AND NOW, HERE COME THE SUNS THOUGH SWEPT DURING SEASON, PHOENIX A MYSTERY TO LAKERS.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

And now, one big exhale.

Oxygen-starved a few days ago, replenished by a leave-no-doubts dismantling of the Sacramento Kings on Friday, the Lakers breathed easy once more. The moment of relaxation, of course, passed quickly - the Phoenix Suns arrive at Staples Center this afternoon to open the conference semifinals.

But rest assured - and Shaquille O'Neal's and Co. was assured of no rest at all - the worst is behind the Lakers.

The Suns boast the league's most impressive backcourt tandem, but they pose none of the matchup nightmares the Kings did.

There isn't a Webber or a Divac or a Pollard to blanket O'Neal. There isn't an endless string of 3-point shooters coming off the bench. And there certainly won't be cow bells clanging at America West Arena.

This is an opponent the Lakers swept 4-0 in the regular season, a team they have beaten seven of the last eight meetings.

A time to breathe easy?

``Things completely change in the playoffs,'' Kobe Bryant warned. ``If you remember, last year we had our way with San Antonio in the regular season, and in the playoffs it was a different story.''

Actually, a Spurs sweep. But the Suns are a different, much less scary challenge.

They are also a bit of a mystery, and that's where the Lakers' worries begin.

Only once this season did the Lakers see the vaunted Jason Kidd-Penny Hardaway ``Backcourt 2000.'' Injuries to Kidd and Hardaway, as well as starters Tom Gugliotta and Shawn Marion, changed the complexion of the Suns from one meeting to the next.

So, what to expect?

``It's tough to say,'' Bryant said, ``because we haven't faced them with their two big guards in their lineup. So it's going to be interesting to see what happens.''

All the Lakers know for certain is that the soft-in-the-middle Suns, with the likes of Luc Longley and Oliver Miller playing center, are capable of withstanding a great post player. They knocked off David Robinson and the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in the first round.

Other than that, the Lakers will learn as they go.

``It's just going to be a series right now where we're going to feel each other out in this first game,'' coach Phil Jackson said. ``It's kind of like the first five rounds or three rounds of a boxing match. . . . And it's going to be feeling each other in the first game of this series that is going to be the determinator as to how we play.

``But Phoenix has had an opportunity to scout us twice in the last couple games, look at us and know who they're playing and kind of prepare for it. And they've had some real good games against us - although we won all the games, they've done well, and they have the confidence and I think the belief they can come out and play us.''

That 4-0 record against the Suns is also a bit deceiving.

Among the four victories, only one was a rout - 103-87 on Dec. 29 at Staples Center. And the fourth win was an 84-83 squeaker April 4 at America West. Bryant was at home serving a suspension in that game, but then, Kidd was also injured.

The season sweep ``doesn't mean anything,'' Ron Harper said. ``That's the past. We are both at 0-0 now. The main thing we have to understand is we have to go out and play our game and (use) Shaq, use our size and play.''

It's also hard to underestimate a team when you've just been pushed to five games by an eighth seed.

``We should have learned that it's going be tough,'' Harper said. ``The first round, it was hard, so I don't expect (a letdown).''

On sheer star power alone, this will be an intriguing series. Bryant, Kidd and Hardaway are three of the best young guards in the league, each with All-Star resumes and in Bryant and Kidd's case, All-Defensive team credentials.

Today will be the first time that Bryant faces both Kidd and Hardaway simultaneously, and he's likely to get a major dose of both.

``It's just a challenge in general,'' Bryant said. ``I'm mostly looking forward to guarding Jason, because he's such an all-around great player, it's not all about scoring. It's about getting other people involved, about rebounding and stealing the ball. I'm really looking forward to that matchup.''

Preparation was, of course, short. The Lakers' prolonged series against Sacramento robbed them of any down time to study and recuperate.

``We'll see how tough it is,'' Jackson said, ``but that's one of the concerns, is the amount of energy that we have. . . . We've got to turn around and play really a tough team in a quick turnaround situation, but we do have some momentum, fortunately for us, and we feel good about the game. We're motivated.''

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

--Where: Staples Center

--When: Today, at 2:30 p.m.

--TV: Channel 4

LAKERS vs. PHOENIX

--Centers: Now that Shaquille O'Neal is back to his old, dominating self, don't expect another two-game disappearance like he had against the Sacramento Kings. Luc Longley won't even provide as much resistance as Vlade Divac. O'Neal averaged 33.3 points and 14.5 rebounds against Phoenix this season, while Longley averaged 4.3 fouls per game, forcing the Suns to frequently go with smaller lineups. Longley does have a mid-range jumper that could draw O'Neal away from the paint, but unless Phoenix can master that illegal-defense strategy used by Sacramento, this will be just another bad mismatch.

--Edge: Lakers.

--Forwards: It will be another test for the Lakers' tag-team tandem of Robert Horry and A.C. Green as they try to contain Clifford Robinson, a onetime All-Star with an inside-outside game. Robinson averaged 20 points against the Lakers this season, and he was just named to the All-Defensive second team. The Suns start a rookie at small forward, but Shawn Marion is quick, athletic and long - the type that can frustrate Glen Rice. Rice had his troubles against Phoenix this season, averaging 12.5 points and 39- percent shooting.

--Edge: Draw.

--Guards: It's tough to say how this will play out, because the two starting backcourts have yet to face each other at full strength. The Suns' dynamic duo of Penny Hardaway and Jason Kidd was together for only one of the four games against the Lakers, and that was when Kobe Bryant was injured. In the one game Hardaway and Bryant shared the floor, both players scored more than 20 points. Kidd averaged 17 points against the Lakers this season. The series could come down to the defense played by Bryant and Ron Harper.

--Edge: Suns.

--Bench: The Suns' depth was severely depleted by the loss of forward Tom Gugliotta and guard Rex Chapman, but they make up for lack of quantity with quality. Kevin Johnson came out of retirement and gives Phoenix a third All-Star-caliber playmaker. In the frontcourt, they have Sixth Man of the Year Rodney Rogers, who can bang inside and shoot from the arc. The Lakers' reserves were shaky against Sacramento but ultimately prevailed when it mattered. Against another open-court team, the Lakers will need hustling assistance from Horry, Derek Fisher and Rick Fox.

--Edge: Suns.

--Coach: Phil Jackson pushed every right button in the Lakers' Game 5 blowout of the Kings - from giving an early extended run to Fisher (who responded with eight quick points), to forcing officials to call illegal defense three times in the first half, thus opening the floor for O'Neal. He's already earned his $6 million. Scott Skiles, the youngest coach in the league (36), took over the Suns in mid-December after the resignation of Danny Ainge and guided them to a 53-29 record despite major injuries to Gugliotta, Hardaway, Kidd and Marion at various times during the season.

--Edge: Lakers.

--Overall: No one figured the Lakers to be pushed to an elimination game in the first round, but you have to believe Jackson when he says this was a beneficial, toughening-up exercise, necessary for a championship run. Although the Suns are similar to the Kings in their athleticism and up-tempo offense, they lack depth, and the muscle to slow down O'Neal, and have provided little resistance to the Lakers, who swept them 4-0 in the regular season. Phoenix knocked off defending champion San Antonio in the first round, but the aging Spurs were crippled without young star Tim Duncan. If the Lakers learned anything at all in the first round, they should roll.

--Prediction: Lakers, 4-0.

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes, chart

Photo: (color) Kobe Bryant hopes to keep smiling into the second round.

Hector Amezcua/Associated Press

Box: (1) Conference semifinals (see text)

(2) Lakers vs. Phoenix (see text)

Chart: Lakers playoff statistics