Luke Walton has been on a team that made the NBA Finals. And he sees these Lakers as good enough to be there again - this season.

"I expect to be in the (NBA) Finals this year," Walton said Saturday. "We could've done it last year. We had a young team that had never really been there together. I think you really grow a lot from what we went through - losing the 3-1 (lead) to a great team like Phoenix in the playoffs."