Closing Time

A Laker team that has been called so many disparaging things, including “schizophrenic” by its own coach, now should strive to hear a few more bad adjectives. Words such as cold-blooded, heartless and greedy.

At this point, that would be a compliment.

In the twisted world of Lakerland, the Lakers have carried the label of underachievers with them right to the verge of the NBA Finals, and the best way to improve their image would be to show some ruthlessness and take out the Minnesota Timberwolves today.

A team with aspirations of greatness wins this game.

Yet here we are, almost eight months since the charter plane landed in Hawaii for training camp and we still don’t know for sure what we can expect from the Lakers. Unless you count the unexpected.

Do the Lakers have it in them to be at their best when the circumstances don’t require it? Wouldn’t it be just like them to lose in Minnesota, to delay their trip to the Finals until Monday’s Game 6 at Staples Center?

After the Lakers won Game 4 on Thursday night to take a 3-1 lead in the series, Coach Phil Jackson observed, “We have now an opportunity to play three to win one.”

It was an oddly complacent and even gentle comment from a man who has characterized teams as being on the verge of a “death knell” (these Lakers against the San Antonio Spurs) or at “death’s door” (the Portland Trail Blazers in 2000). His first thought should have been, “We now have an opportunity to end this thing Saturday.”

It makes you wonder if these Lakers are just as forgiving.

Jackson clarified his comments on Friday, sounding sure that his players would not let up with their cushy lead and slip into a comfort zone.

“They understand the immediacy of the playoffs,” he said. “Too much physical play. It’s too risky to push anything farther than it has to go. We can’t rely on the fact that we have home court. It’s a very difficult situation that Minnesota’s in. We’ve got to squeeze them in a box and hope our play keeps them on their heels and thinking about going home.”

This isn’t about the Timberwolves anymore. We know their pride will produce a strong effort. Even during their run of seven consecutive first-round exits before this year, they managed to prevail in two early elimination games at the Target Center. They will take energy from the crowd, enjoy more benefits from the officials.

But if the Lakers are at their best, the Timberwolves aren’t equipped to beat them. If the Lakers have pride themselves, they’ll continue their impressive close-out run.

The Lakers have won the past 12 chances they had to put a playoff series to bed, dating to Game 6 of the 2000 NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers.

To Bryant, if there were a common theme to those close-outs, “It’s always been our execution.”

In other words, the Lakers would overcome the opponents’ last surge by sticking to their principles and running the offense efficiently. This year’s team found playoff success by getting away from the offense and playing to the strengths of its personnel with pick-and-rolls and isolations.

Also, its three most recent close-outs have been at home. It has been two years since the Lakers closed out a playoff series on the road.

They’re playing for a place in their fans’ hearts more than a spot in history. This isn’t the bowl championship series, where voters need to be swayed in order to win a title. Five more victories and the Lakers will be champions no matter what anyone thinks of them. Karl Malone and Gary Payton would have that missing line filled in on their Hall of Fame applications. Jackson would have his 10th coaching championship to move him ahead of Red Auerbach. Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant would have more rings than Larry Bird.

But how would they be remembered?

The Lakers were in a tough place Friday, being asked to reflect on what’s passed and what’s next before they’ve finished their task at hand.

“We’re still in a position where we have to prove a lot before we can settle back and enjoy what’s happened,” Jackson said.

And everyone else is in a position of waiting for them to prove a lot before we can truly rate their performance.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Adande, go to latimes.com/adande.