By Randy Hill
FOXSportsArizona.com
Until further notice, the NBA will not bestow any playoff byes upon teams that were expected to waltz into the 2011 Finals.
Even three-peat candidates are exempt from printing golden tickets.
Yeah, the Los Angeles Lakers certainly were candidates for a rubber stamp into the championship round after fortifying their bench in the acidic wake of that July dance party in Miami. The two-time defending ringers responded to "The Decision" by adding three useful veterans while Kobe Bryant went in for a comprehensive summer tune-up.
Blessed with a relatively cake schedule, the Lakers barged deep into November, behaving very much like back-stabbed royalty. But as we roll into December, the Lakers' recent familiarity with defeat -- along with muscular efforts by some of their peers -- suggests the Western Conference tournament might be a lot more compelling than anyone imagined.
By the way, the coast-to-coast roll call of teams the Lakers have yet to play includes the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, New Orleans Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics.
Before examining the merits of several aspiring challengers, let's exhale and notice that we're not quite a quarter into this regular season. The Lakers have ample time to sort themselves out, and center Andrew Bynum is moving closer to his seasonal roll off the shelf. Winning a lot more frequently during the regular season is recommended, considering that the Lakers were 5-6 on the road in last year's championship playoff run.
But the machine hasn't exactly been running smoothly. Bryant, for example, has managed to make at least half of his field-goal attempts in only five games and is shooting a chilly 43 percent overall (31 percent from 3-point range). That hasn't prevented him from breaking ranks within the triangle offense and joining a three-way league battle for most shots taken. Pau Gasol, who launched the season as a legitimate MVP candidate, is playing on a tender left hamstring that has compromised his productivity.
Even with Kobe bruising the rims and Gasol unable to annihilate opponents in the post lately, the Lakers still check in as the league's most efficient team on offense. To be sure, part of this scoring prowess was generated by having two games each with Phoenix, Minnesota and Golden State.
Unfortunately, coach Phil Jackson's crew isn't guarding anybody, slipping to 12th in defensive efficiency after finishing fourth last season.
And while we'll try to avoid killing you with numbers, they tell part of the story for most of the Lakers' challengers:
As Tim Duncan drop-steps toward the sunset, the Spurs are looking like the biggest threats to end the Lakers' supremacy. A big reason for their impressive beginning is an upgrade in pace. With speedy Tony Parker putting greater pressure on the defense, San Antonio is fourth in fast-break points. The tempo has generated cleaner looks from beyond the arc when defenses pack the paint to stop the break, enabling the Spurs to lead the league in 3-point accuracy and rise to fourth in overall offensive efficiency. (They were ninth last season.)
Another catalyst for this improvement is the guy coach Gregg Popovich was hoping would fill that role a year ago. Yeah, Richard Jefferson has become the fourth hotshot in San Antonio, gunning in 44 percent of his 3s (a 12 percent increase) while bumping his per-game scoring average up by more than two points.
With George Hill and DeJuan Blair continuing to improve, we won't have to remind NBA fans not to sleep on the Spurs.
Status: Contender.
I'd like to take this moment to credit Caron Butler's improved eating habits (and trimmer physique) with the Mavericks' seeming rise into Western Conference contention.
But I can't. Instead, I'm going with the addition of defensive-oriented center Tyson Chandler as the biggest improvement in Dallas, from a personnel perspective. Although his numbers -- nine points, nine rebounds and 1.5 blocks -- won't put Chandler in many national ads, his vocal, back-line defensive leadership is making teammates more accountable on that end of the floor.
While taking on a relatively difficult schedule thus far, the Mavericks have risen from 12th on defense last season to fifth as they hustle toward the end of the first lap in this race.
Status: Contender.
OK, this wasn't likely to happen. Utah waved bye-bye to Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver and Wesley Matthews before losing center Mehmet Okur to injury.
The Jazz did add Al Jefferson to replace Boozer, but they've somehow managed to stay among the conference leaders while slipping from fifth to 28th in defensive-rebounding efficiency.
Everything else is pretty much the same, statistically.
But with point guard Deron Williams giving coach Jerry Sloan 20 and 10 every night, Utah brought a seven-game win streak (that included victories over the Lakers and Hornets) into Friday night's date with Dallas.
Utah lost to Denver and Phoenix to open the season. The turning point arrived during a four-game, rally-defined road trip that ended in victories over the Heat, Magic, Hawks and Bobcats.
Status: Pretender.
This one's pretty easy. After superstar point guard Chris Paul was talked in off a trade-me ledge he claims never to have visited, first-year coach Monty Williams used training camp to focus on what's important. Instead of surrendering to the temptation of installing too many slick offensive concepts, Williams put the emphasis on defense.
According to a source with knowledge of the Hornets' camp priorities, Williams spent considerable time hammering the importance of floor position, precise help guidelines (some teams actually over-help) and rotations by using shell and specific-situation drills.
By the way, the addition of top-notch wing defender Trevor Ariza makes these applications a lot easier to incorporate. Anyway, the Hornets -- who are about the same as they were last season on offense -- have made big jumps in defensive efficiency (from 21st to third in the league) and defensive rebounding (12th to fifth).
We're not sure if battling for home-court advantage in the first round is sufficient to keep Paul on board with the regime change in New Orleans, but things could be a lot worse.
Status: Pretender.
The favorite team of preseason bandwagon riders, the Thunder seem more interested in outscoring the opposition these days. While it certainly isn't the intention of 2010 Coach of the Year Scott Brooks, the dip from ninth in defense to 17th follows the rise toward stardom for MVP runner-up Kevin Durant and video-game-athletic point guard Russell Westbrook.
As the season progresses, expect Brooks' defensive approach to resonate a lot more frequently with a young team that has enough wisdom to figure things out. The real personnel key is the continued improvement of Serge Ibaka, whose upgrade to starter and OKC's recent success may not be coincidental.
Status: Contender.
Still leading the league in knuckleheads, the Nuggets are attempting to stay attached to the conference leaders while rumors of Carmelo Anthony's departure continue to spin.
Without injured power forward Kenyon Martin, Denver has managed to improve in defensive rebounding. The addition of Al Harrington and world traveler Gary Forbes has given the Nuggets even more threats from downtown, but 'Melo's future makes the immediate future cloudy for a team that often has trouble maintaining its focus during the best of times.
Status: Pretender.
