The long arduous task of reaching the finals for the Lakers is hard to succeed again. Many obstacles stand in the way, and they need to relinquish those for any chance whatsoever of a three-peat.

1. Play Some Defense Will Ya? The Lakers are becoming old and stagnant, and they will not win any games if they are not aggressive defensively. They need to find a last minute spurt for these upcoming months defensively. Bynum needs to step up in a huge way for the Lakers, and Artest needs to be what he use to be -- which probably won't happen, but oh well every man's got a wish.

2. Stop Relying on Kobe. Kobe Bryant will always contribute points to the team on any given night. It's up to players like Bynum, Gasol, Odom, Fischer, and heck even Artest, to make the difference. If Kobe has an off night, these players need to have an on night. Or else things shall be disastrous as it has happened a few times already.

3. Bench Players. The Lakers have been long regarded as having the best bench and most depth in the NBA -- up until this season that is. With key players missing like Farmar, Vujacic, the new key players such as Shannon Brown, and Matt Barnes need to step in and contribute immediately.

4. Run the Triangle. As Phil Jackson said, when Kobe does not play, they actually run their offense. Which means players are moving around, setting screens, passing the ball, and cutting to the basket. Kobe needs to still change his mentality, he is still jacking up shots -- less than previous years though -- and it is hampering the Lakers in a hard way.

5. Fifth and foremost, the biggest obstacle for L.A. to overcome is themselves. No single individual is to blame, ahem -- Artest. However they need to realize that they need to improve their teamwork, and rework their chemistry to what it was last year, and the year before that.