Los Angeles Lakers: Why Champs Will Dominate the West Again

The Los Angeles Lakers have dominated the West these past three seasons. Mitch Kupchak, the Lakers' General Manager, has done a brilliant job in acquiring talent that can fit around Kobe Bryant. There isn't a player on the team that can challenge Kobe as the "man" on the team as Shaq could (in his prime of course), therefore eliminating the same problems that plagued the team during the 2004 season. 

Pau Gasol proved to be the perfect pickup to play alongside Kobe as his "Robin," and LA didn't have to give up a core piece to make the deal. Gasol can't be your first option on a championship team and having a Kobe Bryant to play alongside him has glorified his legacy just as much as the Spaniard has helped LA. Even with the acquisition of Gasol, the Western Conference was supposed to be too deep for LA to dominate every year, but that hasn't stopped them. 

The Western conference, unlike the East, has been very competitive these last three seasons. Entry into the playoffs would require at least 50 wins, while in the East teams who aren't even at .500 are playing in the postseason. Despite playing in a tough the Western Conference, LA continued their reign of dominance these past three seasons. 

With the Western Conference teams loading up again, you have to ask the question, what's the point? Every team wants to trade for a guy that can help their team as much as Gasol has, but that will be a tough feat. LA already had a good team before Gasol came (I believe they were first in the West before Bynum went down). They had Kobe Bryant, a great bench, Phil Jackson, and a promising Andrew Bynum. Not many teams have that already in place before adding a key piece. 

Here are the reasons why LA will continue it's dominance in the very deep Western Conference. 

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