6 Reasons The Clippers Will Be Better Than The Lakers This Year (And 3 Reasons They Won't)

Why The Lakers Will Still Be Better #1: Kobe

I know we just spent some time discussing all the things that can go wrong with Kobe: the divorce, the knees, the new coach, and the fact that Jim Buss traded reigning Sixth Man Of The Year and unisex fragrance pitchman Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks for a bag of basketballs. But this is still Kobe Bean Bryant we're talking about here, and I learned a long time ago to never second-guess his sheer strength of will. Make no mistake, this is not the best situation of Kobe's career in any possible way. But this guy has scored 81 points in a game before: when he decides that nothing will stop him from royally effing you up, that's what he does. The Clippers are going to have to show some real poise to withstand that when they meet for real in the season. [photo via]