Lakers begin another title quest with no excuses

For their nine seasons together, Kobe Bryant has been joined to Phil Jackson's ailing hip.

As the NBA playoff marathon begins Sunday for the Lakers, the big question is if they can satisfy the lofty expectations of their fans and win another title.

For the Lakers' superstar Bryant, it's a chance to prove he can win an NBA championship without Shaquille O'Neal. And for Lakers Coach Jackson, 63, it's another opportunity to surpass the late Boston legend Red Auerbach for most championships won by an NBA coach (nine).

The Lakers have turned to face the next two months, and the reality that anything less than a championship is a failure.

"With our standards, it is," Jackson said. "For the Lakers, having won a number of times, and probably the Celtics, success is measured in championships."

The Lakers have won 14 NBA titles since making their debut in Minneapolis in 1948, including nine after moving to Los Angeles in 1960. They average a championship every 4.3 years, so forgive them for their impatience. Since the Lakers overwhelmed the New Jersey Nets to win the championship in 2002, there have been few successes for a franchise that refuses to acknowledge anything not ending with a victory parade through the heart of downtown.

This championship drought is the longest in the career of Bryant, now in his 13th season with the Lakers, and the longest for Jackson, in his 18th season as an NBA coach. They have been unimaginably successful in their careers, but they're feeling the seven-year itch.

"One year is too long for me," Bryant said icily when asked if seven years seems like forever.

The pressure is considerable, partly because Bryant can sign with another team in July if he decides to opt out of his Lakers' contract with two more years (and $47.8 million) on it.

Oddsmakers say the Lakers are one of the favorites to win the NBA championship, but the team was in this position last June before suffering an embarrassing loss in the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics, their hated historical rival. With every new playoff season, however, comes a chance at redemption.

Bryant, 30, is driven like few others to be the best basketball player ever, but his three titles lag behind modern-era luminaries Michael Jordan (with six NBA championships) and Magic Johnson (five championships).

As for Jackson, when his teams begin the playoffs, he always pulls out his most recent championship ring and wears it. It's a tradition for him; it's also become annoying.