WHERE DID THE MAGIC GO? LAKERS' TORRID SEASON THREATENS TO GO UP IN PLAYOFF SMOKE.

Byline: Steve Dilbeck

EL SEGUNDO 

For a team of great expectations, this is not the way to a world title.

This is not how the Lakers, or any of Phil Jackson's six NBA champion Bulls teams, went about it. All those teams swept first-round opponents.

They didn't let some eighth-seeded team push them to the brink of elimination in the first round, get them all sweaty and sheepish.

And yet, a loss Friday night at Staples Center to the Sacramento Kings in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series will end the Lakers' season.

``The most consistent thing about life is, nothing is the same,'' Jackson said. ``Everything changes.

``Sure I'd like to see us sweep 15-0. But reality is, whatever it takes. If it takes us 25 games, you play 'em out. You sort it out at the end.

``The fun of it is, the growth of this team. It's what we've been looking at all year. We grew a lot in the season. This is another opportunity to grow as a basketball team. And if you're going to be championship quality players and a team, then we're going to be able to do it and survive it,'' Jackson said.

The Lakers knew from the outset, that regardless of how successful they were in the regular season, they would ultimately be judged by what they did in the playoffs.

This is where recent seasons came to dismal endings. This is why Jackson is supposed to be here, earning his $6 million per year. To make a difference in the playoffs.

If the Lakers lose to the Kings, they'll be the biggest flop in Los Angeles since Magic Johnson's talk show.

The Lakers looked like the bully on the block before the playoffs began. Now their armor is full of chinks. Their humanity is pouring through. They can still win a title, but opponents know something else now, too.

It doesn't matter what happens Friday night. Doesn't matter if the Lakers beat the Kings in their unexpected Game 5 showdown.

For all their chest pumping, all their highlight-reel slams and midair drives, all their 67 regular-season victories, the Lakers will not be viewed in the playoffs quite the same way again.

Maybe they beat the Kings - a big maybe right now. Maybe they complete the embarrassment, lose, and head into an off-season of muddled explanations.

Think their first-round struggling against the Western Conference's No. 8 team is going to get the Phoenix Suns all nervous?

The fear factor is gone. The Lakers spent the entire regular season pounding everyone in sight, earning league respect, garnering rave reviews and being hailed as the title favorite.

And then two games in Sacramento, and it's all wiped out.

They should have won Game 3, but lacked the playoff experience to close out a team ready to be taken. They just got whacked in Game 4, outplayed almost the entire game in a pulsating arena. In a game Jackson hoped the Lakers would prove their mettle.

Now they have a tough test in Friday's decisive Game 5, trying to squash a suddenly confident team now giddy with success. Think the Kings don't believe they can win?

The Lakers looked like a nervous, unsure, confused team Tuesday night in Sacramento. Lakers guard Ron Harper, who won three titles with the Bulls, thinks he recognized the symptoms.

``They were kind of scared probably,'' Harper said. ``I mean, this is a time you get scared. If you haven't been there before, you tend to get scared. But we're back home now.''

That was almost the Lakers' mantra Wednesday, as they licked their wounds back home at their training facility. It was interesting psychological warfare played on themselves. As if trying to convince themselves the Arco Arena was as much to blame for their woes as anything, that everything would be wonderful again if they just played their game back at home.

``There's a certain quiet air about this team right now that we recognize the position we're in, but recognize we are at home,'' said forward Rick Fox.

``We're not as concerned about our psyche as maybe everyone else is. We're confident in what we do. You have to remember that (Sacramento) is a team that has played us well all year. Nothing has gone in an unusual fashion. They played well on their home floor, as we knew they would. We just didn't play as well as we could have to beat them.''