"Boss, look at this! The official power rankings put us ninth!" Little Fish stormed into the locker room with a newspaper in hand.
"Ninth? Why not just say we won't make the playoffs?" Stephen Jackson scoffed.
The Lakers players were still immensely proud, carrying the confidence left behind by the dynasty.
Although the league had often underestimated the Lakers' strength during the final two years of the OK dynasty, even ranking them fourth, this ninth-place ranking was simply outrageous!
That was right!
The NBA had added several historically great teams this year. The Grizzlies, Indiana Pacers, Heat, Spurs, Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and Kings were all championship-caliber, even historically great teams!
ESPN had even ranked the Houston Rockets above the Lakers!
Ridiculous!
Aside from O'Neal, the Rockets only had Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley. Their forwards were nothing more than the washed-up Glen Rice and James Posey, whose supposed all-around game meant he could do nothing well.
O'Neal could certainly have a great time with that lineup, but could they really win games?
Kobe expected O'Neal to put up monstrous numbers while the team posted an ordinary record. Their chances of reaching sixty wins were very low.
No matter what, the Lakers should not have been ranked ninth!
The Lakers had Kobe Bryant, universally recognized as the best basketball player in the world!
How little did those commentators think of the Lakers' role players?
Or did they think that without O'Neal, Kobe was no longer the invincible god-king who had once ruled the world?
"So, Boss, what's our goal this year?" Bowen quietly walked over to Kobe. He wanted to know the answer.
The front office had not set particularly high expectations for the Lakers this year. After all, they had already won five straight titles. Old Buss and West did