o well maybe Ariza was the linch pin

for a couple of reasons.
1. Lamar was playing for a contract last year. He is bound to have a let down this year. Plus, he can’t be too happy being relegated to the bench in favor of Artest (if that is what Phil J chooses to do.)
2. Artest….that dude has “poison” written all over him. And he is definitely on the decline IMHO.
Lakers will have some stiff competition this year from the east again…Cavs, Orlando and C’s should be better than last year.
And I think the Lakers might have actually gotten a little worse. We shall see.