More than any other team in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers realize that championships are neither won nor lost in December.

After finishing the last regular season on an eight-game winning streak and waltzing through a 15-1 post-season, they know full well there is no reason for panic in December.

That's why they aren't fretting that Shaquille O'Neal is on the injured list with an arthritic toe, Kobe Bryant is not himself because of sore right ribs and they lost to Memphis and Golden State in two of their last three games before last night's game against the Raptors. The Lakers were only 6-4 in December ? 4-4 in their last eight games ? after starting the season 14-1.

"We've had a tough stretch for finding our rhythm and knocking down some shots but the shots are there," Bryant said after the Lakers' most recent loss, a 101-90 defeat Wednesday by the Warriors. "They're available to us. It's a matter of being patient and having the confidence to knock them down."