Reimagining History: What If the Lakers Had Won The Title
in 2004?   The Pistons humiliated the Lakers in June of 2004,
triggering the end of the Shaquille O'Neal era in Los Angeles.
Had the Lakers managed to prevail back then, the past six years
would have unfolded very differently, and not likely for the
better.  Lakerdom is luxuriating in a new Golden Age. Three
straight trips to the NBA Finals and victories in the last two,
including one over their loathsome rivals the Boston Celtics,
have the Lakers standing astride the hoops world. Kobe Bryant is
still going strong, Pau Gasol is likely to remain at his peak
for several more years, and in Andrew Bynum the team has a
skilled (if injury-prone) 22-year-old behemoth to serve as a
potential long-term cornerstone. Already Vegas has tabbed the
Lakers as favorites to win the title again next season. Aside
from an uncertain coaching situation, all systems are go.  This
latter-day paradise has been six years in the making. It grew
out of the smoldering wreckage le