LOL...high_jinx, you keep putting words in my mouth. Or at least attributing comments made by others to me. espi != Nimbletoe
In any case, you're right, I did pick Lakers as sixth in the West, but that doesn't necessarily mean I would pick them to beat anyone in the first round. I think the Lakers have an advantage over some of the other middle tier Western Conference teams because they're the Lakers - they have the Aura and Mystique that seems to take away the confidence of some other teams. (Maybe Jack on the sidelines is too intimidating for some).
I was gonna do a Dr. Jack-style breakdown of a playoff matchup between the 04-05 Lakers vs. the 04-05 Mavs (the first round as it matches up in my previous rankings), but I think the Mavs are just too much up in the air for me to make any head-to-head player/position comparisions between the two teams. Especially since I don't know where Rudy T plans on plugging in his pieces.
*If* the Mavs play better defense this year, *if* Jason Terry can pull off the pick and roll, *if* Erick Dampier manages to play 75-82 games this season, *if* Stackhouse can come off the bench and not pout about it, and *if* Dirk Diggler steps up his production this year, they'll be pretty good. Probably too good for the Lakers. But, check back with me around the all star break, and I'll do the breakdown for you.