The Los Angeles Lakers may not have Chris Paul on their roster when they tip off for their Dec. 25 season opener against the Chicago Bulls, but that hasn’t prevented them from being one of the early season favorites on the NBA odds board.

Think Kobe Bryant and company can avenge their 2011 playoff loss to the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks? There’s a reason they’re perennially granted such lofty betting lines.

They may have been spurned in their attempt to land the league’s top point guard, but with the all-around depth to win a third consecutive ring in four seasons, they’re an impossible option to rule out altogether.

If L.A. plans on cashing in on Bryant, now creeping closer to the twilight of his career, they’ll have to jump out of the gates ready to rule.

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