Enemy Lines

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Lakers

"When you think about the ways to beat them, you don't find much. The best way to go is to attack them at the three spot and pull Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant away from the basket....

Mitch Richmond was an excellent pickup for them. He has a tendency to sulk when things go bad but how often are things going to go bad in L.A.? Same thing with Lindsey Hunter, another excellent acquisition. They'll both make big contributions in spots, and they'll help with the young players....

Samaki Walker is a good athlete who suffered in San Antonio because when either Duncan or Robinson went out, he had to guard the big guys. I'm assuming that's the reason he really tailed off after a good start last season. He should play mostly the four spot for these guys....

One guy who's hard to like is Jelani McCoy. Maybe he'll respond on a good team, but he's a dog. As limited as Mark Madsen is, he might outwork McCoy and bury him deep on the bench....

In fact, as weird as it sounds, I could see their starting Madsen in a caretaker role and bringing Walker and Robert Horry off the bench....

Attack them early in the season if Shaq's out of shape. But he's going to come back and get you sooner or later. He really matured last year, particularly on defense, where he played off people and didn't body up all the time....

The word is that Kobe is working harder and getting better. And Derek Fisher, when he gets healthy, is perfect for this team. He's an old-school, hard-nosed, unselfish guy who just wants to get the ball to the right people."