Expert predictions: Los Angeles Lakers

Originally Published: October 22, 2010

ESPN.com

Predicted Finish For Los Angeles Lakers: 2010-11

ANALYST	COMMENT	PREDICTIONS
	J.A. Adande, ESPN.com \| Adande's picks The Lakers no longer worry about Ron Artest's head. No, it's Kobe Bryant's knee that's of greater concern, and as of now the greatest impediment to another championship.	Pacific: 1 West: 1
	Chris Broussard, ESPN The Mag \| Broussard's picks Only severe injuries can keep the Lakers from winning the West. In a conference full of very good teams, they're in a class by themselves. Two big questions, though: will Andrew Bynum be healthy for the duration, and will Kobe, at 32, be the Kobe he was at 30 and 31?	Pacific: 1 West: 1
	Chad Ford, ESPN.com \| Ford's picks The Lakers are still the team to beat, but getting a three-peat will be a challenge. Kobe Bryant is slowly starting to show his age, Lamar Odom played a lot of basketball this summer and could burn out, Andrew Bynum is already ailing and the competition in the league and in the West got stronger.	Pacific: 1 West: 1
	Zach Harper, Daily Dime Live \| Harper's picks The two-time defending champions had a lot of questions surrounding their bench last season. Now those questions have been answered by bolstering the second unit with Steve Blake, Matt Barnes and Theo Ratliff. If they stay healthy, the West is theirs. If Kobe Bryant is banged up, the No. 1 seed is in danger.	Pacific: 1 West: 1
	John Hollinger, ESPN.com \| Hollinger's picks The Lakers overcame knee injuries to Kobe and Bynum and some shaky point guard play to win it all. Those issues remain, but Miami's epic haul is the biggest obstacle to a three-peat. L.A. should win the West regardless, but one wonders if it will be as the No. 1 seed.	Pacific: 1 West: 1
	Tim Legler, ESPN \| Legler's picks Is Kobe going to be able to hold up? Will he have to cut back on his minutes? It's a highly motivated team -- Kobe and Phil Jackson, especially -- because of what happened in Miami. I think they can beat the Heat.	Pacific: 1 West: 1
	Chris Sheridan, ESPN.com \| Sheridan's picks Look, I've got them as my three-peaters, so the question then becomes: Who will win more regular-season games, these guys or the Heat? With East's weaker teams, gotta go with the SuperFriends on that one. As for the NBA Finals, I like these guys to get past the Celtics in yet another Game 7.	Pacific: 1 West: 1
	Marc Stein, ESPN.com \| Stein's picks No matter how slowly you think the defending champs will start with Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum still healing, let's be real: The Lakers remain massive favorites to post the best record in the conference and get back to the NBA Finals for a fourth straight season.	Pacific: 1 West: 1
	Michael Wallace, ESPN.com \| Wallace's picks Even with Miami's moves, the two-time defending champs offered no reason to believe the Lakers won't three-peat for the second time behind Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant. The bench was bolstered by Matt Barnes, Steve Blake and Theo Ratliff. Last season's best got even better.	Pacific: 1 West: 1
	Brian Windhorst, ESPN.com \| Windhorst's picks Kobe Bryant's knee is far from right, Andrew Bynum's return date keeps getting pushed back and Ron Artest continues to run his mouth. Yet you don't see much concern on Phil Jackson's face, do you? That is because this team is deeper than last season's champs, with plenty of time to get healthy.	Pacific: 1 West: 1
AVERAGE RANKING Pacific: 1.0 \| Standings West: 1.0 \| Standings