"The hype was definitely there. The Lakers simply weren't."

[Eric Albert]

"They spent the first two months of the season collecting quality victories, one after another, but they aren't of the caliber of the Boston Celtics, no matter how much the Lakers, their fans and the NBA might wish otherwise."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-lakers31dec31,1,7909485.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-sports

-- Eric