Breaking Down the Blueprint to Defend the New-Look L.A. Lakers

The 2012-13 NBA season will be highlighted by two things. For one, it will offer LeBron James the opportunity to join Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant as players who have won back-to-back NBA titles. The other highlight will come as Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers look to take control of the Western Conference with their revamped roster.

While we could debate which occurrence is more likely to occur, it's clear that both will have their supporters and detractors. The true question is, how is it that one could impede either dream from coming true?

To begin answering that question, we focus on how to defend the new-look Los Angeles Lakers.

Although some view stopping this team as an insurmountable task, there is a way to slow the new era of Showtime down. In fact, there is more than just one way. This star-studded rotation is filled with vulnerabilities and each could be exposed in a major way.

So where do we start?

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