Los Angeles ? As long as Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant wear gold and purple uniforms, the Los Angeles Lakers never will be a serious underdog in a playoff series.

Star power is one reason the Lakers are big favorites in the upcoming NBA Finals, where most expect the scrappy, defense-oriented Detroit Pistons to become the sixth straight Eastern Conference champion dismissed by the West’s behemoths.

So the Pistons’ mission is clear: They’ve got a rare chance to prove the basketball world wrong. But what will the Lakers use for inspiration while playing for their fourth championship in five years?

Leave that to O’Neal, whose outlandish personal motivational ploys often are as funny as they are effective. He has decided the Lakers are perceived as villains — and that everyone is hoping their mini-dynasty will be ended by Detroit.

“Of course they are,” O’Neal said. “Everyone wants to see us falter. I just think that sometimes they think that we’re the Yankees of baseball. … We know what it’s going to take. We’re not going to walk on this team by any means. We have to do what we’re supposed to do. I’m always supposed to win.”

Late-season surges are a hallmark of coach Phil Jackson’s teams, but the Lakers’ veterans took it to an extreme this season. O’Neal and Bryant both recently admitted to being bored during long stretches of the regular season, while new arrivals Karl Malone and Gary Payton still aren’t really comfortable in Jackson’s system.

“We’re getting close to playing our best basketball,” Malone said. “We’re not there yet, but we’ve been creeping up on it for a while now.”