After the playoffs are over, the L.A. Lakers news headline that most fans would like to see would read: Lakers: Second Championship Locked Up!
Deep into February the Lakers are trading back and forth with the Cleveland Cavaliers for best record in the entire league. Since the Lakers play in the West with a much tougher schedule against better teams, the comparison between the Cavs and Lakers is not really fair.
Although the Cavaliers, led by their fantastic forward LeBron James, are a quality team, they just dont match up with the much deeper Laker squad. Some will argue that the Cavaliers have won twice against the Lakers in head to head play this season and this puts them, if not equal to, at least in the same basic league with the current world champions. Those knuckleheads would be wrong.
LeBron is certainly playing at another MVP clip and should win his second straight award when the season ends. Kobe has been playing with a broken finger and his shooting percentage has suffered, along with his minutes and subsequent point totals. Two weeks ago he was sidelined with an aggravated ankle injury, just days after making all-time Lakers news by becoming the leading scorer in Lakers history, passing his idol and the man who originally recruited him for the Lakers, Hall of Famer Jerry West.
Most NBA pundits agree that the Lakers are by far the best team this season and are the odds on favorites to win the trophy once again. They all agree that L.A. is super deep and has the size, speed, and skill to power them through the playoffs. The division final in the West will probably be against Denver or San Antonio, and neither team can match up to the Lakers. It would be major Lakers news if any of those teams can win even two games in any one series against the defending champs.
With All-Star Spanish forward Pau Gasol and emerging superstar center Andrew Bynum guarding the middle and paving the way for Kobe, the Lakers look unstoppable. Once Kobe gets healthy again, the Lakers will roll over all other teams in their way. Lamar Odom is playing great, Ron Artest continues his smothering defense, and Farmar off the bench for Fisher has been hitting the big threes and running the floor. What a team!
There is no convincing scenario where Cleveland can beat the Lakers in the Finals. Experts around the league are not even sure now that Cleveland will even get into the Finals. After going on a fourteen game winning streak, they recently lost three straight to tough teams like Denver and Orlando.
The big Lakers news is that they are on a mission: win a second straight world championship. Nothing else will suffice. Who knows, next season they could be going for one more three-peat.