Lakers won't credit the Pistons

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Los Angeles Lakers handed out compliments to the Detroit Pistons on Friday about as well as they've gotten the ball to Shaquille O'Neal -- grudgingly, or not at all.

"It's all about us," O'Neal said. "They're not doing anything that's putting us out of character. We're putting our own selves out of character."

The Lakers trail Detroit 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, and they're lucky not to be down 3-0 in an NBA Finals that has defied expectations. Struggling to score against the league's best defensive team, adept only at shrugging off their losses, the Lakers almost appear to be in denial.

O'Neal is not getting his hands on the ball nearly enough, the blame for which is twofold: His teammates haven't fed him on a regular basis, and he hasn't been hitting the offensive boards hard enough to take matters into his own hands.

"We're not worried about getting him more touches," said Bryant, putting himself directly at philosophical odds with his fellow superstar.

O'Neal attempted only 14 shots in Game 3, while Devean George, Derek Fisher and Kareem Rush each took at least eight. Bryant attempted 13 shots after taking 27 in each of the first two games. Also, O'Neal did not go to the free-throw line until the fourth quarter -- as clear a sign as any that all is not right in Lakerland.

"It gets very frustrating sometimes," O'Neal said. "I've always said that if a team is going to play me single coverage, we've got to make them pay. And we haven't made this team pay yet."

Los Angeles attempted 27 3-pointers in Thursday night's 88-68 loss, making only six, while being held to the lowest postseason point total in a franchise history, encompassing 627 games.

O'Neal isn't the only one baffled by the Lakers' reluctance to turn to a player with a career finals average of nearly 34 points -- second in NBA history behind Rick Barry's 36.3.

"They're just not throwing him the ball," said Pistons center Elden Campbell, who has shared the defensive assignment on O'Neal with Ben Wallace. "We're denying him, but not that much."

O'Neal's point totals have declined from 34 to 29 to 14, eroding as rapidly as the Lakers' chances to turn the momentum back in their favor. A loss Sunday night would leave them trailing 3-1, a deficit no NBA team has ever overcome in the finals.

"I think we're a little unhappy as a basketball team," coach Phil Jackson said. "I talked about the Pistons playing their type of game, and we've allowed this to happen for three games consistently without enforcing our will upon the games.

"We have to start exerting our will, and to do that requires a certain sense of determination."

It also requires clear heads, and the Lakers have been dealing with more than their usual share of distractions.

Aside from knee injuries to Karl Malone and Fisher and the ever-present uneasiness between their oft-feuding superstars, the Lakers have had to cope with the unrestrained zeal of Pistons fans and the lengths to which they've gone to wreak havoc.

The Lakers had to call the police in the middle of the night to put a stop to Pistons fans blaring their car horns while driving in circles around the team hotel.

Then there's the more mundane distraction of being unable to defend Chauncey Billups on pick-and-roll plays. The Pistons' point guard has repeatedly stepped back and hit 3-pointers when his defender stays beneath the picker, or has used his quickness to dart toward the basket when his defender has gone above the screen.

Billups is averaging 22.7 points to go along with backcourt mate Richard Hamilton's 23.0.

The Pistons also have the edge in free throw attempts, taking 91 to the Lakers' 56 -- a discrepancy that Jackson was eager to complain about Friday.

"Last night, in all four quarters, we were in foul jeopardy within the first three minutes," Jackson said. "As a consequence, our defense has to be soft."

Detroit did not completely capitalize on the 30-13 free throw disparity, missing six of 18 attempts in the first half before breaking the game open in the third quarter.

"I'm going to have to make a stand with the officials," Jackson said. "We have to be able to play defense the way they're playing defense -- in the bodies, up against arms, contesting shots and not getting caught for the foul."

The two-day break between games will give both teams some rest, and the Lakers will have an opportunity to regroup mentally.

As always, they aren't panicking.

"We'll make our adjustments, simple as that," Bryant said. "We'll be fine."

We'll see.