They know Kobe Bryant isn't over the hill just yet.
Bryant's 37-point MVP performance in Sunday's NBA All-Star Game was the latest evidence that the 32-year-old is not too creaky to lead the Lakers to one more Phil Jackson-coached three-peat. It would be Bryant's second three-peat and Jackson's fourth.
But can a 38-19 team that entered the All-Star break off three losses in a row, the last to the 10-46 Cleveland Cavaliers, be expected to contend for the NBA title?
"Yep," Bryant says.
Really?
"Absolutely," he says.
So what's wrong with the Lakers?
"We suck," he says.
When will it get better?
"Tuesday," he says.
Among what needs to get better:
•The bench, so productive early in the season, is inconsistent.
•The defense, at times, is non-existent.
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•Speaking of non-existent, forward Ron Artest, hero of the NBA Finals Game 7 win against the Boston Celtics last June, is averaging 7.9 points and scored one point in 18 minutes of the loss last Wednesday to Cleveland, the team the Lakers beat by 55 earlier in the season.
If the playoffs began today, the San Antonio Spurs (46-10) and Dallas Mavericks (40-16) would have home-court advantages over the Lakers.
In the East, the Celtics (40-14), Miami Heat (41-15) and Chicago Bulls (38-16) have better records than the Lakers.
But opponents aren't fooled by the Lakers:
•"Maybe it's hard after winning back-to-back championships, but I think when the playoffs start, they're the team to beat in the West," Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki says.
•"They're fine," New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul says. "I still think they're the best team."
•"They have the experience. They've been there forever. They have Kobe," Heat forward Chris Bosh says. "They're kind of down right now because they've had a couple of bad losses and people are starting to write them off. When people do that, that kind of gives teams motivation.
"I know with us, (a slump) was magnified. Just like with the Lakers, it's magnified right now. They're going to have to get past that. But it's not the first time they've been in a situation like that."
Assessing the Lakers at any one point is difficult. Just take the last road trip. They started 4-0, including an impressive victory at Boston. Then … thud.
"There's been a lot of hot and cold this year and a lot of contrasts, unfortunately," All-Star Lakers forward Pau Gasol says. "We need to find a certain level of consistency. I think we can do that."
The Lakers were thought to be interested in swapping center Andrew Bynum for Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, a move that would drastically alter the look on both ends of the Los Angeles court.
But general manager Mitch Kupchak has downplayed the Lakers' interest in changing the roster before Thursday's trading deadline. The team did get forward Matt Barnes back for non-contact practice Monday for the first time since tearing cartilage in his right knee six weeks ago. He could return to action next week.
"I don't know about trades," Gasol says. "I don't know what's going to happen. I have no control over that. I think with the team we have and the weapons we have on our team, we should be perfectly fine. Things are not clicking at this particular time."
He says topic No. 1 in the Lakers locker room is team play.
"We're all in this, and we can't make this worse and we have to play right," Gasol says. "It won't happen by people trying on their own. As much as you can try individually, you have to put your efforts together in order to accomplish the team's success."
