ESPN released their Western Conference Standings projections for the 2012-2013 season and they predict the Los Angeles Lakers will finish second in the conference behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The two teams were predicted to have the same record of 59-23 but the Thunder were given the tiebreaker based on ESPN's decimal rankings from the 100 people on the panel surveyed for the list.
With the addition of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, the Lakers are once again in title contention but the Thunder are still the team to beat in the Western Conference.
The Lakers finishing second in the Western Conference means they would also be the Pacific Division champ over their LA counterparts, the Los Angeles Clippers, who finished fourth in the projections behind the third-place San Antonio Spurs.
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