Clash of contrasts on tap

Here we go again, the Lakers and Spurs in a playoff series to determine the champion of the NBA.

One or the other has claimed the last five NBA championships.

The timing of the series could be better, judging by the calendar. The NBA prefers a buildup to June, if only to satisfy its ratings-obsessed network partner. The accommodation to ABC is to allow the Lakers-Spurs series to start Sunday afternoon instead of the previously scheduled Monday night.

The Lakers barely avoided a serious challenge from the Rockets after narrowly escaping Game4 in overtime. Their tendency to coast in long stretches is the wart that threatens to compromise their appearance against the Spurs.

Shaquille O’Neal is going to have to emulate his favorite action hero Superman against Tim Duncan, as opposed to his Clark Kent-like stint against Yao Ming and the Rockets.

If O’Neal is not sufficiently charged, the novelty of the Lakers will be finished, starting with possibly the Zen master.

The upside-down world of Kobe Bryant is an additional element of the series that could go a lot of different ways.

Bryant was up to his old one-on-five tricks in much of the series with the Rockets, out of sorts until he delivered a 31-point, 10-assist gem in Game5. He has alienated many of his teammates and many of the residents of Colorado this season. The season cannot end soon enough for him, and sometimes his play reflects it.

His day before Game5 with the Rockets was spent in a courtroom in Eagle, Colo., from where he beat it back to Los Angeles on a private jet with 26 minutes to spare before tipoff. His night ended in self-admitted fatigue and controversy anew, this one regarding what is said to be the strained relationship between Bryant and the Zen master.

No, no, the Zen master said. A misunderstanding. That is all.

As much as Bryant professes he wants to remain with the Lakers — his latest proclamation on the subject of free agency — he is probably out the door if the season does not end with a group hug around the championship trophy.

If the Lakers fall to the Spurs, many of the Lakers reflexively will cast the blame to Bryant, at least privately. Not that O’Neal ever has been shy about pointing out Bryant’s flaws in public.

That is where the Lakers are now. They are a drama-filled mess, but with a mess of talent, the antithesis of the Spurs.

The Spurs reflect the cool, calculating efficiency of Duncan, who actually has tried to be more expressive in recent seasons.

Duncan is the no-fuss artist who just plays the game. No demonstrative actions are usually necessary with him. He plays with a quiet reserve that stands out in the dance-happy video age. In a different era, his modest way would have been perceived as a strength, as it was for Joe DiMaggio. Now it is almost a cause to be critical, a sign of a leadership vacuum.

Duncan has become — quietly, of course — the best there is in the NBA, leading a team that is composed of mostly competent role players.

The Spurs come into the series with a 15-game winning streak following a playoff tuneup with the Grizzlies. The Spurs lack both the weapons and nonsense of the Lakers. The nonsense is the difference, the Spurs the stronger team going into the series, with the homecourt advantage.

The Spurs have found their vigor at the appropriate moment after being forced to adjust to a remade roster following the retirement of David Robinson. Point guard Tony Parker is another season along in his development, not sure if it eventually ends in an All-Star berth or two for him. Emanuel Ginobili has emerged as a compelling threat, an able scorer with a convincing manner around the basket.

An old hand with the capacity to hit a knee-buckling shot is, as always, in the mix, just on the opposite side.

Robert Horry, once so useful to the Lakers, now provides the same use to the Spurs.

That could make for compelling theater, too, if Horry ends up in a position to decide the outcome of one of the games.