The 2012 NBA All-Star voting has begun and the current vote leaders are LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. That isn't surprising news, as those are two of the most popular players in the league each season. What would be more surprising is if one of them didn't start the All-Star Game.

Through the first tally of votes, James has 641,348 votes to lead the Eastern Conference and Bryant has 639,419 votes to lead the Western Conference. One of these two players is certainly going to end up leading in total votes, with the battle likely to go down to the final days.

Joining Bryant as the top vote-getters in the West so far are Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul, Clippers forward Blake Griffin, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, and fellow LA Lakers teammate Dwight Howard at center. With Howard joining the West this season, it could end up creating a snub or two among the talented power forwards.

Over in the East, James is joined by fellow Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade at one guard slot and Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo in the other slot. The final two players are New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony and forward/center Chris Bosh of the Heat.

There is a lot of time left in the voting, with the 2013 NBA All-Star Game taking place on February 17. The voting will be open until January 14 and then the starters for the game will get announced on January 17.

This was supposed to be a big year in the NBA with Dwight Howard in Los Angeles and Miami looking to repeat, but five teams that started the year in the top 10 are now looking for help. The good news is that five teams not expected to make much noise have given their fans reason for optimism this season and could make even more news later in the season.

Oklahoma City is sitting on top of the latest rankings from Bleacher Report and doing it with Kevin Durant playing like an MVP. The Thunder had another big won on Monday over San Antonio and now have the best record in the league at 19-4.

New York continues to have the best record in the Eastern Conference and will battle for the top spot for the rest of the year if they can remain healthy. Carmelo Anthony is having the best year of his career and the Knicks are 10-1 at Madison Square Garden, making them a very dangerous team and one that could win a title this season.

The biggest surprise in the NBA is Los Angeles, but it's the Clippers not the Lakers making noise this season. LA is leading the Pacific Division and the hottest team in basketball with 10 straight victories, making the early season demise of Blake Griffin look just plain silly as this team continues to play at a high level.

The LA Lakers are all about winning NBA titles and according to recent reports from Brain Windhorst, the front office is preparing for Kobe Bryant's retirement and could acquire LeBron James to take over the team in 2014.

James could become a free agent in two more years and with the recent trade to add Dwight Howard, the two All-Stars could lead the LA Lakers into the future. The team has just $10 million in salary cap heading into the 2014-15 season and many top executives around the league believe GM Mitch Kupchak is preparing for life with Kobe and company and James is the link that could keep this team competitive.

James is just 28 years old and will have plenty of basketball left in the tank, but the biggest downfall to James playing for Los Angeles is championships. The Heat could still win another title of two before his deal expires and winning tends to keep players together, but if Miami fails to win another title, a move to the LA Lakers is a high possibility.

The NBA has always had high-profile players leaving for greener pastures and the front office for the LA Lakers has always done what it can to keep a championship team on the court and preparing for the future is a must, especially with the age of Bryant, Steve Nash, and the rest of the veterans on the current roster.

New NBA Lakers rumors for 2012 heading into the upcoming basketball season focus on which of the newest LA acquisitions has more pressure on them. Steve Nash and Dwight Howard are two superstars, but does the veteran point guard have more pressure to help deliver yet another championship to Los Angeles?

According to Bleacher Report, yes Nash does have more pressure on his shoulders. The difference is that he's an aging veteran, and at almost 40, he's not as durable as he may be once was when he was younger. Howard on the other hand, is in his prime, and currently the best center in the league. Unfortunately for Nash, he has sort of fallen by the wayside as other younger, quicker, and more agile point guards have come into the league.

In the video clip below, Nash talks about a lot of the things he needs to focus on at this stage of his career. He mentions improving his efficiency, as well as his defense. However, he mentions the key point that most guys around his age need to pay attention to and that is staying in great shape. That lends itself to helping prevent injuries, and limiting the time veteran players have to stay away from the court.

Basically, Nash has a small window of opportunity left in which to win his first ever NBA championship with the LA Lakers. For that very reason, he's got more pressure to deliver in that short bit of time, whereas Dwight Howard could very well have another decade to focus on winning more than one ring. It seems Nash has 1-3 years during which he could possibly get to that promised land, or else he will join another all time great West Coast point guard, John Stockton, as some of the best to never win the title.