry and the Lakers’ bench players have been inconsistent.

If the Lakers are going to go down, Jackson should at least give reserves Mitch Richmond, Brian Shaw and Slava Medvedenko more run. Jackson teased Richmond and Medvedenko with a few minutes in Game 5 and gave Shaw playing time early in the series, but he has pretty much stuck with an eight-man rotation lately.

Considering how poorly the Lakers are shooting three-pointers, Jackson’s toughest decision will be how long he waits. He’s known as a coach with a quick hook when things get tight and a player is not producing. But more times than not, the struggling players stepped up in the crunch.