LAKERS LOSE ONLY IF THEY BEAT THEMSELVES.

Byline: JOE STEVENS

Well, it's back to Los Angeles for the Lakers to wrap up the low-on-drama Western Conference finals. Give Minnesota credit for making it to six games, but don't give the Timberwolves much of a chance Monday. The Lakers are undefeated at home in the playoffs, and the Wolves weren't even close during the final five minutes in the first two games at Staples Center.

It certainly isn't premature to pencil the Lakers in the NBA Finals for the fourth time in five years, and the only hope is that the Finals will be more exciting than these boring Western Conference finals.

Please, NBA gods, please have Shaquille O'Neal stub his bad toe or make Kobe Bryant miss a game because of traffic. With their two stars playing, the Lakers should win the Finals in five games. If the toe or traffic mishaps happen, then they should win in six games.

Neither Indiana nor Detroit can compare to the Lakers' juggernaut lineup. O'Neal and Bryant have been back to their dominant selves, and the supporting players have been the key to victories.

Minnesota coach Flip Saunders says the difference in the conference finals was the role players. While the Wolves' role players often were nonexistent, the Lakers had consistent performances from Gary Payton, Karl Malone and Derek Fisher. The only question is how in the world Saunders can consider those three ``role players''?

From an entertainment perspective, Detroit would provide a better series than Indiana. Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace are a wild duo, fun to watch on and off the court.

The only Pacer who can compete with the Wallaces, as far as unpredictable antics, is volatile Ron Artest. He's the chap suspended 12 games last season for a variety of hard fouls and outlaw behavior. In the Eastern Conference finals this week, he was fined for extending his two middle fingers in full view of fans, players and ESPN's cameras.

Shocking to hear, but Artest also has been known to do such things when cameras aren't on him. His machismo could provide a nice little clash with the Lakers' own testosterone boy - Bryant.

With the series tied 2-2, the Eastern Conference finals really are more about Joe Dumars than anything else. He has the distinction of finishing his career as one of the league's most underrated players, while teammate Isiah Thomas was one of the most overrated.

Now the Pistons general manager, Dumars fired coach Rick Carlisle this summer even though he was one year removed from being named the league's Coach of the Year. Dumars hired Larry Brown, acquired Rasheed Wallace and will be looked upon as a genius if Detroit bests Indiana and Carlisle.

No matter what happens, remember the Pistons and Dumars had the No. 2 overall pick in last year's draft. They passed on wunderkind Carmelo Anthony and took 18-year-old Yugoslavian Darko Milicic.

Even if they had Anthony, the Pistons won't beat the Lakers. Detroit often is regarded as the league's best defensive team, but the perception of its top-notch defense is higher than its actual performance. That's a byproduct of Ben Wallace's presence and skewed game. He is one of the league's best defenders, but he has averaged only 6.1 points per game over his eight-year career.

Rasheed Wallace presents the only offensive matchup that could exploit the Lakers. But Karl Malone has shown in the Western Conference finals that he can competently defend Kevin Garnett, so he should be able to play respectable defense against Wallace.

New Jersey was the East representative in the Finals the past two seasons, and it is absolutely farfetched to think either Detroit or Indiana could jump to the Finals and knock off the Hall of Fame Lakers.

Their only hope to stop the Lakers is L.A. traffic.

Joe Stevens, [phone]

joe.stevens(at)presstelegram.com