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Good News, Bad News - Pacific Division

© Gregory Broome

Los Angeles Lakers

GOOD NEWS - The good news is that four of the best players in league history are on the same team. The better news is that four of the best players in the league right now are on the same team. This is not a Dr. J - Barkley situation, in which a former and a future superstar unite to form a pretty good team. Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton all perform at an All-Star level right now, making this year's Lakers an unprecedented collection of basketball skill. Further, each of the four has ample motivation to live up to the group's frightening potential; Malone and Payton are still chasing a championship, O'Neal must reassert his dominance after coasting through consecutive seasons, and Bryant, perhaps the league's sorest loser, seeks redemption for setbacks both professional and personal.

BAD NEWS - Seattle's Ray Allen recently made the astute observation that an athlete cannot succeed at the highest levels without a healthy ego, and if your average NBA player's ego is healthy, those assembled in LA are competing in the triathlon. Never has so much narcissism occupied such a small space as the Staples Center locker room, which has already proven insufficient to contain the waves of arrogance crashing at its doors. While I suppose it's possible that the Lakers saunter through the season without a repeat of Shaq and Kobe's shadowboxing, Payton / Malone demanding more touches / shots / minutes / attention, or one of LA's frustrated extras acting out for some face time, high drama and hurt feelings seem inevitable.

Phoenix Suns

GOOD NEWS - A pair of athletic forwards makes the Suns a formidable matchup problem for many opponents. Shawn Marion is an unorthodox player whose every action on the court appears truncated - his jump shot floats towards the rim before any apparent wrist motion, his dunks are over just as fans rise to their feet with anticipation - making him a maddening player to guard. Amare Stoudemire, the NBA's most successful high-schooler prior to this year, careens through the lane with recklessness and a palpable desire to embarrass his defender every time he touches the ball.

BAD NEWS - If the loss of Stephon Marbury, one of the league's elite players, and Penny Hardaway, a productive if fragile backup guard, didn't hurt enough, the players coming to Phoenix in return will make sure that fans avoid looking directly at the Suns. Antonio McDyess has forever lost the explosive jumping ability that was the only thing that made him effective. Howard Eisley is declining and was never that good in the first place. And for all the potential of Maciej Lampe and Milos Vujanic, there is a reason that Lampe hadn't cracked New York's active roster, much less playing rotation, and why Vujanic has dodged the NBA for two years now.