(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

No team has higher expectations for this coming season than the Los Angeles Lakers. Fresh off of last season's NBA Championship, the Lakers made only one significant change from last year.

Everybody knows about the Lakers' stars, here are the reasons the Lakers will be an even better team this year.

Artest for Ariza

The most obvious difference in this year's Laker team will be the play of Ron Artest. The small forward spot was occupied last year by a quick, athletic Trevor Ariza whose focus on team defense resulted in turnovers and often complete disruption of the opponents' offensive schemes.

Artest is a much better individual defender who won't be in the passing lanes as much as Ariza was but will stifle the opposing wing scorer on the outside and whose strength in the post will prevent even strong post players like Carmelo Anthony from having much success down low.

Expect fewer turnovers and transition baskets as Artest does not have the kind of court speed and quickness that Ariza brought to the table. This will be more than made up for by Artest's superior half court offensive skills.

Artest will struggle early in the season as he makes a transition from primary scorer to third or fourth option. During his career Ron Artest has had seasons when he has shot as high as .412 from the three-point line. In his role with the Lakers expect him to get a lot of open looks at threes as defenders collapse on Laker post scorers.

Bynum Breaks Out

The big story early in the season will be the play of Andrew Bynum. With few opponents his size to defend him Bynum will have a field day offensively with his usual array of turnarounds, hooks, and alley-oops. So far in the preseason he has been dominant inside.

Gasol just finished playing for Spain in the FIBA European Championships where he helped his team win a gold medal. The Lakers will go to Bynum early in the season to preserve Gasol for the last half of the season.

Andrew Bynum is a player whose offensive success will lift his overall game. The early season success he will have will earn him lots of key minutes late in the season and even in the playoffs as his defense improves.

The one key element in Bynum's success is going to be his ability to avoid injury. Two major knee injuries in two years are good reason to question Bynum's durability. The Lakers will be very careful with Bynum late in the season, possibly limiting him to 30 minutes a game to save wear and tear on his knees.

The Laker Bench

Last year the Laker bench scoring suffered severely as both Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic struggled with their shots. Lamar Odom's stellar play was the main reason the Laker bench still remained one of the best in the league while Luke Walton and Shannon Brown both provided steady play with an occasional flash of brilliance.

Mid-season acquisition Adam Morrison made little impact at all.

This year the Laker three point specialists Vujacic and Adam Morrison will look to redeem themselves.

Morrison has the misfortune to play behind Ron Artest, Luke Walton, and occasionally Lamar Odom. This is essentially Morrison's last chance to prove that he can make it as an NBA player but he will get few opportunities.

Look for him late in the first quarter of games early on. If he doesn't hit some shots when he is in he won't be on the floor by mid-season.

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