Lakers begin quest for 4th straight title

Scott Burnside, Reuters, Toronto

Just when it looked like the mighty would be toppled, the Los Angeles Lakers found that magical switch that all teams of destiny seem to possess.

The Lakers were taken to a seventh game in the Western Conference championship in June by their bitter rivals the Sacramento Kings, the National Basketball Association's (NBA) best regular season team.

But the Lakers denied the Kings and then, almost as an afterthought, swept the Eastern Conference champions the New Jersey Nets 4-0 for their third straight championship.

Now, the most pressing question as the 2002-2003 regular season begins on Tuesday is where this Lakers team exists in the pantheon of the NBA's all-time teams.

During their three-year reign, the Lakers have amassed a remarkable 45-13 record in the playoffs, leaving them tied with Michael Jordan's Bulls teams of the 1990s as the most dominant playoff team of all time.

Whether Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and colleagues can be toppled before they can become the first team in almost four decades to win four straight titles, putting them on a par with the Boston Celtics of the early 1960s, rests as much with whether the twin egos can continue to coexist alongside influential coach Phil Jackson as with what the opposition do.

So far has been so good for a team that boasts two of the most dynamic players of their time.

Bryant has blossomed into one of the top defensive players in the league to compliment his athletic offensive prowess while the 2.16-meter, 152-kg O'Neal has been among the NBA's top three scorers for five years.

Although the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs wait on the periphery of greatness, once again the Lakers' stiffest competition will come from within their own division as the Kings (61-21) return with a lineup even stronger than the one that might have dethroned the Lakers had they not missed 14 free throws in game seven of the west final.

Sacramento, whom O'Neal recently referred to as "the Queens", has added even more depth with forward Keon Clark along with re- signing guard Mike Bibby.

In the Eastern Conference, a recent poll of NBA general managers by NBA.com showed that the Nets, led by the game's best point guard and MVP candidate Jason Kidd, were favorites to repeat as 'best of the rest'.

"Obviously, the West is a stronger conference," said Nets coach Byron Scott. "I think everybody respects that and knows that. We think that we've upgraded our team. We think we can challenge the best teams over there in the West."

Still, there are a number of subplots that could derail the Nets' plans for a repeat engagement in the NBA final.

Chief among those are the much-anticipated returns of injured leading players Jordan, Grant Hill and Vince Carter.

The 39-year-old Jordan will return to the floor but will need more help if the Wizards are to challenge.

Hill's third attempt at a comeback from a troublesome ankle injury will mean the difference between contenders and pretenders as far as the Orlando Magic are concerned. A healthy Hill paired with Tracy McGrady gives the Magic a Shaq/Kobe-like tandem.

Carter returns to a Toronto Raptors team that won 12 of 14 down the stretch to earn a playoff berth without their leader.