Lakers are not playing too grand lately, but they're still in the safe zone for playoffs.

Laker's bench, Bynum aside, is not the best in the league.

But if the 5 starters, Bryant-Gasol-Odom-Fisher-Artest play their best basketball....I think Miami will not be good enough to beat them in a finals series. I doubt Miami will even make it to the conf finals this year, but we'll see, they're still not a complete team.

The Xmas game was no more than that. One single game can't say much. It's a shame they'll only meet one more time before the playoffs, considering each team plays 82 games.

For once, I actually have to agree with Lebron that there are too many teams in the NBA. The difference between the top teams and the bottom ones is so huge, that you already know before the season starts which teams will be at the bottom, and that's a little sad. They'll be better off if they open another league for these teams to compete in their own level.

What do you guys think?