Lakers have plenty of issues to resolve.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Byline: Israel Gutierrez

MIAMI _ Now that the Lakers have advanced to the second round, playing the Spurs in a series that begins Sunday, it would be safe to assume that the team has shifted to cruise control and is ready to stomp past an old nemesis before rolling downhill to a fourth title in five years.

But in their five-game series against the Rockets, the Lakers proved there is nothing safe about that assumption. In fact (Lakers haters prepare for an ammunition reload), Los Angeles is still plenty flawed. From Kobe Bryant's obvious theatrics to Gary Payton's whine problem to Shaquille O'Neal beginning a second career as a bricklayer, the Lakers have plenty of issues to iron out before they can be considered a favorite again.

Bryant pulled off his third go-from-courthouse-to-basketball-court-and-play-hero act in Game 5 against the Rockets, scoring 31 points with 10 assists, six rebounds and three steals. But his most amazing trick was making almost everyone forget that he's on trial for rape and instead looking like some sort of folk hero.

He said he meditated on the ride from the airport to the arena to avoid the temptation of falling asleep, then was cheered as he arrived to the arena at 6:56 for a 7 p.m. game _ a scene that was shown on the arena's Jumbotron.

Some of his teammates admire his "toughness," but one seems pretty annoyed with the transparent facade.

"What he's done this year, how many guys would have done it?" Karl Malone said of Bryant. "I've known a lot of guys, tough guys, who would not have even shown up. They would have taken the whole year off. I commend him, and I'm not ashamed to say it.