A championship just isn't in the cards for Lakers

In a season that started out so promising, it appears likely that the Los Angeles Lakers might just be ending their season in April disappointment, just like a year ago.

For starters, the Karl Malone signing hasn't exactly worked out like Los Angeles would have liked. The first requirement of a successful free agent addition is that the player actually spends time on the court, and, so far, Malone has missed 38 games with a knee injury.

Gary Payton still looks like he has a lot left in his tank, but obviously has fallen out of Phil Jackson's good graces, since his minutes and his role are not what he thought they would be when he signed.

Throw in the Kobe Bryant fiasco (rape trial, injuries, ongoing rift with Shaq and Jackson) that has been non-stop and you have a very dysfunctional team in L.A.

The general consensus in the media -- and to a point around the league -- is that the Lakers are still very dangerous because they have the ability to "turn it on in the playoffs."

I never quite understood that thinking. Were the Lakers such an overpowering team during their three championship run from 2000-02, or were they a talented bunch that played well in the postseason and got the necessary breaks? I would tend to argue the latter.

Of course, we all know that the real NBA Finals have actually been the Western Conference Finals ever since Michael Jordan left for the first... wait, second... anyway, when Jordan left the Bulls following the 1998 season.

With that fact in mind, I don't even count the past five NBA Finals as even happening -- they were simply formalities.

Now let's look at those three Western Conference Finals matchups. First, L.A. shouldn't have even advanced past Portland in 2000. The Blazers had a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter before the Lakers stormed past the choke artist Jail Blazers. Can you imagine? How is it even possible for Portland to lose that game? Of course, afterward, the headlines read "Lakers Refuse to Lose."

Give me a break. When you are down by 17 with a few minutes to play in any game, in any league, your sweating like Mike Tyson in the 12th round. The Lakers had to get lucky to win that game and they did.

L.A. faced the same deal in 2002 against Sacramento in the West's Final round. The Lakers won in overtime in game 7 and, before that, tied the series 2-2 after a prayer of a shot by Robert Horry resulting from the most fortunate tip-out I've ever seen -- by a Kings player!

Plus, anyone who saw the way that game 7 was officiated knows that the Kings got the raw end of the deal. And that's being nice about it. Hey, the Lakers dominated everyone the year they beat Philadelphia, but, even with O'Neal and Bryant in their primes, Los Angeles isn't some kind of reincarnation of John Wooden's UCLA teams.

That is to say the Lakers aren't a team that is capable of running off title after title. They aren't a team that can win titles when and where they want by simply turning on the intensity at playoff time.

Thankfully, last season proved my suspicions correct because the Lakers were humiliated by San Antonio in the second round after tight-roping past Minnesota. Last year, the Lakers ended as the No. 5 seed in the playoffs and this year it looks like they will be either the No. 5 again or possibly No. 4.

This year the Lakers have many more issues off the court to worry about. It isn't just about the Kobe/Shaq feud anymore, although everyone knows the pair never have, and probably never will, like each other.

The reality is that there are teams that are equally as talented, playoff-tested, and deeper than the Lakers in the NBA's varsity conference (sorry Indiana). The big difference last year and this year is that those teams are also hungrier and more focused on basketball than the Lakers (kind of like how the Spurs were a year ago). Face it, America, the dynasty is over in La-La Land and it has been for awhile.

Perhaps the Lakers will get out of the first round, but then what? Beat the Spurs, Kings or T-Wolves without home court advantage? I don't think so. Hey, anything can happen in sports, but these Lakers just aren't championship material anymore. They're a good team with too many non-basketball problems. A good No. 4 or No. 5 seed. Beyond that, stick a fork in 'em because the run is over.

After the season ends in playoff defeat, the Lakers are poised to lose most, if not all, of the following pieces of their 2002-04 squad: Bryant (free agency), Payton (free agency), Malone (depending on what he wants to do) and Jackson (he's gone).

Just like the Showtime Lakers of the '80s turned into the also-ran Lakers of the mid- to late-'90s, these Lakers are quickly turning into, well, just another team. Dare I say that L.A. could be heading in the same direction that its former rivals, the Boston Celtics, have been heading for the past 15 years -- nowhere.

You never know what will happen, but don't expect to see purple and gold clad basketball players in June, unless of course Aaron Boone is wearing a Kobe jersey during one of his wheel chair games.

Comments? E-mail me at bryan_horwath@yahoo.com