Shaq's debut with Suns becomes Lakers showcase

Shaquille O'Neal had 15 points and nine rebounds, but Pau Gasol and the Lakers proved their worth. Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

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PHOENIX -- There is always built-in tension whenever Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant step onto the same floor. It's like being at a party and seeing a couple of divorcees in the same room with their new spouses. You can't help but dart your eyes back and forth at both of them as if you were watching a tennis match.

Bryant simply shakes his head and rolls his eyes at such analogies. It's the one subject he hates more than any other despite his insistence that there is no animosity between he and O'Neal more than three years after the two went their separate ways.

"I do not care about that for the last time, geez," Bryant said when asked about the prospect of playing against O'Neal in his Suns debut. "It makes me sick. How many times have we played in All-Star games and [against his teams]? You know? People want to continue to beat a dead horse. Yeah, it'll be fun ... same old generic stuff."

Bryant was partly right. While there may no longer be a feud between Bryant and O'Neal -- they embraced each other at center court before Wednesday's game and wished each other luck -- the Lakers' game against the Suns was anything but "same old generic stuff." If anything, it was a glimpse at the newest championship contender in the ever-evolving Western Conference.

After being eliminated by Phoenix in the first round of the playoffs the past two seasons, the Lakers see the Suns as a measuring stick. They understand that the road to the Pacific Division title and past the first round of the playoffs goes through Phoenix. They acquired Pau Gasol, in part, to get past the Suns, and four days later the Suns traded for O'Neal to keep pace.

The recent blockbuster trades created an unusually electric February playoff-type atmosphere at the US Airways Center. Not only was it O'Neal's debut as a Sun and the last game between the Lakers and Suns this season, but first place and the series tiebreaker were up for grabs. Fans showed up in Suns No. 32 jerseys and "The Suns Will Rise" T-shirts, in honor of the phrase O'Neal coined during his introductory press conference.

It was the Lakers, however, who used the national stage as their debut of sorts. While they have won six consecutive games, Wednesday night's 130-124 win showed the Lakers are not only legitimate title contenders, but when healthy -- Andrew Bynum, Trevor Ariza and Chris Mihm are expected back by season's end -- they could very well be the favorites to win their first championship since they shipped a certain 7-foot-1 center out of town.

The Lakers' current squad looks and plays like the Suns once did; they're able to turn a close game into a double-digit advantage within minutes, with a high-energy unit that resembles an attacking soccer team at times, coming at you in waves. The only difference is this team has the size and the closer (Bryant) that the Suns never had.

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