Los Angeles Lakers: The Road Back to the NBA Finals

The Lakers are on their way to yet another Finals appearance, which will be their 29th, the most of any team in the NBA. Right now, they are up 2-0 and look too fast and young for the Spurs to handle.

On top of that, the Spurs only have one day in between each game this series, and one of their main players, Manu Ginobili, is injured with a jammed ankle and torn fingernail.

However, this Finals appearance will be the most surprising and unexpected as it was last May when Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant demanded to be traded because of a lack of a supporting cast to contend for a championship. At the time, he was completely right for criticizing management because of their lack of a good supporting cast.

Smush Parker was his starting point guard for the last two seasons and Kwame Brown/Chris Mihm was his starting center for the past three years. The only other good player on the team was Lamar Odom, but he was never comfortable being the sidekick to Kobe, as he preferred to not be selfish and make his teammates better.

During the summer, the Lakers first said they wouldn't trade Kobe, but at the beginning of training camp in October, Jerry Buss said he would trade Kobe if the Lakers were given a fair offer. Those comments created a lot of buzz and then there were several trade proposals.

Some of them were with the Chicago Bulls and there were other offers by the Knicks, Mavericks and Pistons. None of the proposals ever were considered by the Lakers, so Kobe started the season unhappy with the Lakers with the addition of Derek Fisher as the team's only offseason move.

As the season started, the Lakers started out mediocre (9-8). But once young center Andrew Bynum started to get more minutes, the team took off, going 17-3 to get the top seed in the ultra-competitive West.

Bynum injured his knee against the Grizzlies in the middle of January, and the Lakers went back to the team of the past three years, depending on Kobe to score 40-50 points to win. They struggled and only went 4-4.

However, one day after a crushing road loss to the Detroit Pistons, the Lakers acquired All-Star big man Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown, rookie Javaris Crittenton and a couple of first round picks.

Instantly, the Lakers went off, going 27-9 to finish the season and earn the top seed in the West. In addition to the great record, the trade helped Lamar Odom flourish as the third role and helped Kobe dominate while not having to always score 40 points.

Throughout the season, the young bench of the Lakers played well, with Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf all improving mightily. The Lakers ended the season with a 57-25 record, and Kobe Bryant won his first MVP award.

In the first round, they faced the talented 50-win Denver Nuggets. The Lakers completely dominated them in a four-game sweep, with Kobe and Gasol overwhelming Denver's weak defense.

In the second round, the Lakers faced a more formidable opponent in the Utah Jazz, who made the West Finals last year. The Lakers won the first two games but dropped the next two in Utah.

Game 5 was a must win and the Lakers came up big with a close victory. Then in game 6 in Utah, the Lakers dominated the first three quarters before withstanding a late furious rally to end the Jazz season on Utah's home court.

Next came the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, who are going for their fifth title in 10 years and their first back-to-back championships. In game 1, the Lakers, after a long layoff, started terrible and lethargic and suddenly found themselves down by 20 halfway though the third quarter.

However, the MVP showed everyone why he was voted for the award by scoring 25 points in the second half while leading the Lakers to an amazing comeback win over the Spurs. In Game 2, the Lakers completely dominated the Spurs on their way to a 30-point blowout. They are going to take at least one in San Antonio and end the series in four or five.

Whether it is the Detroit Pistons or the Boston Celtics playing the Lakers in the finals, the Lakers have the edge. Neither of those teams has anyone close to Kobe Bryant's level.

The Lakers are too deep, confident and have too much chemistry to lose in the Finals. Kobe will not come that far to lose in the Finals after being so hungry to finally win one since Shaq was traded. All this is without Andrew Bynum, and you can pretty much expect the Lakers to win four or five more championships in the next eight to 10 years and have their fourth dynasty in their storied franchise's history.