I don't see Rockets capable of passing Lakers. Yao Ming could outplay O'neil only by scorig. Overall O'neil is still better player. The most important thing is that Laker can let O'Neil play Yao Ming 1-on-1 without having too much worry while most other teams have to double team Yao. When you look at the rest of team, who can match Kobe, Malone and Payton?
Consistency is another big problem for the Rockets. Don't forget the Lakers usually play better in playoff than in regualr season. Anyway, I bet Lakers will beat Rockets in no more than 6 games.