Lamar Odom's Lakers are off to a 7-0 start. AP

SI.com's Chris Mannix has been covering the Lakers and says they're impressive. He says the Lakers are the prohibitive favorite to win it all. He doesn't see a team that can take them in a seven-game series.

Mannix's big concern was the crowd at small forward, with Lamar Odom, Vladimir Radmanovic and Trevor Ariza splitting time. But Mannix said that coach Phil Jackson has done a great job keeping everyone happy.

Mannix thinks that Detroit got worse with Allen Iverson, because he's a defensive liability. Mannix said that Iverson will have his nights and pick up the tempo, but that's not the Pistons' game. They grind out wins, not out-gun teams. Mannix thinks Detroit has fallen behind Cleveland and is still behind Boston.

Mannix commented on rookie O.J. Mayo. He thinks he could be a Tracy McGrady-type player down the road. Whereas Kevin Love is more of a Greg Ostertag type.

Chris "The Quilt" Mannix also guaranteed the Knicks wouldn't make the playoffs. He's called quilt because of his aggressive predictions (like the U.S. not winning the gold in the Olympics). Mannix does say the Knicks are headed in the right direction, but they aren't postseason-bound.