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The Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from a regular season seemingly marred from the start, when a failed trade forced the franchise to trade Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks to avoid beginning the locker room with a high profile sullen soul (at least that is the impression after being forced to watch some of the season highlights on Khloe and Lamar). Thus, the roster began in a hindered state, but by the end of the 2012 NBA regular season schedule, Los Angeles Lakers tickets were available to the Staples Center to see the three seed in the Western Conference.

Despite the sloppy finish in the first round in which the Denver Nuggets took the Lakers to Game 7, the Lakers still have the star power to add the 17th championship to the franchise ledger. Kobe Bryant is playing like a postseason MVP. He is averaging 28 points a game while posting a 44 overall shooting percentage and a 35.6 three-point shooting percentage. Those numbers mean he is putting up the points without hogging the shots or putting up atrocious shots as he had been earlier in the season, now that is Metta World Peace's job.

Laker Haters across the country can take solace in Pau Gasol's fall from grace, but have to admit that Andrew Bynum is the real deal. Bynum is a double-double machine leading the NBA this postseason with 3.63 blocks per game. He is even staying well away from foul trouble. At 24 years old, it appears Bynum is finally here and that is terrifying.

Mike Brown is entering his first postseason as the Lakers head coach and he has taken a somewhat different path, going deep into his bench. Phil Jackson famously had a tendency to shrink his rotation to as few as six players. Brown has no issue going eight deep. Apart from the starting five of Bynum, Gasol, World Peace, Bryant, and Ramon Sessions, he also feels comfortable letting Steve Blake, Jordan Hill, and Matt Barnes on the court for major minutes every playoff game.

This may be the key to beating the Thunder, the second round matchup. The Thunder are a talented young squad, so throwing veteran bodies at the inexperienced roster could be the deciding factor. The Lakers certainly have the advantage in the post and have enough defense to keep the perimeter games equal, but it is the ability to frustrate the opposition with playoff-tested vets off the bench that could be the undoing off the Zombie Sonics.