Lakers a good bet for title

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The last time the Los Angeles Lakers began a season with such high expectations was five years ago, when the team welded fading All-Stars Karl Malone and Gary Payton to the disturbingly bitter Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant stew. Despite the assumption that there wouldn't be enough basketballs to go around, most observers figured this would be an unbeatable combination, and the Lakers would add a fourth NBA title to the three that Shaq-Kobe won from 2000 to 2002. As it turned out, it was as beatable as the disjointed collection of NBA stars that populated underachieving American Olympic and international teams from 2000-2006. They started out well enough (18-3), but they were also cocky, a little lazy and depthless -- a team that couldn't cover for its occasionally injured starters. They tried to turn on the jets at the end (14-3) to secure the best record in the Western Conference, but fell in behind Minnesota and San Antonio. Re-focused to start the postseason, the Lakers overwhelmed Houston, San Antonio and Minnesota. But in the Finals they were exposed by a cohesive Detroit team, and imploded in a spectacular display of me-myself-and-I. The best thing about the current Lakers is that they don't appear to resemble the 2004 asylum at all. Even Bryant is a different sort -- secure in his ownership of the team, and willing to use his talents to make his teammates better, a skill he developed, oh, around 2007-08. Better late than never. This group is mostly young and hungry, deeper in bench talent, and focused -- they say -- on playing defense. Apparently the NBA Finals loss to Boston left an impression. Barring injury, and knowing what we know now, the current team seems more likely to achieve its goal than the narcissists of '04, whose greatest gift to basketball was reminding the world that it is, indeed, a team game. Prediction: 62 wins.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)