Mike Trudell | Lakers Reporter Oct 22 2010 11:38PM

On paper, the 2010-11 Lakers should be even better than the team that won the NBA title in each of the past two seasons.

Wait … how is that possible?

It’s not like a team can do better than winning a championship, of course, but it certainly can play better basketball along what Phil Jackson often refers to as "the journey.” Whether or not motivation can be drawn from what Jackson says will be his last season as coach, the one in which he searches for his remarkable fourth three-peat, remains to be seen.

But an obviously improved bench, a potentially better team vibe and better health could quite tangibly lead to improved basketball. More specifically, free agents Steve Blake and Matt Barnes couple with rookie Devin Ebanks to boost the pine crew, a more veteran team than last year’s has a better chance to focus only on the court, and other than Andrew Bynum (likely out until the end of November at the earliest), it’s a healthy group of Lakers. More wins could result, but will the regular season be more about "playing the right way” towards victories, or simply trying to get to the playoffs as fast and as healthy as possible?

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