Dear Mr. Porter:

My feeling is that the Lakers are in trouble, having lost their last three games to Miami, Charlotte and Orlando. They don’t seem to be playing hard. They may get to the NBA Finals, but I think they will lose to either the Cavaliers or Magic. What do you think?

Norm Crawford
St. Louis

Ross:

It is only March, Norm. The real season doesn’t begin until the third week in April, and the tougher series probably won’t begin until May. To knock the Lakers out, a team will likely have to win four of seven games. That won’t be easy to do.