December 2008 Archives

Kobe Bryant: "It's always (good) health."

Derek Fisher: "I try not to do (resolutions) just because anything you try starting Jan. 1, you could have been doing already. I just think we should all reflect on 2008 and what all has been accomplished. Guys should stop and think how far we have come from December of last year to December of this year. And think about how much farther ahead we want to be a year from now."

Pau Gasol: "Hopefully, getting that (championship) ring would be wonderful."

Phil Jackson: "No, I stay away from that. New Year's Eve is amateur night and New Year's resolutions are for fools."

Lamar Odom: "Just to be consistent in everything I do in life."

Sasha Vujacic: "The only thing I can think of in 2009 that would make me happy, health and happiness aside, is a championship. That's no secret."

This is probably the final post for 2008, so it's a good time to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2009. Thanks for visiting and posting your comments. Peace.

Light posting since the Lakers aren't practicing today or Tuesday and don't play again until Friday against Utah. But I couldn't let a few comments from the Warriors about the Lakers go without posting them. Interesting stuff from Warriors guard Jamal Crawford.

"They're playing great," Crawford said after the Lakers defeated Golden State by 17 points Sunday. "I'm a fan of basketball, and I've been watching them all season and they're playing great. They're playing more physical. It's tough to say if they have an advantage over the Celtics.

"The Christmas win gives them the psychological edge that they kind of needed. Up to that point, Boston was still better than them. It'll be a good series if they (the Lakers and Celtics) make it back (to the NBA Finals)."

Golden State coach Don Nelson had this to say: "They have the whole package and they have a chance to win the whole thing this year. ... I just think that the Lakers, after a year of going to the Finals, are just ready. They know what it takes and they're so well coached and disciplined."

Golden State coach Don Nelson had some nice things to say about Kobe Bryant after the Lakers routed the Warriors, 130-113, on Sunday night. Bryant scored 31 points, making 9 of 15 shots and 10 of 10 free throws. He didn't play for even a second in the fourth quarter.

"Kobe now has a grasp on the game like no other and he controls it when he wants to," Nelson said of the league's reigning MVP. "He makes his players alongside of him succeed and he's a real leader out there. I mean he has the whole package going for him. He's not just the best player in the league, but probably the best leader, the way he leads these guys and directs them and lets them succeed. He could get 50 (points) any time he wanted, I am sure."

Can't anybody here play defense? The Lakers weren't very successful at stopping the Golden State Warriors in the first half. The Warriors were even less successful at halting the Lakers, who built a 15-point lead in the second quarter. Kobe Bryant had 21 points and Sasha Vujacic added 11 for the Lakers. Marco Belinelli led Golden State with 14. Andris Biedrins had 15 rebounds for the Warriors. Ex-Laker Ronny Turiaf did not score.

Chris Mihm said he has no interest in playing more minutes for a losing team. He wants to stick with the Lakers and have a chance to win the NBA title that eluded him and his teammates in last June's bitter loss to the Boston Celtics. He said he heard of the report out of Milwaukee that he could be traded for Bucks guard Tyronn Lue.

"I'm happy here," Mihm said before the Lakers played host to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night. "I've been through a lot in the last five years (with the Lakers), and I feel like we're on the track to something special here. It's something I want to be a part of. I'm nine years in (the league); I want to win a title.

"This team has come a long way in the five years I've been here. This is something I've worked for my whole career. I know the role I have to play here, and right now it's being a veteran presence on this team, helping the other guys out."

Derek Fisher says he can keep playing extended minutes for as long as the team needs him to. Sasha Vujacic says he loves playing point guard, even though his role on the team is as a shooter.

Right now, that's how the Lakers have been coping with the knee injury to backup Jordan Farmar that's expected to keep him out for up to eight weeks.

Over the weekend though, general manager Mitch Kupchak said that the Lakers' brain trust will ``reconvene'' preliminary discussions on whether they need to bring in additional help.

``I can't put a percentage on it,'' Kupchak said. ``But I don't think we're looking for a practice player. If we're going to sign someone, it has to be a player we feel we can put in the game. If we can't find that player, we should probably do nothing.''

With Farmar out, the Lakers have two players with the ability to facilitate the triangle offense: Lamar Odom and Vujacic. They also have rookie Sun Yue, but he's made exactly one official appearance in an NBA regular season game and is considered a long-range project.

Kupchak declined to comment on which players the Lakers would look at, if they were to decide to add another point guard, but it's a fair assumption that familiarity with the Lakers' system would be a plus for any candidate.

Kupchak added that the team is mostly concerned by losing Farmar at the defensive end of the court.

``I think from an offensive point of view, we have players that can facilitate the offense,'' he said. ``From a defensive perspective, we have to look at it and say, `Can we adequately defend the small guards in this league with only one small guard on our roster in Derek Fisher?' ''

The Lakers currently have 14 players on the roster, meaning they have one available roster spot. Would they want to commit that to a point guard for the rest of the season with Farmar due back around the All Star break in mid-February?

Teams can sign players to 10-day contracts beginning Jan. 5, but Kupchak said that date has no relevance to the discussion because the team could also sign a player to a non-guaranteed contract at any point.

Of course, if the current situation works out well, with Fisher playing longer minutes, Vujacic and/or Odom handling the rest of the ball-handling duties, and Trevor Ariza stepping in to defend some of the quicker point guards in the league as he did Tuesday night in New Orleans against Chris Paul, the Lakers could just end up standing pat and waiting for Farmar to return.

``The more you play, you may get comfortable with the players you have,'' Kupchak admitted.

It never did feel even a little like Christmas.

Nor did it change anything that happened last June.

But for a few hours Thursday afternoon, the anguish the Lakers and their fans had been left to gnaw on for six long months was finally vanquished as they beat the Boston Celtics 92-83 in round one of the much-hyped rematch of last years' NBA Finals in front of a raucous sellout crowd at the Staples Center.

How much weight or measure can be taken from the events of Thursday's game probably won't be clear for a while, if ever.

How much satisfaction the home team took home with it Thursday night after snapping the Celtics franchise-record 19-game winning streak was easier to surmise.

``It's a great gift,'' Laker guard Kobe Bryant said. ``It makes the day that much more enjoyable to go home and spend with your family.

``But we're 24-5 That's it. (The Celtics streak) is neither here nor there. We want to get it done in June.''

As much as Bryant and other team leaders tried to downplay the importance of Thursday's Christmas Day game, it was clear early on that this was no ordinary regular season game.

At tipoff, nearly every seat inside the arena was filled. Even those held by the fashionably-late set who generally tend to linger in Staples Centers' swanky lounges deep into the first half.

Chants of ``Boston Sucks'' rang out midway through the first quarter, young children held up homemade signs saying proclaiming their hatred for the Celtics (27-3).

And the arena nearly erupted in cheer when Sasha Vujacic converted a three-point play following a frenetic series of loose-ball tips and saves by Kobe Bryant and Trevor Ariza with 9 minutes, 19 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

On the court, the emotion was just as high. Elbows flew, players dove into the sidelines for stray balls, voices were raised and jaws clenched.

``You know what, it did have a little spice to it,'' Ariza said. ``It was a fun game to play. I wouldn't say it felt like June, but it felt like a big game.''

Phil Jackson got his 999th career victory Tuesday night in New Orleans. He could get his 1,000th career win Thursday against the Celtics.

If Jackson picks up his 1,000th win in the next 11 games, he would be the fastest coach to do so, passing Pat Riley. Jackson has coached in 1,422 games.

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- And just like that, the Lakers got their groove back.

After beginning this four-game road trip with two sour, discordant notes in losses to the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, then righting themselves statistically, but not artistically in Monday's win over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Lakers turned in their most impressive performance in several weeks Tuesday night, beating the New Orleans Hornets 100-87 at New Orleans Arena.

``I liked the way we came out of this road trip,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``I didn't like the way we started it.''

All of which means Thursday's long-anticipated Christmas Day showdown against the Boston Celtics can proceed, as hyped, without any cautionary notes.

``It's big that we got a little bit of a rhythm back to get ready for the showdown against them (Boston),'' Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said. ``They are playing phenomenal basketball right now. It'll be fun to match up with a team like that.''

How much does the outcome of Thursday's game matter, though?

``The only stock we put in it is to see where we stand, right at this moment,'' Bryant said. ``It's like a balance sheet. ...The Finals is the ultimate revenge.''

New Orleans will not have three-point specialist Peja Stojakovic (back spasms) and back-up point guard Antonio Daniels (sore knee) in tonight's game.

Jordan will have surgery tomorrow to repair the torn lateral meniscus in his left knee. Dr. Clarence Shields of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Group will perform the surgery.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- It wasn't exactly a pouring rain that greeted the Lakers' plane as it touched down here in Memphis late Saturday night, merely a bitter cold snap in the Mid-South.

The sunshine of Florida, from whence they came, might have felt good, but it hadn't translated into any victories. And so they flew north, hoping a game against the young Memphis Grizzlies might send their their fortunes in the same direction.

It didn't have to be melodic, or methodic, any win would do. Which is exactly what they got in a rather ho-hum 105-96 win over the Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum Monday night.

``Winning games in this league, some nights it's easier than others and other nights you really have to work hard to do it,'' Lakers guard Derek Fisher said. `` So we're not ashamed of winning this one at all.

``We feel good about it and we'd like to be able to finish this trip off with another one tommorrow night (against New Orleans).''

After losing the first to games of this four-game trip when their shots at the end of games rattled around and rimmed out, the Lakers finally sunk one Monday night as Kobe Bryant's 3-pointer with 34.8 seconds gave the Lakers a 99-96 lead they would not relinquish.

``It felt good, like a nice put,'' said Bryant, who finished with a game-high 36 points on 14-of-23 shooting.

Judging from his reaction, it also felt pretty good when he threw down an emphatic dunk off a fast break as time expired. In terms of the score, it was wholly unnecessary. In terms of his psyche after this rough patch of the season ...

``Anytime you have a moment to kind of release yourself, it's good,'' Bryant said with a wink.

A few minutes earlier, Lamar Odom helped himself to the same squeeze ball, slamming home a pass from Trevor Ariza to cut Memphis' lead down to 93-90.

Before the game, Odom had been the target of another stinging jab from Lakers coach Phil Jackson. With the news coming down a couple hours before tip-off that two doctors have recommended surgery for back-up point guard Jordan Farmar (torn meniscus), Jackson was asked whether Odom could handle some of the point-guard duties.

``Lamar hasn't been able to do much of anything recently,'' Jackson quipped. ``He had a good game against New York (last Tuesday), but he's struggled lately. I hope he gets on track tonight.''

Lakers guard Jordan Farmar, who suffered an injury to his left knee in Friday night's game at Miami, was examined by Lakers' team doctor Steve Lombardo today in Los Angeles. In seeking an additional opinion, Farmar also was examined by Dr. Byron Patterson.

Both doctors concurred with the original diagnosis of a torn lateral meniscus, and have recommended surgery.

Farmar is currently weighing his options, and the Lakers will issue an update when he has made a decision.

I've been in Memphis a little less than 24 hours and already about five people have come up to me to ask about the big showdown between the Gasol brothers tonight. Yesterday, as I was leaving the practice court at FedEx Forum, a man yelled out, `You tell that Paul Gasol I said `What's up.' ''

Yes, Paul Gasol.

Anyway, I'm not sure exactly the kind of reception Pau is going to get tonight. Since he asked for, and later took back, a trade during his last year here, it might not be kind. But having his younger brother Marc here and playing well might generate a few more kind sentiments.

I had a chance to meet Marc yesterday afternoon and like Pau he's very polite and personable. I think because he's four and half years younger than Pau, he's been a bit immune to the pressure of following his big brother. If they were two or three years apart, it'd be different. But four and half years was just enough to ensure Marc had a chance to become his own person.

``It's been like that forever so it doesn't make a difference anymore,'' Marc said, when asked about being compared to Pau. ``To be compared to one of the best players in Spanish history, even if you come up a little short, it might not be that bad.

``I learned many things from Pau, I've seen more of his games than anyone, except my parents maybe.''

That said, they are two pretty different players. Pau is long and lanky, more of a finesse player. Marc is thick and strong. Here in Memphis, they have started calling him ``The Tank.''

``We're both winners, but I think everybody can accomplish it in their own way,'' Marc said. ``I always needed to play a different way because I had a different body than Pau. He was skinnier and I was thicker so I had to develop different skills.''

As much as Pau was happy to leave Memphis and move on to the Lakers last season, both brothers recognize it's benefits for Marc. It's quiet, the expectations are low, and with the Grizzlies young team, Marc will get a lot of minutes and space to develop.

``Memphis is a different city but I think the people here appreciate us a lot,'' Marc said. ``All they ask for is for us to play hard. They don't ask for us to win 45 or 50 games every year, they just ask to go every night and compete and that's what we do.''

As if two uber-talented, intelligent, 7-foot-tall NBA athletes weren't enough for one family, now comes word there is actually a third Gasol brother out there.

Adria Gasol is 15, but he's already 6-foot-5, and yes, he plays basketball.

Older brother Marc doesn't want to raise the bar too high just yet.

`` We'll see how Adria develops,'' Marc said. ``I just want him to be happy whatever he does. I don't expect him to play basketball, that would be too much pressure on him. If he studies, if he plays soccer, if he plays tennis, he doesn't have to do it at the highest level. He just has to have fun

The weather here in Memphis, like the shocking turn of events for the Lakers in the previous two games, was bracing and biting.

So instead of a day spent indoors re-hashing how the last two games have gotten away from them, or bundling up in the 28-degree air, walking in and around Memphis, Phil Jackson had his team come down to the FedEx Forum for a quick practice Sunday afternoon.

Normally, on an off-day after a back-to-back, Jackson might've given the team a day off. But this was no normal off-day. Not after the Lakers dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season.

``I've been talking to the guys about playing with more enthusiasm and more energy,'' Jackson said. ``I think I've been reiterating that for a while. So we've been talking about that, trying to get these guys to liven up a little bit.''

In other words, with an offense gone stagnant, and a defense still figuring itself out, doing something was better than standing still.

ORLANDO -- For the second straight night, the Lakers found themselves on the losing side of a disputed connection in the state of Florida.

Saturday night, it was Sasha Vujacic's shot with 3.9 seconds remaining that rattled around the rim and found a way to pop out, crushing the Lakers hopes of salvaging this swing through the Sunshine State and sending them to a 106-103 loss against the Orlando Magic at the Amway Arena.

Friday night, Kobe Bryant's last-second shot rattled around the rim down in Miami as the Lakers lost to the Heat 89-87.

It marked the first time the Lakers (21-5) have lost back-to-back games this season and the first time they've failed to win a game in either Miami or Orlando since the 2004-05 season.

They'll have a day off today in Memphis to regroup before resuming this four-game road trip Monday night against the Grizzlies.

``I don't think we are down. We lost on two in-and-outs and that's pretty painful,'' Vujacic said of the Lakers psyche after back-to-back losses.

His own wasn't as healthy.

``It was one of the worst night's I've probably had,'' said Vujacic, who missed all six shots he took Saturday. ``Coach showed me confidence. Kobe showed me confidence. He passed me the ball. Those are the shots I live for. When I saw that it came out, I was shocked. It was just painful.''

The loss wasted the best performances of the season from Bryant, who had 41 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and Fisher, who scored 27 points in a season-high 41 minutes.

Lakers point guard Jordan Farmar has a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee and will miss at least the rest of this road trip. Farmar said his knee has been bothering him for a few weeks but was healing and feeling better until he re-aggravated it in Friday's loss to the Miami Heat.

Farmar had an MRI Saturday in Orlando which revealed the tear. He will fly home to Los Angeles on Sunday, then be seen by several doctors in Los Angeles and determine the best course of action.

``It's disappointing. You want to play ball. You work so hard to be ready, you want to go out there and help your team,'' Farmar said before the Lakers game against Orlando Saturday night. ``I felt I played well last night and was getting mentally back on track and ready to roll. It's part of the game and it's part of life. Setbacks come an there's always going to be adversity. It's how you deal with it. I'll be fine.''

Farmar is the Lakers primary back-up at point guard. He's been playing almost 20 minutes a game, averaging 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson didn't want to divulge the team's plans, but it's likely Lamar Odom and Sasha Vujacic would help fill the hole in the backcourt.

Dwyane Wade turned in his 11th 30-point night of the season in Friday's win over the Lakers, which caused more than a few people to harken back to the days when Kobe Bryant regularly put up monster numbers like that, because the Lakers were so lacking in the front court.

Afterwards, I asked Kobe if he saw any similarities and he smirked.

`No, because if I was hot like he was (Friday), I would've had 50 points because I would've shot the ball like 45 times, not 25 times like he did,'' Bryant said, laughing. ``I would've kept going.''

If Bryant hadn't said that though, this quote from Udonis Haslem would've topped the night's notebook.

Haslem was asked about Bryant's last shot, which rattled around the rim a few times before finally bouncing out and giving the Heat the victory.

``He puts up a shot with Shawn (Marion) all over him and the shot goes halfway down,'' Haslem said. ``If you can get half a point for a bucket, he would've gotten half a point and we would've won by half a point.''

MIAMI -- Then, in a Flash, all was not well with the Lakers.

After pulling out a few uninspiring victories against some even more uninspiring teams back home in Los Angeles, the Lakers began a second-straight East Coast trip on a low note.

This time it was Dwyane Wade and the previously struggling Miami Heat knocking them off of their stride, beating the Lakers 89-87 Friday night in front of a sellout crowd at American Airlines Arena.

And typically, though predictably, it was Wade doing much of the damage.

The NBA's scoring leader scored 35 points on 13-of-25 shooting Friday night, his 11th 30-point game of the season.

Wade's circus-shot, 33-foot, 3-pointer beat the buzzer at the end of the third quarter and gave Miami its largest lead of the game at 75-63.

The Lakers somehow found a way to answer, closing the gap to one point on Pau Gasol's free throw with eight seconds remaining in the game, and had a chance to tie the game at the end of regulation, but Kobe Bryant's fall-away jumper rattled around the basket and popped out to end the game.

``I thought it was in,'' said Bryant, who had a team high 28 points. ``Even when it rattled around, I thought it was going to fall. It just didn't happen.''

Had it gone in the Lakers would've sent the game to overtime and earned a chance to improve their record to 22-3, despite scoring a season-low in points.

Instead the Lakers (21-4) must head to Orlando for a game tonight against a team with a record (20-6) that would immediately make them the second-best team in the Western Conference.

But perhaps more importantly, had Bryant's shot gone in, and the Lakers continued their fourth-quarter surge into overtime and escaped with a win, they also would've probably escaped having to answer questions about their wretched free throw shooting (10 of 19) Friday night, their 21 turnovers, and their inability to get Andrew Bynum involved in a game against a team that starts a 6-foot-8 player (Udonis Haslem) at power forward and an unheralded second-year free agent named Joel Anthony at center.

Kobe Bryant is set to debut his new eyebrow-raising low-top shoes tonight against the Miami Heat. Trevor Ariza will also don a pair.

Kobe will actually be wearing a pair of limited edition version of his new Kobe IV called the ``Venom.'' His nickname is Mamba, get the reference?

There were only 48 pairs of Venoms made for sale. 24 went on sale in Miami today, 12 on his website kb24.com and 12 at a shoe store in Los Angeles.

Trevor Ariza is wearing a regular version of the new Kobe IV.

Kobe will also be wearing a special red bracelet made for him by a woman named Brenda Klopfstein, who suffers from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Kobe met Brenda after the Lakers game against the Knicks on Tuesday. The meeting was facilitated by the Dream Foundation.

There's been a bug in the Lakers locker room the last couple of days. Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol have been the most high profile victims...

But according to this report out of Indianapolis, it could be worse.

Indiana Pacers will be very shorthanded tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Starters Troy Murphy, Marquis Daniels and Danny Granger are hospitalized, getting treatment for flu-like symptoms, Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said.

Lakers forward Pau Gasol said he will play tonight against the Miami Heat after missing Tuesday's game against the Knicks and Wednesday's practice with a case of strep throat.

``I feel good. I feel a lot better,'' Gasol said. ``I took my medicine, I've been getting my rest. i took care of myself and I should be better to get back out there.''

Gasol said he stayed in bed most of Tuesday and Wedesday before boarding a flight to Miami on Thursday morning. He worked out a bit when the Lakers landed Thursday evening and participated in shoot-around Friday afternoon.

The two days he was out of commission were pretty miserable though.

``Your throat gets really sore, you can't really swallow anything, and you get a bad fever for a couple of days,'' he said. ``I tried (to play Tuesday). I went to Staples to evaluate myself and realized I wasn't going to do it.

``I watched it at home. ...There was a little too much interest. When we fell behind by 15 I was not too happy but we were able to come back in the second half and get the win.''

The woman charged with stalking Lakers forward Luke Walton pleaded no contest today and was ordered to stay away from him for three years.

The woman, Stacy Elizabeth Beshear, 35 of El Segundo entered the plea to one count of misdemeanor stalking before Judge Hector Guzman, according to Deputy District Attorney Ann Ambrose, of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office Stalking Unit.

Beshear was sentenced to three years probation, ordered to attend weekly counseling sessions for one year and ordered to stay away from Walton's home, the Lakers practice facility in El Segundo and Laker games for three years.

Beshear was arrested Sept. 18 after she pulled up to his car and pretended to fire gunshots at him with her hand, officials said.

Luke Walton posted a new blog entry over on NBA.com in which he discusses the wide range of emotions that went through high during his mini stint at the end of the Lakers bench at the start of the season.

``How does it feel to be playing again? Well, let's just say the food tastes a little better, the weather is a little nicer and the L.A. freeway traffic isn't so bad after all,'' he writes.

``Are you kidding? I'm having a blast out there playing again. It's why you dedicate the countless hours of practice, physical and mental preparation along with conditioning because you never know when you will receive the call to action.

``I was definitely surprised when Phil told me I was starting against the Suns last week. I didn't even see it coming.''

He also discusses his relationship with Vladimir Radmanovic, who essentially traded places with him and now finds himself at the end of the bench.

``There isn't any awkwardness between us,'' Walton writes. ``Vlade and I are very close. Who plays and doesn't play is not our decision. When Vlade was playing instead of me, I wasn't mad at him. We all want to play. If the coach is playing him, I'm on the bench cheering for him, hoping he's making his shots, and excited for him when he's plays a good game and vice versa.''

He also offers some thoughts on the Lakers upcoming Christmas Day game against the Celtics, and admits that the Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers are ``playing better than us right now.''

``Even though we feel like we have the deepest and most talented team in the NBA, at 21-3, we're not fooled by our record,'' Walton writes. ``We know Boston and Cleveland are playing better than us right now. We know that our defense has to get a lot better and a lot more consistent if we're going to have an opportunity to reach the Finals and win it.

... make sure to read any and all posted signs in a parking lot, then go and look for hidden signs so you avoid the fate that befell myself and a colleague tonight. Apparently towing cars is a fairly popular --and lucrative -- activity down here.

Anyway, Elliott is off this week on a well-deserved vacation, so I'll be taking you through the week. As you've guessed, I've started this trip out on a high note...At least the weather is an upgrade over the arctic blast we've had out in LA the last few days.

After an extended set of games against a dreadful set of teams, the Lakers say they're happy to be out on the road and facing some superior competition. Fortunately, the Knicks gave them a run for their Monday on Tuesday, which brought out some fight and fire in them.

To win on the road though, they'll really have to turn up the defensive intensity.

First up on this trip is the Miami Heat, the Dwyane Wade-led bunch which reminds some people of the Lakers of a few years ago

The Lakers landed here in Miami Thursday afternoon and the quarter of the team that's sick tried to catch some rest and recover from the bug that's been going around the locker room.

Pau Gasol, who missed Tuesday's game against the Knicks with strep throat, made the trip but it's not certain whether he'll be able to go Friday against the Heat.

Kobe Bryant, on the other hand, was a bundle of energy. Bryant made a surprise appearance at Dillard High in Ft. Lauderdale Friday night to meet with Florida's 2007-08 boys' state championship basketball team.

Dillard's basketball team is one of the premier programs in the state of Florida, garnering four titles in a row from 2001 - 2004, and again this past season.

Kobe does a bunch of these type of events at high schools around the country as part of his community outreach efforts.

Anyway, if I was smart I'd try and convert over to East Coast time now and head for bed. I'll have an update on Pau Gasol's status before the game tommorrow.

Just got word that Pau Gasol joined his teammates for their flight to Miami this morning. It shouldn't have come as a surprise, but strep throat is nothing to mess around with at this time of year. It forced him to sit out of Tuesday's victory over the Knicks and he did not attend Wednesday's practice. Lamar Odom, who also has been ill, said he expected to play more minutes than ususal even if Gasol was able to start Friday against Miami.

Not all that much to report from practice, other than the fact both Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol skipped it today. Fisher was given the day off. Gasol is still recovering from the strep throat which caused him to miss Tuesday's game against the Knicks.

The Lakers hope Gasol will be well enough to play in Miami on Friday, but aren't sure yet. They fly out tommorrow at 10 a.m.

The source of the bug which seems to be spreading around the locker room is still unclear. Some fingers have pointed to Lamar Odom, who has been sick for a few days now. If that's the case, Andrew Bynum better be getting his Vitamin C. Odom said that he was sitting next to Bynum when he threw up into a towel in last night's game.

Bynum said he didn't even notice, but was mildly grossed out upon hearing about it.

Practice wrapped up quickly for the starters (except Luke Walton), but many of the reserves stayed on the court well past 2 p.m. in a five-on-five game. No biggie, except that it delayed the start of the D-Fenders practice for quite a while.

The Lakers rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat the New York Knicks, 116-114, on Tuesday night at Staples Center. And get this, they got booed off the court by another demanding sellout crowd after trailing by 65-50 at halftime.

"You can't say we don't have character," said Trevor Ariza, who gave the Lakers the lead for good with a layup off a lob pass from Lamar Odom with 1:03 remaining. "It's another type of game we can try to learn from."

Give the Lakers credit. They seem to understand they are very much a work in progress.

Odom stepped up and had a season-best 17 points and a team-leading 12 rebounds in his first start of the season. He replaced power forward Pau Gasol, who was sent home before the game because of a case of strep throat.

Kobe Bryant said this about Odom: "He played extremely well, really hard, and did a great job for us. Pau, he's tough to replace because of what he brings to the team: his post presence, his ability to pass the ball and rebound. We just have another player, a different kind of player (in Odom)."

The New York Knicks torched the Pau Gasol-less Lakers en route to a 15-point lead in the first half, hitting 11 of 23 3-pointers. Nate Robinson had 18 points in a reserve role for New York, and Quentin Richardson added 16. Kobe Bryant had 11 points and Lamar Odom and Luke Walton had nine apiece. Odom replaced Gasol, who sat out because of strep throat.

Pau Gasol came down with a case of strep throat Monday night and could not play in the Lakers' game Tuesday against the New York Knicks. He arrived at Staples Center at 5:45 p.m., but was sent home by 6:30, team spokesman John Black said.

Lamar Odom replaced Gasol at power forward, his first start in 24 games after moving to a reserve role for the first time in his career.

"I'll do whatever needs to be done, start or come off the bench, cheerlead, coach, sweep the floor," Odom said. "You want me to sweep the floor, I'll sweep the floor. It would be a nice campaign, a Nike campaign. I am versatile.

The Western Conference-leading Lakers and the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics each are on pace to surpass the NBA record of 72 victories in a season set by Phil Jackson's Chicago Bulls in 1995-96, the greatest of the Michael Jordan-led teams.

The Lakers went into Tuesday's game against New York with a 20-3 mark and were on pace for a final record of 71-11. The Celtics, who were off Tuesday, are 23-2 and on pace for a final mark of 75-7. Our friends at ESPN.com are charting the progress of the Lakers and Celtics and comparing them to the Bulls. It's worth a look.

Here are a few tidbits from Monday's practice:

--Andrew Bynum is considering taking off the brace he's worn to protect his left kneecap since training camp began. His kneecap is feeling better than ever and there's little need to wear the brace. He was injured during a Jan. 13 game against the Memphis Grizzlies and missed the rest of the season.

--Sasha Vujacic has been nursing a painful bone bruise on his right hand since he was injured in a collision with Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns last Wednesday. Vujacic missed both shots he attempted and did not score in Sunday's victory over the Timberwolves.

--The Lakers are willing to trade Vujacic, according to a report over the weekend on the Web site of a New York newspaper. That was news to Vujacic, who signed a new three-year contract worth about $15 million during the offseason and often says he wants to be a Laker for life.

--Luke Walton did not attend practice because of personal reasons. He was inserted into the starting lineup in place of Vladimir Radmanovic for last Wednesday's game against the Suns after hardly playing in the season's first 20 games. Walton is expected to start again tonight against New York.

Maybe this is as good as it gets right now.
Maybe this is the best the Lakers can do.
Maybe winning ugly games against bad teams is their method of
operation.
That certainly seemed to be the case again Sunday night, when the
Lakers rumbled, bumbled and stumbled their way past the Minnesota
Timberwolves, 98-86, in front of a sellout crowd of 18,997 at Staples
Center.
"When you're striving to be perfect like we are, and not just
playing to make the postseason but playing to be a great team, after games
like this you just feel you could have played better," Lakers sixth man
Lamar Odom said. "A win is a win. It's not like we lost, but we could have
played better."
Perhaps the Lakers simply can't do any better against the dregs of
the league. After all, the Timberwolves represented the Lakers' eighth
consecutive opponent without a winning record. The Lakers improved to 7-1 in
that stretch and are 20-3 for the season.
Only the Boston Celtics (22-2) have a better record than the Lakers.
It also seems only the Celtics can capture the Lakers' attention at the
moment. The Celtics are, after all, the team that defeated them in the NBA
Finals last June.
So, forgive the Lakers if they are secretly counting the days until
they play host to Gang Green on Christmas Day.
Clearly, the Lakers are not dazzled by the likes of the lowly
Timberwolves, who fell to 4-19 after losing their ninth consecutive game.
How else to explain the Lakers' struggles?
Or more to the point, how else to explain the Lakers' run of
lackluster play? After all, that's really been the bottom line over the last
few weeks.

Here comes the new boss, same as the old boss? Kevin McHale and the Wolves fired coach Randy Wittman last week and replaced him, himself ... but so far the results have been exactly the same.

Minnesota is 0-3 since McHale took over and has lost eight straight coming into tonight's game.

Minnesota is shooting just 41.8 percent during its losing streak. There have been a few bright spots though. Power forward Al Jefferson continues to put up big numbers. Jefferson, the centerpiece of the deal that sent Kevin Garnett from Minnesota to Boston before last season, recorded his 11th double-double of the season in Friday's loss to the Spurs.

The T-Wolves have also been getting a nice contribution from rookie Kevin Love (UCLA) who h has four double-doubles in the last seven games and is averaging 12.1 ppg and 11.6 rpg in that span.

Sharp-shooter Mike Miller is back from an ankle injury that cost him four games over the past few weeks. Miller returned to action on Friday and is expected to start tonight.

The beat goes on ...

The Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings, 112-103, with more of the same inconsistent play that fans have grown accustomed to seeing of late. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 32 points and Pau Gasol had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Andrew Bynum fouled out with eight points and 10 rebounds.

Here's Phil Jackson on the Lakers' inability to put away the Kings until the final seconds: "I told them in the postgame that we found ways to keep this ballclub (the Kings) in the game, in the end of the first half, in the end of the third quarter, and at the end of the game. We did it through a variety of things. We missed foul shots. We gave up fouls at the end of the quarters. Let's not take anything away from Sacramento, but we really kept them in the game."

Gasol on the Lakers' play: "I think it was a lot better. We were more consistent tonight. Defensively, our effort was better. We didn't turn the ball over as much. We controlled the boards pretty good, and it was overall a much better game for us."

Bryant on his two-handed dunk near the end of the game: "I rarely have the opportunity, because normally when I'm going through the paint I'm going through traffic I don't really have the chance to use two hands. You've got to use one hand and try to turn your body, so it feels good to have one to just blow it all out."

Bynum on his play and the play of the team: "We just had a lot more energy tonight, at least I tired a lot harder than I have in the past. I had six fouls. I can't do anything about that. but we had a better effort out there defensively. If you look at the tape, you see a lot more guys helping each other out."

The Lakers and Sacramento Kings were tied at 52 at halftime. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 14 points, the same number as Sacramento's John Salmons. Same old, same old for the Lakers, whose play won't have anyone thinking about a title just yet. Their biggest lead was eight points. The Kings never led. Luke Walton started again. Josh Powell played almost four minutes in the first half.

The Lakers went into Friday's game against the Kings with an 18-3 record, best in the Western Conference and third overall in the NBA, but Coach Phil Jackson admitted he had no idea what to expect from his team.

"Check the moons, check where the stars are and give your best," he said with a chuckle. "We have too many Scorpio and Capricorn guys on this team. ... I'm not nervous about it. I'd like to see them play with a better sense of purpose out there."

Asked about the team's lackluster play, he added:

"I thought we had a little down period coming back from the road trip (last week) and then had to go back out on the road again (to play the Kings on Tuesday in Sacramento). Things kind of snowballed and the mood of the team fell along that line.

"(But) we're back and we're pointing toward this next road trip as kind of the set up for us to play really well. We have three games before we go on the road. That road trip is extremely important. We need to finish out this month really strong."

After home games against Minnesota on Sunday and New York on Tuesday, the Lakers hit the road to play Miami, Orlando, Memphis and New Orleans. Then they return home to play the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics on Christmas Day.

The Kings have been off since their shocking upset of the Lakers on Tuesday, meaning they're probably still riding high from knocking off the top team in the Western Conference and, ending their eight-game losing streak.

In that game, the Kings were successful at drawing the Lakers post players away from the basket, clearing out the lane, then letting their slashers attack the rim.

Could the same formula work again?

Or will the Lakers be able to make the adjustment defensively?

Having a game, and a full practice on Thursday certainly helped in that regard. We'll find out shortly.

Actually, the Lakers didn't practice Thursday, but they were a pretty chatty bunch. Here are a few notes and quotes one day after they slogged through a 115-110 victory over the Phoenix Suns and one day before the meet the Sacramento Kings.

--Coach Phil Jackson said he would probably start Luke Walton again at small forward instead of Vladimir Radmanovic. Walton said he had fun while scoring eight points and adding six assists Wednesday. Radmanovic said he didn't wish to talk about his demotion after starting the season's first 20 games.

--Walton had this to say about his first start of the season: "It was a lot of fun to be back out there. I missed it from the first game this season. Every game that you sit there is hard. Being back out there, you realize why you miss it because it's so much fun."

--Andrew Bynum made another plea for more minutes at the end of games. Jackson said he would play Bynum only when Bynum shows he can stop some of the league's top centers on a consistent basis with the game on the line.

--Sasha Vujacic said he felt more comfortable than he has in a while, which accounted for his season-high 15 points against Phoenix. He had struggled offensively over the previous four games, but he said his confidence returned.

--Said Vujacic: "It was a great thing to be on the floor. It was a great thing that coach had the confidence in me, especially in the last couple of minutes when the game was on the line. Not only the coach, but my teammates. They found me in the offense and I got some open shots and I knocked them down."

After over three decades on 570 KLAC the Lakers are moving to 710 ESPN.

The move ostensibly coincides with ESPN's huge investment in the L.A. Live project across the street from Staples Center.

"This is an exciting but somewhat bittersweet announcement for the Lakers organization," said Jeanie Buss, Executive Vice President of Business Operations. "KLAC has been a wonderful partner for more than three decades and we greatly respect and appreciate everything they have done. At the same time, we feel strongly that the time is right for this move to 710 ESPN."

The Lakers radio broadcasting team of play-by-play announcer Spero Dedes and color commentator Mychal Thompson will move with the team to the new station.

In case you missed it, Elliott has an intriguing story on some post-game comments made by one Kobe Bean Bryant.

When asked why the team seemed, in Bryant's words ``edgy'' with its recent run of just-good-enough-to-win wins, Bryant said:

"We'll beat the good teams," Bryant said. "It's Boston that's our barometer. That's the team that beat us. They're the standard. They're the benchmark. That's the team that beat us, so that's how it's going to be."

Consider the gauntlet thrown down.

Asked if it's a championship or bust, Bryant said, "I'm cool with that. That's better than, 'Damn, I hope we make the playoffs.' It's exciting because you have an opportunity to win a championship. Having seen the other side of that, I'd much rather have this situation than the other one."

The main culprit for the Lakers shaky victories of late has been some rather inconsistent defense. Lately, it tends to come and go on a whim.

How was the defense so good in the first week or two of the year and so unpredictable now?

Bryant attributed that to a lack of practice time during the season, to keep what is a relatively new scheme in tune.

``It's just not having the time to work on it,'' he said. ``We had training camp and had a lot of practice days in between games so we had a lot of time to really brush up on it. But as the season goes on you play so many games you kind of lose that a little bit.''

Could the recent menu of sub-.500 teams the Lakers have been served have anything to do with the lack of consistency? In other words, are the Lakers playing down to their competition?

``No, that's not an excuse. I appreciate it though,'' Bryant joked with the questioning reporter. ``We want to continue to sharpen the edge. We don't have slip-ups.''

``Luke, take Vlad's spot.''

That's how Vladimir Radmanovic found out he was being replaced in the starting lineup --for Wednesday night at least -- by Luke Walton. And he wasn't thrilled about it.

``I found out this morning at shoot-around but besides that, nothing. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy for Luke. We're all good friends here. So I'm happy to see him get a chance to play. I can only imagine how he felt, not playing all these games. ... I expected at least some explanation.''

Radmanovic left the Lakers locker room before reporters were let in the room. His teammates understood his frustration, but felt that he'd be OK.

``You just got to stay on him, pick him up,'' Kobe Bryant said. ``He'll be fine. I mean obviously he's probably a little taken aback from going from playing whatever minutes to not playing at all. But he'll be fine.''

For most of this season, Luke Walton has been buried on the Lakers bench. He's only appeared in 12 of the Lakers first 20 games, and when he does get playing time, it's mostly of the garbage time variety.

But after Tuesday's ugly loss in Sacramento, Lakers coach Phil Jackson decided to shake things up and insert Walton into the starting lineup for tonight's game against the Suns.

We're about 20 minutes from tip-off and the Suns are probably still in their locker room figuring out how their eight active players is are going to try and beat the best team in the Western Conference after this afternoon's blockbuster, five-player deal that sent Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Sean Singletary to Charlotte in exchange for Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley.

Said center Amare Stoudemire, when asked whether he could play 40 minutes if need be:

``40? I'm 26 years old, I can play 48 if we need it.''

With Shaquille O'Neal at his great-grandmother's funeral and Diaw on his way to Charlotte, he just might have to.

The Lakers' 113-102 loss Tuesday night to the Sacramento Kings revealed a few of their many shortcomings. The Kings have something to say about the outcome, of course, but the Lakers played a key role in losing for the third time in 20 games.

Pau Gasol laughed with Andrew Bynum after they fumbled a rebound out of bounds on the Kings' first possession. It wasn't a good start, and the Lakers' starters never really found their rhythm en route to a 56-51 deficit by halftime. They never led in the second half.

As ever, Sacramento's quick guards proved to be a problem for the Lakers. The Kings dribbled into the paint and either drove to the basket or passed to the perimeter for open jump shots. The Kings' aggressive play also hurt the Lakers. After the game, Gasol and Lakers coach Phil Jackson sought to explain what happened.

Said Gasol: "They played with more intensity and aggressiveness than we did. We had spurts when we matched them. We made a couple of runs, but the bottom line was that we didn't play a good game tonight.

"We didn't play with the mindset we should play with, which is to go out there and beat whoever we're facing and make sure we play harder than they do. That's the disappointing part of the loss. I'm not sure (why it didn't happen).

"I think we have to figure out how we're supposed to play, start being aggressive and set the tone from the beginning and keep it up for 48 minutes. ... It's become a concern. We have plenty of time to fix it, but we need to do it as soon as possible."

Said Jackson: "The starters were lazy, or I should use the word lethargic, in the first half, and got us in a hole. I was a little bit harsh with them in the locker room at the end of the half because they (the first unit) started off the game fumbling a rebound out of bounds and giving a second-chance opportunity for Sacramento. We had situations where we just didn't finish a play.

"Consequently, we weren't the aggressor tonight. They were."

Just got word that Suns center Shaquille O'Neal will not play in Wednesday's night's game against the Lakers in order to attend the funeral of his great-grandmother, Cillar O'Neal.

O'Neal had his best game of the season Tuesday night, finishing with 35 points and eight rebounds in the Suns victory over Milwaukee.

When we last left the Sacramento Kings they were busy giving the Lakers all they could handle in a 118-108 victory back on November 24. The Lakers led by as many as 19 points in the second half before Sacramento went on a 21-6 run that narrowed the gap to 105-101 with 6:17 to play.

The Kings left town with a loss, but a small measure of confidence from being able to fight back so well in the fourth quarter.

As it turned out, that was more smoke and mirrors than a solid foundation for the young Kings to build upon. The loss ended up as the second loss in what's become an eight-game losing streak that has left coach Reggie Theus on a very hot seat.

Last week star shooting guard Kevin Martin was finally able to make it back from his extended absence due to an ankle injury, but after one and a half games, he experienced soreness again and had to leave. Martin has been ruled out of tonight's game against the Lakers.

Remember when Phil Jackson called Sacramento a cow town and referred to Kings fans as semi-civilized? Back then the rivalry between the Lakers and the Kings was perhaps the best in the NBA. It hit its peak when the Lakers beat the Kings in an epic seven-game battle for the Western Conference championship in 2002.

So, it was a little surprising to hear Jackson heap praise on the Kings, the Lakers' opponent Tuesday night in Sacramento.

"I think they play harder then we do," he said after Monday's practice. "We've won a majority of the games lately, but I'm always amazed at how hard they play. That's an indication of how they're after this rivalry and try to make a good game of it. I'm impressed with their energy on the court. We have to meet their energy."

I had a rather interesting conversation with Lakers rookie Sun Yue, who made his NBA debut last night, scoring four points in a little over five minutes of action.

One of the things we've all been wondering is why Sun has been a bit resistant to playing in the D-League this year as other Lakers rookies (Jordan Farmar, Coby Karl) have done in the past.

``I'm not saying anything about the D-League is bad,'' Sun said Sunday night. ``I just think, when I signed the contract and put my name on the paper, that was an NBA contract. I think the NBA will help me improve much faster.''

Having traveled to China for the Olympics last summer, and made a few friends along the way, I thought I'd solicit their opinions on the matter and see if something else is going on. After a few emails, here's what I've come up with:

Basically, when Sun came over to the NBA, it was a very big deal back in China. He has been flanked by reporters from China all season. Not exactly the Yao Ming treatment, but it seems like at least a few times a week, a media outlet from China is in town, asking him questions.

In other words, there is quite a bit of interest in his career, and his success or failure.

A trip to the D-League then, might be seen as a demotion or failure. And in Chinese culture, a ``loss of face'' is to be avoided at all costs.

The other issue here is that Sun Yue is a pretty confident, spunky kid. He speaks English well enough to crack a joke, which shows a high level of mastery and intelligence. And every time we are let in to watch, he seems to work very hard in practice.

I really believe that he prefers to stay with the Lakers and work on his game with the team. He's not as concerned about playing time in games, because he is almost always a part of the 5-on-5s at practice.

The final score looks closer than this game really was. This was a flat out blow out. The Lakers led by as many as 27 points in the second half.

Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles was so disgusted with his starting five, he lifted them about four minutes into the third quarter and played his reserves the rest of the night.

``My motivation is not in question,'' Skiles said. ``I'm not worried about my motivation. ... We weren't ready. We came off flat and didn't shoot the ball well in the first half. We still had a game in front of us we possibly could've gotten, but we just rolled over. We went to the bench to see if we could get something there but we just couldn't get it going.''

Richard Jefferson played just nine minutes, Michael Redd just 20. Asked why he played his two leading scorers so little, Skiles snapped: ``Were you at the game? That whole starting unit came out in the third quarter, seemed disinterested, the other team got the lead so I'm going to give other guys an opportunity to see if they can get us back into it.''

Towards the end, the Bucks reserves did make a game of it, or at least made the score look more respectable, outscoring the Lakers 38-31 in the fourth quarter.

Afterwards, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said he was happy with the win, and the Lakers defensive pressure in the first three quarters.

Asked if if was the Lakers defense or the Bucks poor shooting, Bryant said, ``It's a little bit of both. I thought we did a better job defensively tonight and played a lot harder, executed a lot better and cut down on the mental mistakes tonight.''

That .... was not entertaining basketball. The Milwaukee Bucks shot just 31 percent in the first half. The Lakers were just slightly better at 36.6 percent.

The Lakers have a 12 point lead because of their ability to get to the free throw line. They are 10 for 15, the Bucks are just 2 for 6.

Kobe Bryant leads the Lakers with 13 points. Derek Fisher has 10. Charlie Villanueva has eight points off the bench for Milwaukee but the Bucks starting five has 18 points on 8-for 24 shooting.

Before he was a Laker, Chris Mihm was a Texas Longhorn. Which makes him, like most Longhorn fans right about now, pretty angry at the treatment their football team received from the BCS.

Last week, the BCS computers jumped Oklahoma ahead of Texas, leaving the Longhorns with little chance of making the BCS title game against Florida.

``If you beat a team head-to-head, how the hell do you lose the tiebreaker,'' Mihm said before the Lakers game against the Milwaukee Bucks. ``It seems like every year one or two teams really get shafted out of a chance and a really great season is thrown away by a computer system where no one really knows how its calculated.''

Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech finished in a three-way tie for the Big 12 South Division championship. The tie was broken by the BCS standings. Texas beat Oklahoma 45-35 on a neutral field in Dallas. But the Longhorns stumbled to Texas Tech on a last-second play. Oklahoma then beat Tech 65-21 on November 22.

Any Scott Skiles coached team is always going to emphasize defense. Against the high-powered Lakers, a strong defensive effort is probably the Bucks only chance to win.

But Milwaukee is still a dangerous team. After treading water while leading scorer Michael Redd missed time with an ankle injury, the Bucks are relatively healthy for the first time this season. Center Andrew Bogut is averaging a double-double (11 points, 10.5 reboudns), veteran Richard Jefferson is chipping in 19.1 a night and forward Charlie Villanueva has had a very solid last two weeks. He had 23 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's win over the Bulls.

Just came across this Associated Press story on former Laker Corie Blount, who played for the team between 1995-99.

Former Laker Corie Blount has been hit with a drug charge after authorities said they caught him picking up 11 pounds of marijuana in southwest Ohio.

Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones says after 39-year-old Blount retrieved the package from a Liberty Township address on Thursday, deputies followed him to his home nearby and arrested him. Jones says officers found another 11 pounds of pot inside Blount's house.

Blount was charged with felony drug possession. He was released from custody on $10,090 bond.

WASHINGTON -- The Lakers had to wait, cross their fingers and hope that Caron Butler's 3-point try didn't send them to their second last-second loss on their three-game trip. Butler's shot missed the mark, however, saving them from a repeat of Tuesday's defeat at Indiana. Troy Murphy beat them with a tip-in at the buzzer.

The Lakers' 106-104 win over the Washington Wizards resulted in some serious introspection Friday. The Lakers weren't happy about squandering another big lead, as they did in each of their three games on the trip. They also said they must get back to thinking about the here and now instead of day-dreaming about playing in the NBA Finals next June.

Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol had the best postgame remarks.

Said Fisher: "We want what we want right now. Sometimes we ask too much of ourselves. We want to be champions, but to be champions in early December is not something you can realistically expect. You can want it, but it doesn't happen that fast.

"I think earlier in the season we weren't looking past where we were that day. Now, as this success has started to build, we're starting to think bigger and look longer ahead and we're losing focus on just these four quarters, just this one quarter. I think that's what is happening to us. It becomes natural."

Said Gasol: "It does bother us that we're giving up leads consistently. We're not very happy about that. We have to go back to work and make sure our minds are always in the game no matter how big our lead is and make sure we finish things off. We can't afford to joke around or be flat out there without the intensity to finish things off. We can't afford to have any letdowns like we've been having lately because it's going to cost us games if we don't snap out of it."

The Lakers return home to play the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.

Ho-hum, another Lakers lead at halftime. After a terrific first quarter in which they seemed to do as they pleased against the lackluster Wizards, the Lakers returned to reality in the second quarter. Pau Gasol had 13 points at halftime, and Andrew Bynum and Kobe Bryant had 12 points apeice. Each player had five rebounds. Antawn Jamison scored 11 points for the Wizards, and former Laker Caron Butler had 10.

Not much has gone according to plan for the Wizards (3-13) this season, but the team seems to be playing a little better under new coach Ed Tapscott.

It's hard to win when Dee Brown is your starting point guard, but the Wizards do have two All Star caliber players in Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler.

Rookie center Javale McGee has been a pleasant surprise, but as Gilbert Arenas noted recently, it might not be the worst thing in the world if the Wizards fell into the lottery this year and picked up a top-flight player.

WASHINGTON -- The Lakers are 15-2 going into tonight's game against the Washington Wizards, their best start since they were 16-1 in 2001-02. With that in mind, The Washington Post took a look at how other fast-starting Western Conference teams fared at season's end. The paper used today, Dec. 5, as a measuring stick.

Here are the results, with the year, team's mark on Dec. 5, final record and playoff finish:
2008: Lakers (15-2) .... To be determined.
2007: San Antonio (15-3) .... (56-26) Conference finals.
2006: Utah (15-4) .... (51-31) Conference finals.
2005: San Antonio (13-3) .... (63-19) Conference semifinals.
2004: San Antonio (15-3) .... (59-23) Champions
Seattle (15-3) .... (52-30) Conference semifinals.
2003: Lakers (16-3) .... (56-26) Finals.
2002: Dallas (17-1) .... (60-22) Conference finals.
2001: Lakers (15-1) .... (58-24) Champions.
2000: Utah (13-4) .... (53-29) First round.
1999: Sacramento (11-3) .... (44-28) First round.

Players always want more minutes. As much as coaches complain about players complaining about a lack of minutes, not one of them worth his whistle and clipboard would like to hear that his guys are satisfied by their playing time. That would show a certain degree of complacency that coaches would find unacceptable.

Andrew Bynum's criticism of Phil Jackson's substitution patterns at the end of the last two games has been amusing, to say the least. Jackson's response that Bynum should "mind his own business" and "he's a kid, he doesn't know any better" was a gut-buster, too.

Bynum rallied strongly, however, when asked about Jackson's postgame comment Wednesday that he was disappointed the 21-year-old center didn't have more rebounds in the Lakers' win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

"I might have gotten some in the last six minutes," Bynum said. "You never know. You never know until the Fat Lady sings. He (Jackson) sings for me a lot."

For the record, Bynum had 18 points, four assists and three rebounds in 30 minutes. He went to the bench for crunch time as Jackson went with Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom for the second straight game.

The Lakers rebounded from their stunning loss Tuesday to the Indiana Pacers by beating the Philadelphis 76ers, 114-102, on Wednesday. Now they're off to Washington for a practice Thursday and a game Friday against the Wizards. The main focus will be to improve their defensive play. Coach Phil Jackson is not pleased.

"I think the communication is what we're going to have to work with," he said. "These offenses are geared to handle the type of defense we're running. We're just a little bit late and (giving up) too many layups and too many points in the paint."

The stat of the game was probably the 76ers' 36 points in the paint in the first half. The Lakers pushed the 76ers to the perimeter more often in the second half, giving up only 14 points in the paint. It helped to explain why the Lakers pushed their lead to 19 points.

Here's another interesting stat: the Lakers shot a season-high 58.1 percent.

PHILADELPHIA -- The Lakers shot holes in the 76ers' lackluster defense in the first half, making 24 of 40 (60 percent) en route to a 10-point lead. Each of the starters made 50 percent or better, led by Kobe Bryant with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Pau Gasol and Vladimir Radmanovic added 11 apiece.

On the flip side, the 76ers shot 23-for-45 (51.1 percent). The Lakers' defense hasn't been good enough lately, according to Coach Phil Jackson.

"What we've been complaining about for the last four games is that defensively we're not staying totally committed to what we're doing," he said before the game, before the Lakers fell behind by 15-5 at the start. "We're not communicating well defensively."

On paper Philly (8-10) should be playing much better than it is right now. The Sixers were one of the hottest young teams at the end of last season and they built on that smartly by adding Elton Brand in the offseason. But it's taken a little while for the parts to mesh.

Brand's halfcourt game has slowed the fast up-tempo pace the Sixers developed toward the end of last season, making their new offense a bit stagnant.

Philly is averaging just 94.4 points a game, better than just six other teams. They've been able to tread water with an above-average defense (94.3 ppg) and some strong individual efforts.

PHILADELPHIA -- Clear but cool today in the birthplace of the nation. Nothing in the way of rain or snow in the forecast. Nothing to make a body shudder, in other words.... Anyway, here are a couple of things to chew on in the wake of Tuesday's 118-117 loss to Indiana:

Our friends at the Elias Sports Bureau have determined that the Lakers' one-point loss was their first game decided by less than seven points this season. They also figured out the Lakers are the first team since the 2001-02 Dallas Mavericks to begin a season with 15 consecutive games decided by at least seven points.

No word on whether they expect the Lakers to revert to form and win by a lopsided margin when they face the 76ers tonight. Philadelphia played the Bulls last night in Chicago and won in overtime, and should be just as fatigued as the Lakers.

Whenever people talk about New York as the cradle of basketball, I always side with Los Angeles (UCLA, the Lakers and Westchester High trump CCNY, the Knicks and Christ the King, in my opinion). In fact, as a former resident of Philadelphia I might even go with Philly ahead of New York for several reasons (Sorry, Lamar Odom).

I mention this because I got an e-mail today from a PR dude touting a story about the soon to be demolished Spectrum, which the 76ers used to call home. I saw my first NBA game there as a kid (Wilt and the 76ers beat Russell and the Celtics). Not a bad start, eh? The Spectrum was a throwback to an earlier time in the NBA, when crowds could create a buzz that's sadly missing in the big new buildings like the Wachovia Center.

Or Staples Center, for that matter.

The annual Forbes magazine valuation rankings of NBA franchises are out and the Lakers have held steady at No. 2.

Here's a quick snapshot:

With a value of $613 million, the New York Knicks rank #1 for the fourth straight year, according to Forbes' NBA Team Valuations. Coming in at #2, also for the fourth straight year, are the Los Angeles Lakers, with a value of $584 million, up from last year's $560 million.

Breaking into the top ten this year are the Boston Celtics (#9), with a value of $447 million, up $56 million from last year. Dropping out of the top ten is the Miami Heat (#12) with a value of $393 million, down from last year's $418 million.

For the full list, expanded tables, and more stories related to this year's rankings, click here:

No doubt the most common reaction in the wake of the Lakers' stunning 118-117 loss Tuesday to the Indiana Pacers will be: "What happened?" Well, upon further review, the Lakers got beat on the boards, had fewer assists than the Pacers and got outscored, 32-16, in the fourth quarter. What happened? They got beat, that's what happened.

Why they got beat is just as simple: They played a lackluster game from the start and outside of a 17-0 run to close the third quarter, didn't play with the required energy or efficiency to beat an athletic team like the Pacers.

"They did a great job on the offensive boards and our turnovers created momentum for them and their 3-point shooting kept them in the game," Kobe Bryant said of the Pacers.

Asked about the Pacers' 50-41 rebounding edge, which including a staggering 19 offensive boards, Pau Gasol said, "We weren't able to box out all the way to the free throw line and when the rebounds were long (off perimeter shots), they were able to run them down and get a lot of extra shots."

Toughest to stomach was Troy Murphy's game-winning tip-in off Marquis Daniels' missed reverse layup in the closing seconds. The ball bounced once, twice, three times and maybe more if you count the side-to-side action before it fell through the hoop.

"I knew it was going in by the way it was bouncing on the rim," Bryant said.

INDIANAPOLIS--Kobe Bryant topped 22,000 points for his career with a three-point play with 2.2 seconds left in the half. Bryant drove to the basket, made an acrobatic layup and then sank a free throw after he was fouled to reach 22,001 points for his career.

Bryant needed 15 points going into the game reach the milestone. He is the second-youngest to reach the milestone, having reached it at 30 years, 101 days. The immortal Wilt Chamberlain reached the mark when he was 30 years, 100 days.

Bryant scored 16 points in the first half as the Lakers led the Indiana Pacers, 66-61.

The Pacers are one of the toughest teams to figure out in the NBA this season, partially because they are so young. How else can you explain a team that's beat Boston and Houston but lost twice to Charlotte?

Young forward Danny Granger is making a strong case to make his first All Star appearance, averaging 24.2 points a game on 46.7 shooting from the field.

Marquis Daniels and point guard T.J. Ford have been pleasant surprises, but the team is missing its former cornerstone Jermaine O'Neal, who was dealt to Toronto in exchange for Ford in the offseason. Troy Murphy and Jeff Foster have tried to pick up the slack, but the Pacers front court is still fairly weak.

The Pacers are 0-9 this season when they give up at least 100 points.

INDIANAPOLIS -- No snow so far, but flurries are expected. Temps are in the low to mid 30s. Winter has definitely arrived in the Midwest.

Anyway ... Interesting tidbits in the USA Today on Indiana Pacers new go-to guy Danny Granger, who is averaging a career-best 24.2 points going into tonight's game against the Lakers. Granger knocked out two front teeth after taking a header in a game Nov. 1 against Boston. He also left in the fourth quarter of a Nov. 22 game against Miami because of a sprained left ankle, but returned to score five points in the final eight minutes.

Granger, a 6-foot-8 forward, says in the article that his favorite movie is "Gladiator." He has a collection of some 2,000 films.

Derek Fisher has more than enough to keep him busy with the Lakers, but as president of the NBA Players Association, he has diverted a bit of that focus to the morass of issues swirling around the Knicks and embattled guard Stephon Marbury.

The two parties met in New York on Monday to try and discuss a resolution to the quickly degenerating situation.

The Knicks had deactivated Marbury in the early part of the season, but required him to attend all team activities. Late last week the team suspended him without pay for one game for refusing to play in two games earlier in the week. Marbury disputes that allegation.

``It's just a bad situation. It's a no-win situation,'' Fisher said. ``I think the main thing is just that teams don't take advantage of the employee-employer relationship, that they don't try to pile on with fines and suspensions.

``I think the best thing for all sides is for there to be some resolution. What exactly that is, I won't know that until I'm briefed on how the meetings go. But I think that's the best thing for all parties involved.

``They've got to figure something out so everyone can move on.''

Joe Crawford was one of the last guys cut from the roster at the end of training camp. Though it wasn't much of a surprise considering how deep and talented the 14-player roster the Lakers decided to keep was, it was still tough to swallow for the former Kentucky star, whom the Lakers had taken in the second round of the draft.

In another year, or maybe even with a less talented team, Crawford probably would've earned a spot.

If he keeps lighting up the D-League like he has in the first few games of this season, Crawford just might get that second shot.

``When I got cut I was really sad. I'd gotten my hopes up,'' Crawford said after scoring a game-high 37 points in the D-Fenders game against Reno on Sunday night. ``But it was a minor setback. I went home for a couple of weeks and I realized it was an opportunity for me to develop.

``I haven't played this way since high school so it's a huge opportunity for me to get better and better every day.''

The Lakers didn't have room for him on their opening night roster, but they liked him enough to allocate him to their D-League affiliate.

When the Lakers cut him, they told him he needed to be more aggressive. In the D-League, he's certainly got that opportunity.

Crawford weighed a few offers more lucrative offers from Europe --the D-League only pays $12,000 for a season -- but decided to stay home and try and develop his game in front of NBA scouts this season.

Crawford is officially a free agent, meaning any team in the NBA could pick him up.

``Going overseas to play and see the world would've been great,'' he said. ``It also would've been a good opportunity for me to make some money not only for me but for my family. But I'm still young. I can stay here for a year and develop. Europe will always be there.''

Still, you have to wonder if Crawford would've been better off being drafted by a lesser team than the Lakers.

``No. I don't look back,'' Crawford said. ``I'm happy I went to the Lakers and I thank them for giving me a chance. They saw something in me and they gave me the opportunity to find out that I can play with NBA players and I'm happy for that.