The Western Conference might not be as deep as it has been in recent years, but there are still plenty of talented teams ready to give the World Champion Lakers a run for their money.
Kevin Durant and the upstart Thunder gave L.A. a tough battle in the first round last season, and will just keep getting better. No team has worse luck when it comes to injuries than the Blazers, but a healthy Portland squad can compete with any team in the NBA.
The Mavericks put together a team with the hopes of tangling with the Lakers in the playoffs, and the Spurs have surrounded aging veterans with a nice young nucleus.
Realistically, it's difficult to imagine more than a handful of teams knocking off L.A. in the playoffs. For the sake of argument, here's a look at how the entire Western Conference matches up with the Lakers.
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Article written by Elliott Pohnl
NBA Power Rankings: How the West Stacks Up Against the Lakers
August 3rd, 2010 by Elliott Pohnl Leave a reply »
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