The Utah Jazz got the message that the whole NBA should hear: If you intend to beat the Lakers, you should do so now.

Granted, this Western semifinal series could be over. The Lakers somehow coaxed Game 3 into the final minute, and they took Game 4 in overtime despite vertebrae that robbed Kobe Bryant of his vertical. (Didn't affect his shooting wrist, however.)

Should Bryant respond to the massive airlift of medical attention that would be going to the people of Myanmar if not for their authoritarian government, the Lakers should be ready to unplug the Jazz in Game 5 Wednesday night, especially since Utah travels worse than yogurt.

Then it's a matter of withstanding the Jazz in Salt Lake City, and their spectators who carry mean signs and say mean things. Phil Jackson criticized the crudest members of the Utah crowd for betraying its Church of the Latter-Day Saints beliefs.

Of course, only 62 percent of Utahans were LDS members as of 2004. That's like saying all Lakers fans are greedy, spoiled and front-running. I know at least a half-dozen who aren't.

Anyway, the Lakers should beat Utah and meet either San Antonio or New Orleans. There, they will finally be guarded by a team that takes away options. That could be sticky, especially when the Lakers are still frail enough, defensively, to let Utah shoot 50 percent and 52.6 percent in Utah.

When L.A. gets 34 field goals and 31 rebounds from Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar, it should win, but it didn't work that way Sunday.

So what? In January the Lakers were hardly assured of escaping the first round. In August the Lakers were gathering application papers for the NDBL.

Now, this lost season has become a launching pad.

Assuming that Andrew Bynum's knee is functioning before next season's playoffs, and assuming that he stays in L.A. as a restricted free agent, the Lakers will be able to see for miles.

Those two assumptions cannot be guaranteed. There could be some gremlins inside that knee if a surgeon explores it. Bynum, who won't turn 21 until October, has already done a lot of hard pounding at a developing age.

Still, the 2009 playoffs are more than 11 months away, and Bynum has lots of time in his pocket.

Video   Mad Dog Minute: NBA West May 12: Christopher Russo makes his NBA West playoff predictions. NBC Sports

Youth bursts all around him. Gasol is 27, Odom and Luke Walton 28. Trevor Ariza turns 23 in June, Jordan Farmar 22 in November. Sasha Vujacic just turned 24.

Bryant, incredibly, does not turn 30 until Aug. 23. That's age, not mileage. Game 5 will be his 132nd playoff game. But motivation, conditioning and hunger have never been his problem, and now he has much more to play for -- another multiple dose of championships and a legitimate place next to Michael Jordan in the basketball heavens.

The Lakers only got Gasol during Super Bowl week and yet, at their best, play like five old men in the park, reading each other's minds and bodies with wordless precision.

They are also the deepest team around, despite what happened in Utah, and the franchise has either planned or lucked into a magic phase -- mastery, plus upside.

The key will be lining up Gasol, Bynum and Odom across the front line. The opponents will have to adjust more than the Lakers will.

“I played on a Boston team that had Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale,” said Michael Smith, TV analyst for the Clippers. “If Gasol, Bynum and Odom are together and healthy, this could be the best front line since then.

“Bynum can be the same type of player Parish was, when you look at him physically and his ability to change things defensively, and he’s come a long way offensively. And Gasol in a lot of ways is today’s McHale, with the moves he has and his ability to catch, face and shoot.

Slide show The second season Slide show: Top images from the 2008 NBA playoffs. NBCSports.com

“I’m not saying Odom is Bird. But he would complement the others in ways that Larry did, especially with his passing ability. And then you take their length and their basketball savvy, and you’re talking about something the NBA has to reckon with.”

Smith grinned.

“Especially when you put them with the best player in the league.”

Doug Collins, who has coached three NBA clubs and is now TNT’s analyst, has the same forecast.

“Really, you look at the West, and the Lakers, Hornets and Jazz are where the youth is,” Collins said. “The aging teams are the Mavericks, Spurs and Suns.”

He was talking about playoff teams.

The billowing cloud in the distance comes from Portland, which will have Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge up front, Brandon Roy and the 13th pick in this draft on the perimeter.

Still, the Blazers will have to pursue the Lakers, who should frolic into Game 5 and all subsequent games knowing they don’t really face elimination this spring.

Just postponement.

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