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Go-To Guy | Weakest Link | Burning Question | Outlook

Lakers at a Glance Coach: Phil Jackson Last Year: 58-24 (Stats) Key Additions: PG A.J. Guyton, SF Tracy Murray, SG Kareem Rush Key Losses: PG Lindsey Hunter Projected Starters PG Derek Fisher SG Kobe Bryant SF Rick Fox PF Robert Horry C Shaquille O'Neal Key Subs PG Brian Shaw SF Devean George PF Stanislav Medvedenko C Samaki Walker

By John Hollinger, CNNSI.com

The Lakers have won three straight NBA titles, and with the combination of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, they could be on their way to many more. Yet last year's playoffs revealed a few chinks in the Lakers' armor that they will need to repair this season.

For starters, Sacramento showed that balanced clubs can take advantage of Los Angeles' weaker positions -- point guard and small forward -- and overcome the overwhelming advantage the Lakers hold over most teams at shooting guard and center. Point guard may become more of a liability, as backup point man Lindsey Hunter was shipped out in a luxury-tax-avoidance deal.

However, that pales in comparison to The Big Whatever-He-Calls-Himself-Now in the middle. How Shaquille O'Neal comes back from offseason toe surgery is still the Lakers' No. 1 question as they aim to join Bill Russell's Celtics as the only teams in NBA history to win four consecutive championships.

Shaquille O'Neal, C -- Were you expecting Mark Madsen? While Kobe Bryant would serve as the go-to guy on nearly every other team in the league, there is no question who the man is in Los Angeles. Shaquille O'Neal is the league's most unstoppable force, capable of getting almost any post position he wants and athletic enough to get over or around anything that stands in his way. Detractors complain that he's just a big bully, but in reality he is a truly singular athlete, the Wilt Chamberlain of his era.

The big question for the Lakers is Shaq's toe. It bothered him throughout the season and especially in the playoff series against San Antonio, but he had surgery to fix the problem in the offseason. However, there are two lingering issues. First, the surgery came late enough that Shaq will probably miss the first few weeks of the season. Second, the layoff may result in the big fella being out of shape when he returns. Of course, the biggest issue is simply fixing the toe -- the Lakers are hoping the condition doesn't rear its head again this season.

Derek Fisher, G -- Much like last year, the Lakers are going into the season with Fisher as their point guard, hoping to get by without him missing too much time with his frequent foot injuries. Unlike last year, however, the Lakers have no credible backup.

Last year's replacement, Lindsey Hunter, was traded to Toronto for Tracy Murray in the offseason. That leaves the fossilized Brian Shaw as the only other point guard on the roster; the Lakers' other alternative is to play Kobe Bryant at point guard and play Kareem Rush or Devean George as the other guard, but that's a poor solution, too, especially since it just encourages Bryant to do his 1-on-5 routine.

As a result, if and when Fisher breaks his foot -- as he's done the past two seasons -- the Lakers are in a major pickle. And even if Fisher plays all 82 games, this position isn't a strength. His electric 2000 playoff run aside, Fisher doesn't provide much scoring punch and rarely penetrates the defense to set up others.

Is the supporting cast good enough?

Despite questions about O'Neal's toe, Shaq and Kobe are almost a given. Shaq will be the league's best player again this year, and Kobe won't be far behind. The problem is what surrounds them. The Lakers still count on six players brought in by Jerry West -- O'Neal, Bryant, Rick Fox, Robert Horry, George and Fisher. Current general manager Mitch Kupchak has yet to import an important player, and as a result, every year the Lakers surround Shaq and Kobe with a little bit less. So far it hasn't hurt them, but this year there's even less in the cupboard than before.

The bench looks like a major liability -- Tracy Murray is well past his prime, Kareem Rush is unproven, and Brian Shaw apparently plans on chillin' on the Laker bench until he can start collecting Social Security. Even the starting forwards are a concern. Fox and Horry have been the bookends for all three of the Lakers' title runs, but both are getting long in the tooth -- Fox is 33, Horry 32. Adding to the concern, Fox slipped at both ends of the floor last year and probably should have been replaced by Devean George, while Horry shot under 40 percent for the second straight season.

Two against five

Fast Facts • Thanks largely to Shaquille O'Neal's 55.5 percent mark, the Lakers were last in the NBA in free-throw shooting at 69.9 percent. • The Lakers were the hardest team to shoot against last year, holding opponents to 42.4 percent from the floor. They were also the best 3-point defense (31.7 percent).

The Lakers had better hope Shaq's toe is 100 percent this year and that he and Kobe Bryant are healthy again for the playoffs, because Kupchak hasn't given them much help. The Kings gave L.A. all it could handle in the Western Conference finals last year, and made moves to make their team better this year. Meanwhile, the Lakers did nothing of the sort.

The one key weapon in the Lakers' arsenal that hasn't been discussed yet is Phil Jackson. The Zen Master guided the Bulls to six championships and the Lakers to the past three. With one more, he will pass Red Auerbach and become the first coach in league history to win 10 championships. If he can pull it off with the diminished supporting cast around Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, he certainly will have earned it.