With Everything on the Line, They Just Go Through Motions

The morning began with one local newspaper demanding in big print that the Pistons “Finish it,” while another polled its sports staff on who would be named NBA Finals MVP.

Radio station WDFN spent the afternoon asking callers for their best and worst moments during the NBA playoffs, because around here it was a foregone conclusion the Pistons had already won the NBA title.

I guess Magic Johnson felt the same way; I’m told he was in Hawaii on Tuesday. I wonder whether that’s the Laker way -- throwing down the gauntlet to Karl Malone, Gary Payton and everyone else in a Laker uniform, and then with everything on the line, taking a hike rather than being there to show his support.

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5:45 p.m. EDT -- Although it appears the series is over, Kobe Bryant shows up to play, but he finds the Laker locker room door locked. The first thought, of course, is that Shaquille O’Neal is inside. But Bryant has arrived an hour earlier than his teammates -- either to prepare for Game 5 or avoid riding the team bus with them.

6:25 -- NBA Commissioner David Stern greets CBS’ Jim Hill and asks Hill who will win Game 5. Hill says, “L.A.,” and then tells me that Stern said that would be fine with him. I wonder whether Stern mentioned that to his referees.

8:49 -- Malone appears in street clothes, his knee too sore to play. Is this how his great NBA career is going to end?

8:58 -- Jack Nicholson arrives, taking a seat about 10 rows behind the Pistons’ bench. He hasn’t shaved and looks scruffy; he blends into the crowd.

9:03 -- Less than a minute before the game, Bryant stands beyond the three-point line pounding the ball into the court with both hands. He’s apparently working on his double dribbling. He’s smiling. Is he thinking this might be his final Laker game? Or, is he plotting a way to send everyone back to L.A.? With one second on the clock, he fires up a long shot. And misses the rim. Oh, well.

9:04 -- Aretha Franklin sings the national anthem. If it’s true what they say, and it’s not over until the fat lady has sung, it’s not looking good for the Lakers.

9:20 -- Lakers lead, 14-7, but Shaq has two fouls six minutes into the game and goes to the bench. The Pistons score the next eight points, so Phil Jackson puts Shaq back in. You or I could coach the Lakers.

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9:47 -- Three minutes into the second quarter and a Bryant slam puts the Lakers ahead 31-30. Someone take a picture of the scoreboard; it might be the last time Bryant ever puts a Laker team ahead. The Pistons score the next nine points to show everyone what it will be like without Bryant in a Laker uniform.

10:16 -- Jack leaves the arena with 20 seconds left in the half and the Lakers trailing by 10. Wonder whether he’s coming back.

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10:36 -- Second half starts with ABC’s Michelle Tafoya telling everyone a Laker official came out of the locker room at halftime and shushed everyone in the hallway. I advocated putting a muzzle on Tafoya weeks ago.

10:44 -- ABC’s Doc Rivers says the Lakers trail by 11 and are still very much in the game. Al Michaels says he’s not so sure. I’m afraid they’re going to call in Tafoya to cast the deciding vote. (Eventually we’ll learn Michaels knows what he’s talking about; that’s bad news for the Celtics, because Rivers is their new coach).

10:50 -- Bryon Russell comes into the game for the Lakers. I guess F.P. Santangelo wasn’t available.

10:55 -- With 3:42 to go in the third quarter, the Pistons take a 17-point lead. Guess Russell wasn’t the answer.

10:57 -- Foul on Devean George, but no such luck, the officials do not eject him from the game.

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11:00 -- “Six Feet Under” is on HBO. The Lakers are right there too.

11:24 -- The Pistons have nudged ahead of the Lakers by 28. A call here and there and it might be 26.

The Pistons win. On his way to what could be his final news conference, Jackson hugs his four kids. Two of his kids are wearing Shaq No. 34 jerseys, one a Luke Walton and another a Laker T-shirt. It’s not too surprising to see there aren’t any Kobe fans in the family. No sign of Jeanie.

Jackson says there’s only a slim chance he’ll be back, while someone else tells me they were told recently by owner Jerry Buss that Jackson’s time has passed.

Bryant repeats, he will become a free agent at the end of the month. “It’s a business decision,” he says. His options appear limited, though, because he’s told me in previous chats he has no desire to drop off the face in cities such as San Antonio.

New York intrigues him. The Clippers moving to Anaheim intrigues him. (Wait until he meets Donald Sterling). He might earn something like $30 million less if he leaves the Lakers to sign elsewhere.

I tell him in the end, for almost every athlete, it comes down to the money. “Not with me,” he says, although he’s already given thought to making up for lost wages with marketing opportunities -- hence his interest in New York, or a Clippers’ move to Orange County.

He says, believe him when he says right now he doesn’t know where he’s going to play next season and wants to see what the Lakers are going to do.

Buss has made it clear signing Bryant is his No. 1 priority; maybe he lets him pick the new coach. Magic once made it clear who shouldn’t coach (Paul Westhead), and that seemed to work out.

“I’m not even thinking about what I’m going to do right now,” Bryant said, which makes him a little different from most Laker fans today, especially if you consider the alternative -- going into next season with Shaq & George as the Lakers’ Big Two.

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T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.