The Associated Press

For the Los Angeles Lakers to reach the NBA Finals and go for a fourth straight title, they might need to do something they didn't have to do in 2000, 2001 and 2002 - begin each Western Conference series on the road.

FIRST ROUND

EASTERN CONFERENCE • Boston vs. Indiana • Milwaukee vs. New Jersey • New Orleans vs Philadelphia • Orlando vs. Detroit   WESTERN CONFERENCE • Phoenix vs. San Antonio • L.A. Lakers vs. Minnesota • Portland vs. Dallas • Utah vs. Sacramento

Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson and their supporting cast begin their quest for championship No. 4 Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis, the city the Lakers called home until 1960.

Actually, it's a quest for title No. 10 for Jackson, who is seeking to become the only coach besides Red Auerbach to lead his teams to that many championships.

"Minnesota is our first test," O'Neal said. "Mr. (Kevin) Garnett has something to prove, and we have something to prove. It should be a good series."

Despite what they've shown over the past three seasons, the Lakers still must prove themselves worthy of the dynasty title they so warmly self-embraced last June.

As for Garnett, he's still seeking to prove the theory that a team with the league's most expensive young player can make it to the second round of the postseason. K.G. is 0-6 for his career in the first round.

"You've got to be able to put not only yourself, but your team in position to shut your critics up," Garnett said.

Recent postseason history is always a big part of looking ahead to the playoffs.

There was plenty of uncertainty early Wednesday evening, when no one except Sacramento and Utah knew who their first-round opponents would be. But the other 14 teams now know exactly what lies ahead of them.

There will be no more back-to-backs, no more long road trips, no more crossing the Mississippi River in either direction until the best of the West and the best of the East are all that are left standing.

And until the Lakers lose, if they lose, the focus will be on them.

It will even be that way for the Western Conference teams that aren't playing Los Angeles - many of which have endured their share of mental distress at the hands of the Lakers over the past few seasons.

Take the Sacramento Kings.

The Lakers' biggest rivals took the eventual NBA champions to overtime in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals a year ago. The Kings still feel as though they were cheated in Game 6, when the Lakers went to the foul line 27 times in the fourth quarter alone.

If the Kings can get past the Utah Jazz in the first round and the Dallas Mavericks or the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round, it's possible they'll earn their chance for redemption against the Lakers.

"The conference is better one through eight, so you can't just sit around thinking about the Lakers," Chris Webber said.

The playoffs begin Saturday at 12:30 p.m. when Milwaukee plays at New Jersey, to be followed that day by Boston at Indiana, Phoenix at San Antonio, Portland at Dallas, and Utah at Sacramento.

Sunday's games, aside from Los Angeles-Minnesota, are Orlando at Detroit, and New Orleans at Philadelphia.

This is the first year the NBA will play a best-of-7 format in the first round, replacing the best-of-5 format that had been used since 1984.

The additional two games were supposed to have eliminated some of the down time that existed the past two seasons, when many teams would have three or four days off between games.

There will be no more than a two-day break for any of the teams in the East. In the West, there will be a four-day break between Games 2 and 3 in the Jazz-Kings series and three-day breaks in the Portland-Dallas series and the San Antonio-Phoenix series.

"That's just part of what you have to be able to adjust to," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said.

The Jazz still doesn't know if this will be the last season together for John Stockton and Karl Malone, who have helped build Utah's 20-year run of qualifying for the playoffs.

The Blazers will be playing in what figures to be one of the most wide-open first-round series, taking on the league's highest-scoring team - Dallas.

The Mavericks were fortunate to avoid a first-round matchup with the Lakers, a team that has defeated them in 44 of their last 49 meetings - including 25 in a row in Los Angeles.

For now, the defending champs are the concern of the Timberwolves.

"There are no easy wins in this league," Garnett said. "It's our hand. We've got to play it."

Odds to Win

	CURRENT	OPENING
TEAM	ODDS	ODDS
L.A. Lakers	3-1	3-2
Sacramento	3-1	7-2
San Antonio	3-1	10-1
Dallas	7-1	9-1
Detroit	14-1	20-1
Indiana	14-1	30-1
New Jersey	14-1	12-1
Philadelphia	15-1	18-1
New Orleans	16-1	18-1
Minnesota	18-1	18-1
Portland	20-1	18-1
Boston	33-1	16-1
Milwaukee	35-1	20-1
Orlando	35-1	14-1
Phoenix	70-1	60-1
Utah	70-1	40-1

Odds calculated by Glantz-Culver.