The Lakers are offensive but are they still too soft?

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Beneath the glamour and glitz; beyond the greatness of Kobe; look deeper than the entertaining athleticism and the dominant 15-2 record and there is a battle still raging for the very soul of the Lakers.

It’s Father Merrin vs. the Devil and the bed is levitating.

Are the Lakers still soft or are they hard?

Are they physically tough or, at their core, a bunch of Mr. Softees -- yummy on the outside but soft ice cream nevertheless?

You watch them give up 118 points at Indiana and ask: Are they still too pretty and too reliant on finesse and too disinterested in playing tough D? Or was that just one of 82?

I’ve been watching, covering and psychoanalyzing the Lakers for 35 years and I still don’t have the answer.

Phil Jackson says, ‘We are what we are. A good offensive team.’ But is that good enough in June?

The Christmas Day mega-matchup against the Celtics may offer a clue, but only a clue. The Lakers will be home, emotions will run high, they’ll have revenge in their hearts. It will be a test, but not the litmus test.

They’re much better now with Bynum and Ariza. Their second unit is in a class by itself. But opposing points guards break down Fisher and Farmar with dribble penetration almost on a nightly basis, and that is still their strategic Achilles heel, one that could keep them from a June parade. But even that is not the $64,000 Laker Question.

That still is: soft or hard?

-- Ted Green

Ted Green is a former sportswriter for the L.A. Times and National Sports Daily. He is currently Senior Sports Producer for KTLA Prime News.