As tears slipped from his eyes while he was hugging his mother after Game 6 of last June's NBA Finals, Shaquille O'Neal was finally allowed to relax. The 1999-2000 season ended with O'Neal hoisting a championship trophy for the first time in his illustrious career. Now a summer has passed, and teams have retooled. Suddenly, with the new season opening on Tuesday, there is concern about whether the team from the City of Angels will remain champion. Portland, Seattle, Phoenix and San Antonio have all reloaded, supposedly reducing the chances for a dynasty in Los Angeles.
Nothing is about to change.
They will reside there after next June, too. The Lakers do have their work cut out for them. They already had Damon Stoudamire, Scottie Pippen, Steve Smith, Rasheed Wallace and Arvydas Sabonis. Those two moves, however, exposed Portland's desperation. Understand, the Eastern Conference is not an issue here.