I've seen this so many times in the past. The Lakers always opting for the difficult path. I've grown tired having the last laugh whenever my anti-Laker brothers and friends would critic LA's losing streaks. Naku, lumang tugtugin na to. Yeah, maybe they get pretty bored and play the Vegas odds game.
When Bynum gets back, and Kobe goes a 100% and with the new lineup, I'd say this is the strongest Laker lineup since the showtime LA of Magic, Kareem and Worthy.