`HE WILL BEAT YOU' WITH ATTENTION FOCUSED ON BIG MEN, BRYANT JUST MIGHT STEAL THIS SHOW.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

EL SEGUNDO - It's headliner material, this Shaquille O'Neal vs. the Twin Towers. MVP-dissed O'Neal taking on San Antonio's Tim Duncan and David Robinson.

And it should prove everything expected, except perhaps decisive. Because when this coming series of Western powers is over, the most dominant player might well prove to be the other superstar.

Those three 7-footers cast long shadows, but Kobe Bryant has shown repeatedly he's not the kind of guy whose play will simply fade into the background. Particularly not now, not when so much is at stake, and at least momentarily, when the focus is elsewhere.

Truth is, the frontcourts might neutralize each other, but the Spurs have no one to compare to the explosive Bryant. They have no one who can guard him, whether Derek Anderson's shoulder is just spiffy or in the middle of three-hour surgery.

If the Spurs focus on O'Neal, it will come at a price.

``They don't want that,'' said Lakers forward Rick Fox. ``They don't want that. Kobe will beat you. He beat Sacramento. I'm telling you, he will beat you.

``If they give that much attention to Shaq, Shaq is very unselfish. He has no problem watching Kobe going for 50 on you, because he's still going to get 20 and 15. And we win when Shaq gets 20 and 15 and Kobe goes off. It's that old debate if we need Shaq to score to win. We won earlier in the year when Kobe was doing all the scoring, so we can do it both ways.''

The Lakers went 24-9 in the regular season when Bryant led them in scoring, 29-16 when O'Neal did.

Bryant is the Lakers' giant edge, their deal-breaker. This is the first series the Lakers have played in two years in which they haven't had the homecourt advantage. And Bryant happens to excel on the road (see: Sacramento).

``On the road, you're expected to lose and I think your focus automatically picks up,'' Bryant said.

Anyway, his does. Bryant is a phenomenon, an exciting young player not only oblivious to pressure, but who excels in it, who feeds on it. He's L.A.'s Fernando Valenzuela on hardwood.

So now comes the big showdown. Now comes a miffed Shaq again going home, taking on a player who finished ahead of him in the MVP voting (Duncan) and another who allegedly wasn't friendly when giving him an autograph he was a teen-ager (Robinson).

A natural storyline and an absolute setup for Bryant.

``There's so much talk about the Twin Towers and Shaq inside, a lot of the focus shifts away from him,'' said Lakers guard Derek Fisher. ``Kobe can be a very boisterous assassin, or a quiet one.

``Against San Antonio, because so much focus goes on the big guys in the middle on both teams, he just takes advantage they aren't really prepared for his energy and the way he basically attacks, regardless of who he has in the middle.''

The leading scorer in the teams' regular-season series was not any of the big men, but Bryant. He averaged 37.7 points - more than 10 points higher than O'Neal, who was second at 26.0 points (Duncan averaged 24.3 points; Robinson 14.0).

And that's when San Antonio had Anderson, who is apparently out for at least the beginning of the series with a seperated shoulder. Anderson will be greatly missed, but he's no Doug Christie defensively. Perhaps you noticed what Bryant did to Christie in the Sacramento series.

Without Anderson, the Spurs will have to start 6-4 Antonio Daniels on the 6-7 Bryant. Maybe bring forward Sean Elliott off the bench. And best of luck to all. Wonder how this change will impact his game?

``It doesn't,'' Bryant said. ``I pretty much just do what I do.''

There's no pretense there. Bryant attacks. He comes at you full throttle, regardless who's on him or who awaits inside. He won't stop slashing to the basket because Duncan and Robinson, who will be a little occupied with O'Neal, are up front.

``He's fearless, which against big guys you have to be,'' Fisher said. ``If they block 20 shots in the game, they block 20. But there are more opportunities for foul calls, for 3-point plays. If they try to block the shot, there's somebody else to get the offensive rebound because they had to help.

``I've always felt you continue to play your same game, and Kobe does that. He doesn't shy away from the fact they have two big guys in the middle.''

Right now Bryant is just saying the right things. He's talking team, talking about all the other players. He's saying nothing about this series being ripe for his talents to exploit.

``If that happens, it happens,'' he said. ``It's just going to be in the natural flow of things. If anything, our teammates are going to be the ones that carry us - Shaquille and myself. As well as Tim and David's teammates. I think this is more of a team series.''

Sure, many players will have their moments. Yet, when it's over, when this sexy matchup of giants in the middle is complete, look for the main story line to be the 22-year-old guard who is drawn to a challenge like a flower to the sun.

``He's a competitive player,'' said Lakers forward Horace Grant. ``When the light is on, he wants the light to shine on him. We have no problem with that. He's just one of those types of guys who love to go out there and leave it on the floor.''

And when it's over, leave his mark on this series.

Lakers vs. San Antonio

Game 1

Saturday

--TV: Ch. 4, 3:30 p.m.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who scored 48 points Sunday at Sacramento, could be a big factor in the semifinal series with San Antonio.

(2) Kobe Bryant's strong play at Sacramento helped Lakers sweep the Kings in four games.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer