Los Angeles Lakers playoffs

At the start of the season the Los Angeles Lakers were being mostly written off as a serious contender for the NBA title. They only had three players worthy of the name, in Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. They were coming off a humiliating postseason, where they were first swept home by Dallas and then embarrassed themselves with dirty play that got Bynum suspended for the start of this season. Finally, after they completed a trade to get Chris Paul, commissioner David Stern steps in, nixes the deal and Paul ends up across town with the Clippers. From about last May forward, not a whole lot went right for this organization. But here they are on the first day of March, 21-14, only a ½ game back of the Clips for the Pacific Division title and lurking in the mix. TheSportsNotebook goes inside the Lakers to see if they’re going to again be a real title threat.