Are the Los Angeles Lakers in Jeopardy of Coming Second in the West?

The Lakers are only four games up on the Mavericks for first place in the West. The Mavericks are on fire right now, on a 10-game winning streak, with Kidd and Dirk. A lot of people were saying they missed the boat a few years go and now they look like they could be a threat.

The Lakers aren't playing well as a team right now, but I bet Phil will figure it out; they really need make a statement against the Magic for some momentum. The Magic are a great team with many All-Stars: Vince Carter, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis.

The Lakers still don't have a game plan to use every night, which makes them unpredictable. Ron Artest said he is finding a rhythm on defence, and it's just like finding a rhythm from the perimeter.

Pau has played poorly, shooting 9 from 26 in the last two games, and has faded away.

If Bynum doesn't step up, they need to play Lamar Odom more. We all know what Lamar can do everything on the court: score, pass, rebound he also can handle the ball a little bit.

The Lakers' size is very effective, but sometimes they look a little bit slow, and they also are lacking another perimeter shooter because Ron can't shoot, and Fisher is off and on.

When Kobe gets doubled, they should be able to score every time, which they weren't able to do against Miami.

The Lakers have the most potential by far in the NBA, but playoff time is coming up and they need to figure out how to bring fire night in and night out.

Kobe looks great after that shooting slump; he was on fire against the Heat. Now it's up to the Lakers to find some chemistry. 

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