Heading into the All-Star break a few weeks ago, the Los Angeles Lakers had hit a bit of rough patch as they had lost three games in a row before hosting the All-Star game in Los Angeles. Not only had they lost to the Orlando Magic and the Charlotte Bobcats in consecutive games on the road, but it was the loss to the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers that was the icing on the cake.

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With these three straight losses hanging over their heads and the fact that everyone was starting to question this team’s chances of competing for a three-peat, the Lakers had hit a low point in

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Fortunately, despite seemingly being down and out heading into the All-Star break, Kobe Bryant and company were able to turn it on to start the second half of the season as they were red hot with six straight wins before going to San Antonio to take on the Spurs for the third time this season. Even though the Lakers were the underdogs on Sunday night, they definitely didn’t play like it as they dominated their rivals from start to finish.

With only Tony Parker scoring in double-figures for the Spurs starters, San Antonio just couldn’t get anything going offensively and really struggled to defend the Lakers as they were firing on all cylinders all night long. Kobe Bryant finished with a game-high 26 points, but it was without a doubt a team effort for the defending champs as they were able to get out to leads as much as 32 points against arguably the best team in the league.

Ultimately, the Lakers went on to win 99-83, but the challenges don’t stop in San Antonio as they have their work cut out for them over the next week with games against the Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks.

Even though there are still about 18 regular season games left before the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers have a legitimate shot of getting as high as the second seed in the Western Conference. With the San Antonio Spurs still being six and half games ahead of the defending champs, the number one overall seed in the West is high unlikely for the Lakers, but they can definitely challenge the Dallas Mavericks for the second spot.

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The Christmas Day rematch against the Miami Heat this Thursday night will be a big game for both teams as the Lakers will look to stay hot and LeBron James and company will try to break out of their funk. Even though the Heat may be in

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somewhat of a desperation mode right now, I believe the Lakers should come out on top in this one as long as they can continue to play well against the Hawks this Tuesday.

The most important game this week for the two-time defending NBA champions will be against the second seeded Dallas Mavericks. If they can play as well as they did against the Spurs, the Mavs shouldn’t be too much of a problem for the Lakers, but they will definitely need to come out with the win in order to make another big statement in the Western Conference.