Realistic Predictions for LA Lakers Based on Evidence So Far

Something about the state of the Los Angeles Lakers' season seems eerily familiar to last year. In fact, it reminds me of an old famous television series that opened with "the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent."

Make no mistake, these are not your father's (or mother's) Los Angeles Lakers.  And trying to predict their season's outcome is about as easy trying to figure out which lineup head coach Mike D'Antoni is planning for the next game.

Last year's Lakers of Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Pau Gasol and company were expected to challenge LeBron James and the Miami Heat  for NBA supremacy. This year's edition of cast-offs, no-names, senior citizens and one famous superstar with one major injury isn't expected to do much of anything except be entertaining.

Still, these are the Lakers we're talking about. This proud franchise, winner of 16 world championships, has very proud fans who demand a great product from a team that charges them outrageous prices to attend games at Staples Center.

So what sort of results can Lakers fans expect this season? Based on a handful of games, the answer would seem to be a definitive: "your guess is as good as mine."

The pessimist among a group of hardwood pundits is LVH sports book oddsmaker Jeff Sherman. The over-under has the Lakers finishing the regular season with just 34.5 wins.

We've been writing a lot of over money from the public having a hard time believing the Lakers are going to be that bad. We have a different view when you look at how severe Kobe's injury is and the mileage of [Steve] Nash and [Pau] Gasol.

Lakers beat writers Ramona Shelburne and Dave McMenamin predicted 48 and 44 wins, respectively, for the Purple and Gold. Shelburne also thinks the Lakers will grab the seventh or eighth seed in the Western Conference.

D'Antoni did not add any con...