Lakers News: Jordan Hill’s Confidence Another Sign Lakers Will Overachieve

According to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Lakers big man Jordan Hill believes the Lakers will be a top-three team in the Western Conference. This comes in the midst of a tumultuous offseason in which the Lakers' future has come into question.

Hill's confidence, and the condescending reactions to it, are yet another sign that the Lakers will overachieve in 2013-14.

Before we move forward, it's important that we define just how the Lakers will be overachieving. After all, the Lakers have emerged as a preseason favorite for NBA title contention in virtually every year since the turn of the century.

In 2013, however, ESPN ranked the Lakers as the No. 12 team in the Western Conference. I'm far from on-board with the talk of a "top-three finish," but to rank the Lakers as the No. 12 team in the West is stunning.

Hill scoffed at that ranking in his interview with Medina.

“We definitely could be in the top three in the West,” Hill recently said in a phone interview. “I don’t see why not. Kobe is making progress with his rehab [surrounding his left Achilles tendon]. I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes back at the beginning of the season or in training camp. I don’t know if he will. But I wouldn’t be surprised. I have faith in everything he can do. I believe in the Mamba. The sky’s the limit for him.”

No one will question that last part.

Kobe Bryant's work ethic is legendary, but that alone doesn't crown the Lakers as anything short of a risky gamble. Fortunately, Bryant isn't the only player worth acknowledging—not when his supporting cast include Pau Gasol and Steve Nash.

The Lakers are being written off as a non-factor by every outlet possible and have absolutely nothing to lose. What they do have is a trio of superstars that, on any other team, would be regarded as elite.
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers