While the Lakers laugh in the face of a measly 48 hours off after their 10-day vacation prior to the Finals, the Sixers are grateful for every second of rest they get.

"I really wanted an extra day, bad," Allen Iverson said. "I don't know how much healing you can do in one day, but I was anxious to find out."

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Healing can certainly take place on this second off-day, but rest is relative. The players have their bodies and their minds in Finals mode, and whether they're faced with the prospect of killing time in a strange city, as with the Lakers, or trying to carry out a somewhat normal daily routine at home for the Sixers, the adrenaline level remains at a constant high.

So everyone waits until the clock strikes nine on Wednesday night and the series resumes. In the meantime, the players go through a warped version of their regular schedule, both as visitors and at home.

"George Lynch and I live across the street from each other, so all the kids seem to migrate to our yards nowadays. It's all for fun," Sixers guard Eric Snow said. "I've got family in, but I've had my family throughout the season. We basically still do the things we've always done, except after practice we have to talk to (the media) for half an hour."

"It's been pretty crazy. It's cool for me, though, because I have my family around, so I basically spend all my time with them," Raja Bell said. "I have a lot of family that lives here, and then my dad and my sister came up and my mother's on her way today. We've been hanging out, kind of staying in. I read to some kids at the charter school yesterday and that was fun. Then I did a little TV thing, but other than that, I've been going about my daily thing."

On Monday, Sixers guard Raja Bell read to children at the Universal Charter School as part of NBA's Read to Achieve program. Robert Mora/NBAE Photos

Bell said his duties of playing host would end Tuesday night, when his family moves over to his aunt and uncle's house, so that he could have the time and space to concentrate on Game 4. Both teams indicated that common sense should dictate the off-day activities, and Finals common sense shows a lack thereof.

"You don't want to do anything to get yourself in trouble. You want to keep your body rested, you want to get some sleep and you want to stay away from activities that might get your legs tired," Sixers backup center Todd MacCulloch warned. "You don't want to walk around too much. So we're just your typical, normal professionals. No one wants to hurt their opportunities to do well in the series."

"You always have to respect your circumstances," Lakers guard Derek Fisher said. "At this point, in two weeks you can do whatever you want to do, go wherever you want to go and spend however much time you want doing it. But for right now, the commitment has to be with this basketball team."

Fisher defended his decision not to play tourist while visiting Philadelphia. "Not that sightseeing can hurt you, and if someone on our team chooses to go do certain things, it doesn't have to be a distraction. But for the most part, I think guys are respecting the fact that we're in the Finals and we're going to close this thing out."

Plus, there's another factor that influences the Lakers' movement around town: the rabidity of the Sixers' fans. While Greg Foster escaped the scene by going to Atlantic City ("I should have stayed home -- didn't do very well"), Devean George and Tyronn Lue incurred the intensity firsthand when they ventured out on the town Monday.

"I've been mostly sitting in the hotel room. Then yesterday, me and Lue went shopping on South Street and we got harassed a little bit," George said Tuesday. "They were yelling, booing and there was a little bit of throwing stuff. The guy who gave us a ride, they put all stuff on his car, like stickers and signs."

One man who did not stay in his room was Shaquille O'Neal. You see, in each NBA city he goes to, O'Neal likes to get to the local zoo. This trip was no exception. On Tuesday he made he appearance. The word was that a gorilla charged at him, with only a plexiglass barrier between them. Both survived untouched.

O'Neal took a turn in the bear cave at the zoo. Jesse Garrabrant/NBAE Photos

This story wound along the team grapevine and served as strong warning for the rest of the Lakers to stay in the friendly confines of their hotel.

"I'm too scared," Robert Horry said, although his usual easy grin belied his words. "Ty (Lue) is a small guy; he doesn't stand out as much as I do. I'm 6-9, so I'm going to stand out a little bit more. But I'm too scared because Ty told me what they did to his man's truck. So I'm just going to stick in my room and keep basic."

"The Pacers' fans didn't do this last year," George said. "They're taking it a little bit too serious around here. They're acting like they're going to get a ring or something if the Sixers win."

As the Lakers work their way through the room service menu and the Sixers scrounge up clean towels for their visiting family members ("We have about 20 Geigers in town this week," according to Matt, the 21st), the clock ticks toward the end of the layoff and the beginning of Game 4. As much as both teams treasure the recuperation time, there is a championship ring at stake worth so much more. So tipoff won't come a moment too soon.