ORLANDO, FLA. — Family members and close friends of the Lakers will take a charter flight to Orlando this morning, as is the custom whenever there's a road game in which the franchise can win a championship.
Indeed, one more victory, and the Lakers begin their off-season with a lot more smiles than they did a year ago.
They are on the verge of their 15th championship, holding a 3-1 lead over Orlando with a chance to end the NBA Finals tonight at Amway Arena.
One by one, the Lakers promised they realized the importance of being this close to a title and not getting lost in visions of championship celebrations culminating with a victory parade in downtown Los Angeles.
"It's true," forward Trevor Ariza said. "[Game 4] was a big win for us, but it's not over yet. We've still got one more win to go. If we want to do that, we can't get big-headed and think that the series is over or that the other team is just going to lay down."
There have been some Game 5 slip-ups on the road after the Lakers took 3-1 series leads.
They lost to Boston in Game 5 in 1987, 123-108, which happened to be the first game after Magic Johnson's "junior sky hook" won Game 4. The Lakers lost to Indiana by 33 points in Game 5 of the 2000 Finals after taking a 3-1 series lead on Indiana.
In both cases, the Lakers won the championship in six games.
"The players have to get away from the euphoria, not listen to what everybody is telling them," said assistant coach Kurt Rambis, a player on that 1987 Lakers team. "We have to be more focused and determined than the way Orlando's going to play Sunday night. In a lot of ways, Orlando's going to be relaxed. The pressure is off of them."
The Lakers won Game 4 thanks mainly to a pair of Derek Fisher three-point baskets that stunned the Orlando crowd at the end of regulation and again in overtime.
Fisher said it seemed like a "lifetime" since the Lakers last won the championship, in 2002. They were favorites in 2004 but were crushed by Detroit and flamed out in similar fashion last year with a 39-point loss in Game 6 against Boston.
"It feels new again," Fisher said. "That's why I'm laying everything that I possibly have out there to try to help this team."
The Lakers also got a hint of good news from Kobe Bryant, who has divulged little about his looming free-agency possibilities, but provided one word of guidance when asked if he could envision playing for any team besides the Lakers next year.
