Complex sentence: The Lakers certainly thought so, and they started strongly in the 2001-2002 season, winning 16 of their first 17, but an arthiritic toe hobbled O'Neal for much of the season and the Lakers lost the division crown to the Sacramento Kings.
Split into simpler sentences: The Lakers certainly thought so, and they started strongly in the 2001-2002 season, winning 16 of their first 17. But an arthiritic toe hobbled O'Neal for much of the season and the Lakers lost the division crown to the Sacramento Kings.