Still team to beat Despite lack of homecourt advantage, O'Neal, Lakers still loom very large.(Sports)

0 Comments | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), April, 2003 | by McGraw, Mike

Byline: Mike McGraw Daily Herald Sports Writer Late Wednesday night, one of the final games of the regular season had a profound impact on the 2003 NBA playoffs. Portland would have clinched the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference by beating the Los Angeles Clippers. But the Blazers lost 107-93 at the Staples Center, sending the building's other tenant, the Los Angeles Lakers, into the postseason with the fifth seed.

Had the Lakers finished No. 6 in the West, they would have faced the most difficult road possible to chase their fourth consecutive NBA title. It most likely would have meant facing Dallas, Sacramento and San Antonio, the teams with the league's three best records, in consecutive series without a homecourt advantage in any of those series....