Lakers on the move out West

Don't look now, but the Los Angeles Lakers are again primed to make their second half run to assure them a solid position in the Western Conference Playoffs. Once in the playoffs, the Lakers will contest with all the Western powers as they vie for their fourth straight NBA title.\nSure the Lakers have not been this far back from the Sacramento's, Dallas' and San Antonio's of the world in recent years. But, throughout last season they chased Sacramento and eventually finished three games back of the Kings who claimed the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Yet come playoff time the Lakers seemingly flipped a switch into overdrive as they outlasted the Kings in a grueling and memorable seven-game series and then tossed away the Eastern Conference pest of the Nets in a four-game sweep to claim their third straight title.\nI'm not making these premonitions as a Lakers fan either, in fact I cannot stand the Lakers. But with the most dominating player in the game in Shaquille O'Neal and one of the best, if not the best all-around player in the game in Kobe Bryant, the Lakers will easily make the playoffs and another run for the NBA Finals.\nAfter starting 3-9 before the return of O'Neal from toe surgery and then sitting at 11-19 30 games into the season, the Lakers went into last weekend's All-Star weekend on a five-game winning streak. The streak included wins on the road over current West No. 7 seed Phoenix, current West No. 2 seed Sacramento and Eastern Conference leader Indiana. Prior to the losses to L.A., the Kings and Pacers had lost a combined total of five games on their home courts.\nThe winning streak put the Lakers over .500 for the first time all season and with two easy victories over Denver earlier this week, L.A. goes into tonight's match-up with San Antonio three games over the .500-mark. More importantly for the Lakers is that 10 of their next 12 games are at home which will allow them to solidify their record above the .500-mark and also get into position for a playoff spot. After their current homestretch, L.A. has a crucial six-game road stint, followed closely by a three-game road trip which will test the team's will.\nCurrently the Lakers are the No. 9 team in the Western Conference and they are just a half game back of Houston. L.A. is just two games back of Phoenix who have already showed signs of cracking as they lost at home to the 18-33 L.A. Clippers on Tuesday night.\nDespite their early struggles, the Lakers have recently shown signs of its previous glory. Bryant has averaged 42 points a game over the Lakers last seven games and O'Neal has averaged over 26 points and 11 rebounds in the Lakers last 11 games. L.A. is also beginning to get boosted contributions from key role players Derek Fisher, Rick Fox and Samaki Walker who will all be essential to the Lakers playoff run.\nBy the end of the season, L.A. will be at worst a No. 5 or 6 seed in the West as they will easily overtake Phoenix and Minnesota or Utah if not both. Heading into the playoffs the Lakers will likely lack home court advantage throughout the playoffs, but they did receive a break earlier this week when the NBA changed first round series to a best-of-seven games format. With the pounding O'Neal gives out combined with the explosiveness of Bryant, there may not be a team that can stop the Lakers.\nThe biggest obstacle L.A. may face is fatigue after overcoming such a deficit and also playing so many playoff games on the road. But come late April and May, the Lakers will again flip the switch into overdrive and make a push for the title once again. And when the switch is flipped, all the pressure will be off L.A. and back on the jittery legs of Sacramento and Dallas who will have to prove they can beat the Lakers before they can steal their title.