January 2009 Archives

MEMPHIS -- Not much space available tonight (either in print or on-line) for significant game detail on the Lakers' 115-98 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. (Andrew Bynum's right knee injury took up almost all of the column inches). But it should not pass without noting that the Lakers won their second straight to start this six-game trip, rallying from a 13-point deficit in the first half to defeat the Grizzlies, 115-98. The Lakers improved to 37-9.

Kobe Bryant scored 25 points on 10-for-20 shooting and added seven assists. Pau Gasol scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Derek Fisher had 14 points on6-for-7 shooting, Lamar Odom had 13 points and six rebounds and Trevor Ariza added 11 points.

Rudy Gay led Memphis with 23 points, and O.J. Mayo scored 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting. This was my first live look at Mayo, a former USC standout who entered the NBA draft after just one season with the Trojans. He's very, very impressive, but also very, very raw. I liked his game. But don't take my word for it.

"O.J. has all the talent in the world," Bryant said of Mayo. "He has a tremendous amount of potential and a great work ethic. the sky is the limit for him."

Anyway, the Lakers recovered from their shock at the loss of Bynum midway through the first quarter, rallying from a 13-point deficit. They blanked the Grizzlies for the first 5:57 of the fourth quarter while building a 100-82 lead. The Lakers outscored Memphis by 60-37 in the second half.

"Great disappointment," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of losing Bynum. "It took the wind out of the whole team, and that was a reason why we played like we did. Kobe is very disappointed about (Bynum's injury). Obviously, he contributed to it, being the one who drove and fell back on Andrew."

Now, it's on to New York where the Lakers will face the Knicks on Monday.

MEMPHIS -- The only bit of good news for Andrew Bynum was that he sprained his right knee rather than his left one in the first quarter of the Lakers' 115-98 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies tonight. It was his left kneecap that he injured in a Jan. 13, 2008 game against the Grizzlies at Staples Center. Bynum missed the rest of the 2007-08 plus the playoffs and underwent surgery last May.

X-rays taken immediately after tonight's injury were negative and he is scheduled to have an MRI exam Sunday in New York, the next stop on the Lakers' six-game trip. The Lakers hope to know the extent of his injury and how long he might be sidelined. I will get something posted as soon as I get the news from the Lakers.

"I saw Kobe driving to the basket, and I was able to pick my leg up and that saved me from major damage," Bynum said. "I can put pressure on it. I can walk. I don't need the crutch. It's just there. I definitely feel optimistic as opposed to last year.

"It's much better than what happened last year. I am able to put weight on it. There were no 'pops.' I don't really need the crutches, but they'd like me to use them for now. I have to stay optimistic. I want to return and continue doing the things I was doing out there."

Bryant sounded more downcast than Bynum, telling reporters:

"I feel bad for him because he's been playing so well and putting in a lot of work to get to this point. I'm a little (ticked) off right now because this happened to him at this moment in time. Hopefully, it's not something that's too severe and he'll get back soon and pick right back up where he left off. I'm just upset that this happened to him with all the work he's done. You have to stay positive. I'm happy he has that approach."

MEMPHIS -- Hello from Memphis, where it's warm enough to feel like home. The sun felt good after a couple of frigid days in Minneapolis. I've always thought of basketball as a summer sport that's played in the winter for some strange reason. Of course, living most of my life in Southern California means playing pick-up games outdoors year-round. Anyhow, Memphis is home to Graceland and Beale Street and the Memphis Tigers. The Grizzlies have been a tough fit here, moving here from Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2001. Vancouver is one of the great cities of the world. Memphis, with apologizes to Elvis and B.B. King, is not in Vancouver's class. Good BBQ, though. The Grizzlies are on an 11-game losing streak that's probably going to hit 12 by night's end.

So, um, forget all that stuff he said, the rap video, the veiled insults. Whatever feud we thought he had with Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson was all a game, Shaquille O'Neal said in an interview that will air on ESPN.

"We helped you hype it up," O'Neal said. "I know what I'm doing, brother. I'm the smartest player in the world ... It was all marketing.''

Behind all the ``marketing,'' O'Neal said, he had a great affection for Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson.

``I always loved Kobe,'' he said.

And Phil Jackson?

``Yes, he's the greatest coach ever. He's done a lot for me. Phil's my guy. It was all marketing brother,'' O'Neal said.

So if they didn't break up after the 2005 season, what would've happened?

``We'd probably have about six or seven (championships) now, easily,'' O'Neal said.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Lakers learned why the Minnesota Timberwolves are 10-3 in January, struggling to stay ahead of them in the first half. Andrew Bynum scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Lakers to a 64-60 lead. Kobe Bryant had 14 points and five rebounds and Pau Gasol had nine points for the Lakers. Ryan Gomes led the Timberwolves with 14 points, and Al Jefferson added 11 points. Kevin Love, a former UCLA standout, had a much better showing than in his first game against the Lakers. Love had eight points and six rebounds.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Trevor Ariza was cleared to play tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves after he was examined by a Twin-Cities neurologist earlier in the day. He underwent a CT scan and an MRI, the results of which were normal. Ariza suffered a concussion in the Lakers' double-overtime loss Tuesday to the Charlotte Bobcats.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Greetings from frigid Minnesota, the first stop on the Lakers' six-game trip. Beautiful day, if you can handle the 8-degree temperatures. It hasn't been above 32 degrees all month. Not once. Not even for a minute. The fellow on the local TV news smiled as he said it definitely won't make it above freezing today, but might approach it Saturday afternoon. And you wonder why the Lakers fled for Los Angeles in 1960? That said, I love Minneapolis and St. Paul. Great sports towns (the Timberwolves, Twins, Vikings and the University of Minnesota are in Minny and the Wild play a few miles away in St. Paul). People are unfailingly friendly. Prince and Bob Dylan are Minnesota natives.

Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol will be teamed together at the All-Star game for the first time as Lakers teammates. Of course, that will be overshadowed by Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal playing together for the first time since the 2004 NBA Finals. O'Neal was named an All-Star for the 15th time in his career. Bryant has been picked 11 times and Gasol twice.

O'Neal was interviewed on ESPN this morning (taped, not live) and spoke again about how he and Bryant were the best one-two combination in the history of the league. He said he believed they might have won "six or seven" NBA titles had they stayed together. He said their feud was simply "marketing" and called Lakers coach Phil Jackson "the best ever."

Asked if he would play Bryant and O'Neal together in the All-Star game, Jackson smiled wryly and said, "Of course. I wouldn't miss that opportunity."

The All-Star game is Feb. 15 in Phoenix. Bryant will start for the West and O'Neal and Gasol will serve as backups. Jackson will be the coach. Think there will be many interesting comments coming out of that weekend?

All indications are that Pau Gasol will be named as a reserve to the Western Conference All-Star team later today.

But as of 12:30 this afternoon, he said he had been given no word on whether he was going to get the nod.

``They're not telling me anything,'' Gasol said before boarding the team's flight to Minneapolis. ``The year I made it, they told me a day or two prior to the announcement, but this year I haven't heard anything.

``I'm looking forward to knowing just so I can be really excited and happy about being a part of it, or you know, maybe a little disappointed and upset about it.

``If I win, I'll be extremely happy and excited about it. It's something that would give me pride and honor. It's nice to make it and be amongst the best. And if I don't, I'll be disappointed. But I'll try to keep it cool.''

Lakers forward Trevor Ariza (concussion) will travel with the team on its upcoming six-game road trip, but is still day-to-day. He was evaluated again Thursday morning by Dr. John Moe and there was slight improvement in his condition, a team spokesman said. But it's not clear if he will be able to play tommorrow night against Minnesota.

The NBA informed the Lakers Wednesday night that Andrew Bynum's foul on Charlotte's Gerald Wallace in Tuesday night's game has been upgraded from a Flagrant-1 to the more serious Flagrant-2 violation, but that Bynum will not face further punishment.

An NBA spokesman confirmed, Thursday afternoon, that Bynum will not face further punishment.

Bynum seemed relieved upon learning that he will not be suspended, but was still concerned with Wallace's health. Wallace suffered a cracked a rib and partially collapsed lung on the play. He left Staples Center on a stretcher and was taken to Centinela Hospital.

Bynum said Thursday that he called Wallace's cell phone and left a message, but has not heard back from him.

``I didn't try to hurt him,'' Bynum said Thursday after practice. ``His momentum was great, and if you look at the play, once he hit me I kind of spun around because I didn't know he was coming that fast.

``I wish him the best of luck and hope that he recovers.''

Bobcats coach Larry Brown said he didn't think Bynum should be suspended.

``That kid waited at our bus, trying to get to Gerald, and he apologized to me,'' Brown told the Charlotte Observer. "If he had a history of that (rough play), I might feel different, but I just think it was a hard foul.''

This figures to be a hectic day, what with the Lakers practicing and then flying off to snowy Minnesota for the start of their six-game trip Friday. We might learn whether Trevor Ariza is fit enough to join his teammates for the flight after suffering a concussion in Tuesday's double-OT loss to Charlotte. We also might find out of the league will suspend and/or fine Andrew Bynum for sending Charlotte's Gerald Wallace to the hospital with a broken rib and collapsed lung. As if that's not enough, we will also learn the names of the All-Star reserves during TNT's pregame show at 4 p.m. Pau Gasol is expected to make it, although he had better hope it's not based on his last game. Gasol had a real stinker against Charlotte.

Trevor Ariza showed slight improvement the day after suffering a concussion in the Lakers' loss Tuesday to the Charlotte Bobcats. He was injured when he ran into a pick set by the Bobcats' Juwan Howard in the opening seconds of the second quarter. A team spokesman said Ariza would be examined by Dr. John Moe on Thursday and it would be decided then whether the backup forward is healthy enough to travel with the Lakers to Minnesota.

Also, Charlotte's Gerald Wallace suffered a broken rib and a partially collapsed lung after crashing to the court after Andrew Bynum fouled him late in regulation time Tuesday. Wallace was sent to a local hospital and did not join his teammates for their trip to Portland. There was no immediate word from the league office about a possible suspension for Bynum, who received a flagrant foul for his hip check and forearm shiver.

All night you had a feeling this might be coming. One, the Charlotte Bobcats have a recent history of beating the Lakers. And two, the whole building was just dead tonight.

That malaise seemed to be contagious as the Lakers seemed stagnant and distant all night.

``Our energy was probably lagging all game,'' Lamar Odom said.

Said Kobe Bryant:

``There was nothing Ronny Turiaf about tonight.''

Andrew Bynum was a bit more descriptive in assessing what went wrong with the Lakers normally high-powered offense.

``We got kind of locked into one side of the court, and weren't swinging the ball,'' Bynum said.

Kobe Bryant fouled out at the end of the first overtime in the Lakers 117-110 double-overtime loss to the Bobcats, so he had quite of bit of time on the bench to reflect on how the Bobcats were able to take it to the Lakers, once again.

Still, by the time he emerged from the Lakers locker room around 11:15 p.m., he hadn't cooled off much at all.

The following is the full one minute, 57 second Q&A session we had with him. I think the last quote is most telling, since it's basically a way of saying the Lakers lacked energy and hustle on Tuesday.

Q: Was this loss more about not coming up with stops, or key baskets?
A: It's always stops

Q: Why do you guys have a propensity to give up a three when a three is the only thing that can kill you?

A: We've just got learn from our mistakes.

Q: On that sixth foul, were you more disappointed in yourself or the actual call?
A: I don't know, doesn't matter

Q: When you were sitting on the sidelines, what positives did you see with your team?
A: None, we lost.

Q: On being animated when Lamar was late on the rotation that allowed Diaw to hit a game-tying 3-pointer. Was that anger at Lamar, or frustration at game being tied?

A: Diaw made a big shot

Q: What do you have to get right before Friday to avoid getting knocked off there?
A: We just need to play better. We're looking forward to this trip, just got to go out there and play solid basketball, see if we can't beat them.

Q: Why does Charlotte give you so much trouble?
A: They give a lot of teams a hard time, a lot of top teams. They play extremely well

Q: How hard was it to be on the bench for that second overtime?
A: It was tough

Q: What was going through your head when you were on the bench?
A: Just try to point out some things that I may see out there during the course of the game. Try to help them out.

Q: So more coaching and less Ronny Turiaf?
A: There was nothing Ronny Turiaf about tonight.

The Lakers lost to the Charlotte Bobcats, 117-110, in double overtime, which might be the least of their concerns when they leave Thursday to begin a six-game trip. After all, they might be without Trevor Ariza, who suffered a concussion when he ran into Charlotte's Juwan Howard in the second quarter. They also might be without Andrew Bynum, who sent the Bobcats' Gerald Wallace to the hospital with a possible broken rib.

Ariza was nauseated and dizzy, according to Lakers coach Phil Jackson. It was unclear whether Ariza would be fit to play Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the first stop on the Lakers' longest trip to date. He was hurt in the opening minute of the second quarter and continued to play for several minutes before heading to the locker room.

Bynum could be suspended for his hit on a driving Wallace, who crashed heavily to the court and had to be helped to the Bobcats' locker room. Bynum was given a flagrant foul on the play, which happened with 2:08 left in regulation. Wallace was taken by stretcher from the arena and transported to a local hospital for further tests.

UPDATE: Trevor Ariza suffered a concussion and had to leave the game with 4:52 remaining in the second quarter. He will not return to the game.

The Lakers trailed for most of the first half as Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant misfired early and often. Gasol had seven points on 3-for-11 shooting and Bryant had 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting. The Lakers trailed by as many as 10 points before rallying in the closing minutes of the half. Gerald Wallace led Charlotte with 12 points. Andrew Bynum had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers.

Andrew Bynum earned Western Conference player of the week honors for his standout play in victories over Cleveland, the Clippers, Washington and San Antonio. He scored a career-high 42 points and also grabbed 15 rebounds in the Lakers' win over the Clippers last Wednesday. He averaged 23.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in four games.

... Apparently Sasha Vujacic will too.

Sasha said he's going to give it ago tonight, despite spraining his left ankle in practice yesterday.

Apparently, this show of determination was inspired by Kobe Bryant's recent history of playing through pain.

``If my captain can play,'' Vujacic said. ``I can too.''

There were several updates on the medical front following today's practice. Nothing earth-shattering, but they involved three guards, including Kobe Bryant. Otherwise it was a pretty quiet day around the Lakers' training facility.

Bryant said his injured right ring finger was much improved after Monday's practice. It had pained him in recent games and practices after he dislocated it in the opening minutes of the Lakers' victory Jan. 19 over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jordan Farmar had an ice pack on his surgically-repaired left knee after practice, but was otherwise unharmed after scoring 14 points in 17 minutes in his return to the active roster Sunday. There was no swelling or pain, he said. He had surgery Dec. 24.

Backup shooting guard Sasha Vujacic suffered a mild sprain of his left ankle during practice, but is expected to play Tuesday night against Charlotte. He missed two games two weeks ago because of back spasms, but has returned to form.

The Lakers cruised to their fourth consecutive double-digit victory, beating the San Antonio Spurs by 99-85 today at Staples Center. They won easily because they played a superb second half, holding the Spurs to a meager 40 points on 34.1 percent shooting.

Kobe Bryant had 22 points, Trevor Ariza had 17, Pau Gasol scored 16, Andrew Bynum had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Jordan Farmar had 14 points. Tony Parker had 19 points to lead the Spurs, and Tim Duncan added 15. They were the only Spurs in double figures.

"Well, they went flat in the second half," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of the Spurs. "I'm not going to credit our defense. We did OK."

Kobe Bryant scored 15 points to help the Lakers to a slim lead over San Antonio at halftime. Pau Gasol added nine points and Jordan Farmar, playing for the first time since undergoing knee surgery Dec. 24, added eight points in seven minutes. Tony Parker scored 11 points and Tim Duncan had 10 for the Spurs.

The showdown between the top teams in the Western Conference was as tight as expected, with neither team willing to give up an inch of the Staples Center court. The Lakers' biggest lead was eight points and the Spurs' largest advantage was two.

Jordan Farmar returned to the Lakers' active roster for today's game against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center, one month and one day after undergoing surgery to repair meniscus damage in his left knee. Lakers coach Phil Jackson was uncertain before the game whether Farmar would play, but said he believed he could if needed.

UPDATE: Farmar entered the game at the start of the second quarter, his first action since he injured his knee in the Lakers' loss to the Miami Heat on Dec. 19.

The Lakers were without Farmar, Luke Walton (right foot), Lamar Odom (right knee) and Sasha Vujacic (back) for a short period two weeks ago. Odom and Vujacic returned to the active roster first, followed by Walton and now Farmar.

Phil Jackson seemed amused today by the attention his comments about his coaching future generated Friday. He declined to clarify his statement that he would coach through the end of the 2009-10 season, then retire. He said, "I signed a two-year contract that I will do one year at a time, which is pretty normal right? That's as much clarity as I have."

Meanwhile, Lamar Odom seemed surprised and hurt when informed that the Clippers had complained to the league office about his crotch-grab after a dunk during the Lakers' victory Wednesday. He said he meant no offense to anyone.

"No, somebody's wrong" he said. "I have no hard feelings toward the Clippers. Oh, man. That's too bad. I wouldn't do anything like that. Nah. It's not my intention to offend anyone. I wish them well - everyone from the players to the front office. I'm being dead serious. I played for the Clippers six years ago. I don't even know how to respond."

The Clippers drafted Odom out of Rhode Island in 1999, and he had four productive seasons for them before signing with the Miami Heat as a free agent in the summer of 2003. He came to the Lakers as part of the blockbuster Shaquille O'Neal trade in 2004

And finally, Jordan Farmar hoped to practice with his teammates Friday or Saturday, but since they didn't practice Friday and held a non-contact workout Saturday, he must wait until Monday. He has recovered quicker than expected after undergoing left knee surgery Dec. 24. He probably won't play Sunday against San Antonio, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him on the active roster for Tuesday's game against Charlotte.

Phil Jackson plans to coach the Lakers through the end of next season and then retire, he told Magic Johnson today in an interview to be aired during the national telecast of Sunday's game against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center.

"One more year after this one with the Lakers," Jackson said. "Dr. Buss has insinuated that he would like me to coach longer, but I said, 'Let's just do one year at a time right now.' So that's what we're doing."

Jackson's contract runs through the 2009-10 season. He turns 64 next September.

The Lakers did not practice today, but will hit the court Saturday to prepare for Sunday afternoon's showdown with the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center. I would expect to see Jordan Farmar back on the floor today, practicing for the first time since undergoing surgery on his left knee Dec. 24. If all goes well, Farmar could be ready to play next week.

Farmar's return would make the Lakers whole again. Farmar, Lamar Odom, Luke Walton and Sasha Vujacic each suffered injuries, which tested the Lakers' depth for the last month or so. GM Mitch Kupchak resisted the urge to sign a player or two to a 10-day contract and the Lakers survived the injury bug with minimal damage.

Interesting observation from Washington coach Ed Tapscott after the Lakers soundly defeated his Wizards on Thursday night. Tapscott, who was hired on an interim basis after Eddie Jordan got canned earlier this season, praised the Lakers' unselfish play.

"You know what's the most impressive thing about the Lakers? Tapscott said. "I watch Kobe Bryant, who is clearly one of the dominant scorers in basketball and maybe of all time, and I watched the way he made sure that every guy on the floor got shots.

"He shared the ball. He made sure (Pau) Gasol got the ball in his spots. When (Sasha) Vujacic came in, he made sure he got corner jump shots. He made sure (Derek) Fisher curled and got his shots.

"I watched him when he could have taken shots at any time (but) made sure his teammates got quality shots, so that they were into the game. That makes you run harder, rebound more, defend better. That makes everybody on the team participate with greater zeal when you have that type of unselfishness.

"I kept making that point to our young guys. Watch how they share the ball, even when the game is decided, so to speak, and you could go out there and look for your own numbers. They continued to share the ball and they were trying to get other guys shots.

"So that is very impressive team spirit that I hope our guys are impressed by. I certainly was."

Here are a few of the better postgame comments after the Lakers hammered the Washington Wizards, 117-97, tonight at Staples Center. It wasn't much of a contest, but there were a few interesting views expressed after the Lakers improved to 34-8.

Coach Phil Jackson was pleased by Andrew Bynum's second good scoring and rebounding game in as many nights. Bynum led the Lakers with 23 points and 14 rebounds one night after scoring a career-high 42 points and taking 15 rebounds Wednesday against the Clippers.

"I thought that was a good sign," Jackson said when asked about Bynum's play. "I think he's focused on it (rebounding). He's made an effort. We said, 'Go get balls, just go get them. Don't let them come to you. Go fetch them.'"

Bynum on the team's improved play: "Everybody got shots. They were undermanned and we were able to take advantage of them. We went out there and played pretty decent defense the first three quarters. Understanding where to be and where we need to be for each other helps. We already have a strong defense and we're just getting better and better at it."

Bynum had this to say about playing against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday: "We're looking forward to that game. We definitely owe them one."

The Lakers blasted the Washington Wizards, 117-97, tonight, moving atop the overall NBA standings thanks to their 34th victory of the season. Andrew Bynum scored 23 points and took 14 rebounds and Pau Gasol scored 18 points for the Lakers. Kobe Bryant had only 11 points, and did not play in the fourth quarter. Antawn Jamison had 19 for the Wizards.

Next: A showdown Sunday afternoon against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center.

Here are the Western Conference starters:

F - Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs

F - Amar'e Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns

C - Yao Ming, Houston Rockets

G - Kobe Bryant, Lakers

G - Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets

Eastern Conference starters:

F - Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics

F - LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

C - Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic

G - Allen Iverson, Detroit Pistons

G - Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat

Personally, I'd say the fans got it almost all right. Iverson's selection is probably based on past success rather than this season's results. Otherwise, it looks good to me.

Kobe Bryant was selected tonight as a starter for the Western Conference All-Star team. No surprise there since he had been one of the top vote-getters all along. Bryant will make his 11th All-Star appearance Feb. 15 in Phoenix. But the Lakers believe Pau Gasol should be selected to the team when reserves are announced next Thursday.

"We think it's pretty obvious in the difference in our team between the acquisition of Pau Gasol and what we were before that," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

Jackson, who will coach the West, said lobbying has already began by coaches on behalf of their players."I don't do that," he said. "I think the play should stand on its own. I think (Lakers public relations czar) John Black should do that, but I won't. ... It's ridiculous. If a guy hasn't merited (selection), those things aren't going to help."

Of his own selection as coach of the Western Conference-leading Lakers, he deadpanned, "I'm really looking forward to it. I can hardly wait." Jackson will be an All-Star coach for the fourth time in his career.

It's ancient history, of course. But keep in mind that Kobe Bryant was so unhappy with Andrew Bynum that he allowed himself to be captured on amateur videotape in a Newport Beach parking lot blasting his teammate in profane terms in the offseason of 2007. "Ship his (rear) out of here," Bryant said during his famous rant.

Well, after Bynum dropped a career-high 42 points on the Clippers in the Lakers' victory Wednesday night, Bryant had nothing but praise for the 21-year-old center. It's not the first time he's spoken highly of Bynum, and it might not be the last either.

Anyway, here's some of what Bryant had to say about Bynum late Wednesday night:

"It's just a natural evolution of a player. The more you play, the better you get. Obviously, there's a lot of pressure on him. The coaching staff puts on a lot of pressure, and I do too, because we expect so much from him. He's going to continue to progress and get better."

And there was this:

"Oh sure, we kept encouraging him. Me, in particular, and kept hyping him up, because I was proud of the way he was playing. I think it's great for him. If you ask him I don't think he's surprised that he did it. I think he knew he could do it. I was more pleased to see how he controlled the lane, how he was blocking shots."

And there was more:

"His offense if just an added bonus. When a team is going to play him one-on-one or trap me off of pick-and-rolls and leave him, then we make them pay. It's clear to the
rest of the league that if they leave him, he's going to make them pay. If they leave Pau (Gasol), Pau's going to make them pay."

Andrew Bynum's career-high 42 points in the Lakers' 108-97 victory over the Clippers on Wednesday night overshadowed a couple of significant news stories. Bynum was so good that two potentially headline-grabbing stories when under- or unreported in print.

First, with the victory, the Lakers clinched the best record in the Western Conference by the Feb. 1 deadline to name the coach for the conference's All-Star team. Which means Phil Jackson will coach the West in the Feb. 15 game at Phoenix.

Second, Kobe Bryant recorded his second triple-double in three games when he had 18 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. He also had a triple-double (28 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists) in the Lakers' loss Friday against the Orlando Magic.

Check back later for more on each story.

OK, no jokes about the varsity beating up on the junior varsity. Mainly because it's so close at halftime and there's not much difference in the teams. Well, there is one big difference in the game. The Lakers have a powerful big man playing to his capabilities. Andrew Bynum has a season-high 25 points to go with 10 rebounds in the first half. Rookie DeAndre Jordan, Bynum's counterpart for the Clippers, has 12 points.

Luke Walton returned to the starting lineup for the Lakers' game against the Clippers tonight, his first minutes since suffering from pain in the ball of his right foot that sidelined him for two weeks. He scored the opening basket of the game.

Also, backup guard Jordan Farmar said he hopes to practice later this week, perhaps Friday or Saturday, and Coach Phil Jackson said he might play when the Lakers begin a six-game trip next week. Farmar has been out since undergoing left knee surgery Dec. 24.

On any other day, the big news around the Lakers' training facility would have been the presence of the Dodgers, who were there to watch today's workout. But on this day, the buzz in El Segundo revolved around the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. Lakers coach Phil Jackson pushed back the start of practice, to 11 a.m., so the players and staff could watch the ceremonies on television.

"We had a late practice today because I wanted to give these guys an opportunity to see it, and witness his speech, which I thought was outstanding," Jackson said. "It was unifying. Maybe as historic an event as when I was a kid in 1960, when JFK became President. i think it was as dramatic."

Kobe Bryant said after practice today that he plans to play Wednesday against the Clippers, scoffing at the notion of sitting out after he suffered a dislocated right ring finger in Monday's victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. He said he plans to tape his finger. He also hopes to learn how far he can push it during the Lakers' morning shootaround.

"I'll probably have to test it out and see how it goes and see how it loosens up and see how my hand responds to it and just kind of feel my way through things," Bryant said. "I'll know a lot more after the shootaround. I'll get here early and get my shots up and handle the ball and see what I can do and what I can't do, and go from there."

When Kobe Bryant suffered a dislocated right ring finger in the opening minutes of the Lakers' victory over Cleveland, it was the latest in a string of injuries suffered at the hands of the Cavaliers. Bryant expects to play Wednesday against the Clippers, so this injury is not expected to be anywhere near as serious as earlier ones suffered against Cleveland.

He suffered a badly sprained ankle when he accidentally stepped on the foot of Cleveland's Ira Newble in the 2004-05 season. He also hurt his shoulder when Newble bit on a pump fake and crash-landed onto him a season earlier.

Bryant sat out for one month after hurting his ankle Jan. 13, 2005, returning to face the Cavaliers in Cleveland. He missed more than a month because of the shoulder injury, suffered Jan. 12, 2004, sitting out the rematch Feb. 4, 2004, in Cleveland.

The Lakers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 105-88, and X-rays taken of Kobe Bryant's dislocated right ring finger were negative, so the news was doubly good for the home team late Monday night. Bryant said he expects to play Wednesday against the Clippers.

When it first happened, when Bryant jammed his finger while trying to steal the ball from LeBron James early in the game, he was scared his injury might require surgery that could keep him on the sidelines for quite some time.

"When I first put my finger on it, I thought I was done," Bryant said after the game. "I thought it was pins and all that (in a surgical procedure). It just popped out. It was disgusting. I'll just go home and ice it, It's just throbbing right now."

Bryant had 20 points, 12 assists and six rebounds. Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Andrew Bynum and Sasha Vujacic added 14 points apiece. Derek Fisher had 11 points and Trevor Ariza scored 10. James led Cleveland with 23 points.

"Well, this is a significant victory for us," Gasol said. "But we have to make sure we play close or similar to what we played tonight in every other game. The defensive effort was outstanding tonight. If we keep teams under 90 or 100 points, most nights we're going to win most of the games. So that's what we're going to try to do."

Lamar Odom, who had eight points and 10 rebounds, had this to say about the difference between the Lakers and the Cavaliers: "Our big lineup was bigger than their big lineup, and our small lineup was quicker than their small lineup."

The Lakers trailed the Cleveland Cavaliers at halftime, 50-49. Kobe Bryant suffered a dislocated right ring finger when he tried to steal the ball from LeBron James less than two minutes into the game. Bryant returned to the tape with his finger taped to his pinkie. That's the right pinkie, the one he injured last Feb. 5 and declined to undergo surgery on during the offseason. Bryant had only five points on 2-for-5 shooting in the first half. He also had a team-leading six assists. Andrew Bynum had 11 points and Pau Gasol had 10. James had 10 points on 4-for-11 shooting for Cleveland.

Now that you've heard what others have had to say:

Luke Walton won't start at small forward tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he will be available to play for the first time since suffering debilitating pain in the ball of his right foot in the Lakers' victory Jan. 2 over the Utah Jazz. He sat out eight games because of sesamoiditis. Vladimir Radmanovic is expected to start again.

Backup shooting guard Sasha Vujacic said his back is 100 percent again after he suffered spasms that sidelined him for two games last week. Vujacic played in the Lakers' loss Friday to the Orlando Magic, but was scoreless in 13 minutes.

Jordan Farmar, a backup point guard, is now the lone injured Laker. He underwent left knee surgery Dec. 24 and isn't expected back until the All-Star break next month.

It doesn't get much better than a matchup of the best team in the Western Conference against the best team in the Eastern Conference. But then you add an individual battle between the league's reigning MVP and the man many believe could win it this season.

So, to answer the burning question 24 hours before the Lakers play host to the Cleveland Cavaliers, will Kobe Bryant guard LeBron James in Monday's game?

"I will definitely," Bryant said after the Lakers' practiced Sunday. "I have to guard him. I'm a little undersized. I'll probably match up against him."

Coach Phil Jackson was little less certain about the matchup, saying, "Kobe's wanted to guard LeBron, but we haven't always wanted him to guard LeBron. Last year, I thought Luke (Walton) did a really good job on (James). We have a variety of guys who can guard him."

The Lakers had plenty to say after their 109-103 loss Friday to the Orlando Magic extended their losing streak to two games. They also lost in the closing seconds Wednesday to the San Antonio Spurs, 112-111.

The Lakers made only 20 of 27 free throws against Orlando, prompting Kobe Bryant to say, "It's not a concern. We're a much better free throw shooting team than we were tonight, obviously. That hurt us a little bit, not being able to convert those plays. We'll fix that. We're a better free throw shooting team than that."

Bryant on facing LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday: "They're obviously playing at a high level, but so are we."

Bryant on whether the Cavaliers have enough talent surrounding James: "It's good enough. Any time you surround a player that can penetrate with great shooters, you're going to be a threat."

Bryant on his relationship with James, a fellow U.S. Olympian: "It's great. Everybody on the team, we've become like a fraternity. Everybody looks out for each other, everybody stays in touch with each other."

Sasha Vujacic on returning to the team after sitting out the two-game Texas trip because of back spasms: "I'm feeling better. I was disappointed I wasn't able to be with my teammates down in Texas, but I had to stay and get treatment. This happens to a lot of people right now. It's mostly a concern that I would have problems when I sit down or stop moving. But that's why I'm still getting treatment."

There's something about the Orlando Magic that has befuddled the Lakers this season. Just as they did in a 106-103 loss on December 20, the Lakers let a very-winnable game get away from them.

This time it was Jameer Nelson breaking their hearts. The diminutive point guard scored 10 of his team's last 12 points as the Magic outscored the Lakers 9-0 in the final 52 seconds of the game.

Kobe Bryant had his first triple double of the year with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, but went stone cold at the end of the game, missing his final six shots.

Dwight Howard had 25 points and 20 rebounds for Orlando, which improves to 32-8 on the season. Nelson had 28 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Yes, that was embattled Knicks guard Stephon Marbury sitting in the second row of Friday night's Lakers-Orlando Magic game at Staples Center. But don't read anything into the fact that he was siting in Jeanie Buss' seats.

``Jeanie and I are really cool,'' Marbury said. ``She invited me to come to the game. I wanted to come before, too. I want to be around it, I miss it.''

Marbury is living in Los Angeles, working out at a facility in Manhattan Beach and hiking in Runyan Canyon near Hollywood. This is the second Lakers game he's attended this year. The first, rather famously, came in December when he sat courtside for the Lakers-Knicks game.

But there's also no correlation, Marbury said, between his attendance Friday and the Lakers recent injury woes in the backcourt.

``No, there isn't a correlation,'' he said. ``I gotta get out of my deal before I can do anything else.''

Not that there's been much progress lately on that front. Marbury is still under contract with the Knicks, who would love to trade him or buyout his contract, but those talks seem to have regressed in recent weeks and Marbury said he's prepared to sit out the entire season if it comes to that.

``Now, basically I'm just waiting. It's just such a weird situation because they created it. It's been a humbling experience not to be able to play, because that's what I love to do, but at the same time, it's a business and I can't fight no billion dollar company,'' he said.

``They're basically saying, `You're not going to play this year to make your contract for next year.' But that's alright. I got so many things going on off the court, I think in time everything will work out OK.

``If I play or if I don't, the way I went at it this year, I came in ready to play basketball. I did everything they asked me to do, so if they're holding things over my head that happened in the past, there's nothing I can do about it.''

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said that Sasha Vujacic (back spasms) and Derek Fisher (groin) will play in tonight's game against the Magic, but Luke Walton (foot) is still inactive.

Vujacic was warming up on the court before the game, but it's not known how much he can play. Jackson said it will depend mostly on whether his back tightens up after he warms up and plays a little.

Fisher said he felt fine and had no lingering effects from his groin injury suffered in the second half of Wednesday's game in San Antonio.

Walton was able to test his injured foot out on the court, but Jackson preferred that he go through a full practice before returning to the lineup.

SAN ANTONIO -- The Lakers' 112-111 loss Wednesday to the San Antonio Spurs was tough enough for them to stomach. But they were also concerned about losing veteran guard Derek Fisher after he tweaked his groin while fighting around a screen set by San Antonio's Tim Duncan in the fourth quarter. Fisher went to the locker room, then returned to play the game's final 3:27.

"He had a bit of a groin pull," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of Fisher, "and we had to struggle without him for a while. But he came back and played and we'll see what happens tomorrow."

The Lakers suddenly have some serious health concerns. After all, they were already without backup guards Jordan Farmar (left knee surgery) and Sasha Vujacic (back spasms). What's more, forward Luke Walton did not make the trip to Texas because of pain in the ball of his right foot.

Backup forward Trevor Ariza could end up playing a good deal more at guard, and he's been playing quite a bit against opposing point guards in the absence of Farmar and Vujacic. Ariza could very well be forced to start and end the game at guard when the Lakers play host to the Orlando Magic on Friday.

SAN ANTONIO -- The Lakers trailed the San Antonio Spurs, 63-61, after an entertaining first half that was a throwback to a bygone era in the NBA. Back in the day, back before cable TV outlets like ESPN, teams scored and scored and scored some more. It was fun stuff, and the Lakers and Spurs did what they could to rekindle that excitement. Four Lakers scored 10 or more points in the first half, and three Spurs did it. Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 17 points and Kobe Bryant had 16. Manu Ginobili had 19 for the Spurs.

HOUSTON -- Kobe Bryant scored 33 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer from somewhere deep in the heart of Texas with less than 30 seconds remaining to lift the Lakers to a 105-100 victory over the Houston Rockets. Pau Gasol added 11 points, including three key free throws in the final seconds. The Lakers won despite a career-high 23 from Houston's Von Wafter. Yao Ming had 19 points and 17 rebounds.

HOUSTON -- The Lakers trailed the Rockets for most of the first half, but were tied with Houston at 54-all at the break. Kobe Bryant scored 16 points on 6-for-17 shooting in the first half. Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza had eight apiece.

Former Laker Von Wafer had 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting to lead Houston, and Yao Ming had eight points and eight rebounds. Neither team was pleased by the officiating. Bryant picked up a technical foul after the halftime buzzer.

HOUSTON -- Lamar Odom said he would play tonight against the Houston Rockets after sitting out for three games because of a bone bruise in his right knee. Sasha Vujacic did not make the trip after suffering back spasms in Sunday's win over the Miami Heat. He hoped to join the team today if he felt better.

"Yeah," Odom said when asked if would play against the Rockets. "I practiced before we left, so ... I worked out during the shootaround. Got activated. It feels good. I'm ready to go. Win or lose, it's always tough to watch."

HOUSTON -- Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest will be sidelined tonight for the Houston Rockets, which makes things just about even on the injury front since the Lakers will be without Jordan Farmar, Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic and (maybe) Lamar Odom.

T-Mac is taking two weeks off to get his surgically-repaired left knee in better shape and Artest has a stress reaction in his right ankle. So, look for former Lakers bench player Von Wafer to get lots of playing time tonight. The well-traveled Wafer (Lakers, Clippers,Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers) is averaging 14.4 points on 50 percent shooting.

"No, i wouldn't have believed it if somebody would have told me that I'd be in there doing this," Rafter told the Houston Chronicle earlier this week.

Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic did not travel with the team on its flight to Houston Monday afternoon after suffering back spasms Monday morning.

``Right now I feel like I'm 90 years old, but tommorrow I'll feel 24 again,'' he said, in visible pain Monday afternoon.

With Jordan Farmar out until mid-February with a knee injury, Vujacic has become the Lakers primary back-up to point guard Derek Fisher.

He said he would try and join the team for part or all of its two-game road trip to Houston and San Antonio if he was feeling better. If he's unable to play though, Fisher --who has logged more than 40 minutes in six of the 11 games since Farmar's injury on December 19, could have to play even more minutes.

Andrew Bynum knew what was coming. The undersized Heat were going to front him in the post, try and draw fouls on him, scratch, claw, and whatever else it would take to throw him off his rhythm.

It certainly worked the last time the teams played in Miami, as the Heat held Bynum to four points on 2-for-4 shooting in 27 minutes of action.

That game started a miserable nine-game streak in which Bynum averaged just 8.2 points a game and seemed to get into early foul trouble so often, he was hearing whistles in his sleep.

For the next two weeks, he searched game-tapes for answers and tried anything and everything he could to snap out of it.

Turns out, all Bynum had to do was go back to basics. He said after Sunday's loss that he'd been studying game tapes from last season and discovered a few major changes he could make.

``I just saw how much more quickly I was getting down the court and how much lower I was catching the ball (last year),'' Bynum said.

Since those revelations, he's scored 18 points, 20 points and a season-high 24 points in Sunday's win over the Heat.

It's not often the Lakers can pull out a win when Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol combine to shoot just 9 for 29 (31 percent) from the field, but Andrew Bynum stepped up with 24 points, including a go-ahead tip-in with 18.5 seconds remaining to help seal a hard-fought 108-105 win over the pesky Miami Heat Sunday night at Staples Center.

Bryant, who expended a ton of energy defending Miami's All Star shooting guard Dwyane Wade, had 19 points and seven assists, but shot just 5-for-14 from the field. He also left the game with a bloody bump across his right eye that required four stitches after the game, suffered when he knocked the ball away from Wade near the end of the game.

``It's the most I've ran in a long time,'' Bryant said. ``Chasing a guy full court, denying him all over the place. It was fun though.''

After Wade torched the Lakers for 35 points in Miami's upset win over the Lakers on December 19, Bryant said the Lakers knew they had to try a different tactic against the NBA's scoring leader.

``We had to do something about him,'' Bryant said.

It wasn't easy though. Wade had 27 points on 10-of-22 shooting, but acknowledged that Bryant made his night quite a bit more difficult.

``That's what it's all about,'' Wade said. ``We both play hard. With guys like Kobe, you love to play those games. He was on me all over the court and for me it was fun trying to figure out a way to get open and do different things.''

Lamar Odom said that he was planning to travel with the team on its upcoming two-game swing through Texas, but probably won't play in either game.

``It's swollen and it's not stable enough to support a 6-foot-10, 242-pound frame,'' he said. ``I can take pain. But if my knee is not able to hold me up, I can't go out there.

``I'm going to be cautious with it. I don't want it to re-occur. With a knee you've always got to be careful.''

Odom has missed the last two games with a bone bruise on his right knee and was not active for Sunday's game against the Miami Heat. He originally injured it on Tuesday when he knocked knees with New Orleans' Chris Paul.

Lamar Odom shot some baskets in practice, but later said his injured right knee isn't sound enough to allow him to play Sunday against the Miami Heat. He sounded dejected as he spoke about his injury after a light workout. He remains uncertain when he will play again. He suffered a bone bruise Tuesday against the New Orleans Hornets and has missed two games.

Here's more from the Lakers' sixth man: "It doesn't have the strength I want it to have. I can play with pain. My life is painful. I'm living it, you know what I'm saying? So, a knee? It's not ready. It's not stable enough."

Odom attended Friday's game against the Indiana Pacers, but did not make an appearance on the Lakers' bench. He spent most of the time in the training room getting treatment. He said he did not wish to be seen by Lakers fans. "I'm still sad about my injury," he said. "I haven't gotten over it yet."

The Lakers are 9-0 when Pau Gasol leads them in scoring.

The Lakers were pretty upbeat in the locker room after tonight's game. They beat the Pacers, and while it didn't really feel like revenge for their lost back in December, it was nice to get a win in such a crazy-making, frenetic game.

``They're tough to matchup against,'' Pau Gasol said. ``They have a lot of scorers, they play that uptempo game, if they shoot the ball well from the outside, they're tough.

``It's one we had to fight a lot for in order to get the win, it was a tough one to get, we had to earn it and I'm glad we were able to finish it off.''

Had they lost, Gasol surely would've been singing a different tune. But Kobe Bryant rescued the team with 22 second-half points including the game winner with three seconds left.

About that game winner... was anyone else surprised the Pacers didn't double-team Bryant?

``No, I mean, you've got shooters in the game, guys that made big shots in the past,'' Bryant said. ``I'm sure they watched the Boston game and saw what happened with Pau, then you have D-Fish and Sasha, and the big fella down low.

``We did a good job spacing them out, and nobody wants to be the guy that left the guy that got a wide open shot.''

Lamar Odom said after Friday's game that he is going to try and practice on Saturday. Odom has missed the last two games with a bone bruise in his right knee, suffered in Tuesday's loss to New Orleans.

``I'm going to try and practice tomorrow,'' Odom said on his way out of Staples Center Friday night. ``We'll see. I was scared when it first happened. But I think I'm OK.''

He did not offer a prediction on when he'd return to the lineup, saying only that he was ``day-to-day'' but the fact that he feels well enough to try and return to practice has to be considered a positive step.

Without their versatile 6-foot-10 forward, the Lakers have struggled to defend athletic post players and to adjust to an ever-changing lineup with Odom, Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar out with injuries.

``It's tough. We're down three guys. Three key guys,'' Kobe Bryant said. ``So it's putting a lot of responsibility on all of us to mix and match lineups, to guard players you normally wouldn't guard and do things offensively that you normally wouldn't do. But that's part of a team, just stepping up when guys are out.''

The Indiana Pacers are good. Really. The Lakers insist. Forget their 13-23 record, their head-scratching losses, their third worst defense in the league.

Right now, that's the most palatable explanation.

For some reason, when the Pacers line it up against the Lakers, entertaining, frenetic, competitive basketball ensues.

The first time the teams met last month back in Indianapolis, the Pacers rallied from 16-point second half deficit to win it at the buzzer on a Troy Murphy tip-in and stun the Lakers.

Friday night game at Staples Center was no less confounding, or astounding, as the Lakers held off a relentless Pacer attack for a 121-119 victory.

``This is a team that plays a real high energy offense,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said before the game. ``They have a flow. When they get into that flow they can be tough to deal with, as we found out in the fourth quarter back in December.''

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 36 points, a season-high 13 assists, but Bryant's most important delivery came with three seconds remaining as he hit an 18-foot turnaround jumper which proved to be the game-winning shot.

Most of Bryant's assists, quite naturally, found their way to 7-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, who combined for 41 points and 16 rebounds.

It was the second-straight game the Lakers starting big men have returned to relevance within the Lakers offense after a tepid stretch in late December and early January.

Wednesday night, in a win over the Golden State Warriors, Gasol had 33 points and 18 rebounds while Bynum had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Of course the Warriors are statistically the worst defense in the league.

On this night though, that was hardly the most intriguing statistic.

In the first quarter, both teams shot over 70 percent from the field. Even more strangely, the Lakers field goal percentage (70.8 percent) was higher than their free throw percentage (66.7).

The Lakers 41 first quarter points where their highest in a quarter all season. After that, both teams made a half-heated commitment to play a bit of defense, but the Lakers still ended the half with a season high 68 points.

The offense was flowing so fast and furious, Bryant had 12 assists by the middle of the third quarter.

He seemed a lock to break his career-high of 15 assists, set in 2002 against the Washington Wizards, but when the Pacers stormed back to within 108-107 with 3:52 remaining in the game, Bryant had to focus on scoring to help pull the Lakers across the finish line with 22 second-half points.

Danny Granger led Indiana with 28 points, Murphy had 24 and Mike Dunleavy Jr. had 22 off the bench.

Against an up-and-down team like the Pacers, who've managed to beat heavyweights like Boston, Phoenix, Atlanta, the Lakers and Houston but lose to everyone else, nothing is ever that surprising, and no victory ever seems safe until the final horn sounds.

Friday night, the Lakers were happy to get out of the gym without a brawl breaking out. With 58.8 seconds remaining in the game, forward Vladimir Radmanovic nearly got into a fight with Indiana's Jeff Foster as the two tussled while going for a rebound under the Pacers basket.

Radmanovic was called for a technical foul, while Derek Fisher was called for a personal foul, giving Indiana three free throw shots. Jarrett Jack converted the technical shot and Mike Dunleavy Jr. made one of his two free throws to cut the lead to 118-117 with under a minute to go.

Bryant hit two free throws with 47 second remaining to stretch the lead back to 119-116, but Dunleavy answered with a clutch 3-pointer with 26 seconds left to tie the game 119-119.

That was plenty of time for Bryant, who brought the ball up the court, ran time off the clock, then nailed the game winner over Jack.

Indiana couldn't get a shot off on its final possession.

Lakers guard Derek Fisher, the president of the NBA Players Association, said that he needed to review the specifics of the strange case involving free agent forward Darius Miles before commenting, but did admit that he found the timing of the Portland Trail Blazers' threat to sue any team that signs Miles:``intriguing.''

``He's been on an NBA roster since (training camp), and there were no statements made. And now that he's getting closer ... it's tough,'' Fisher said. ``The part that intrigued me the most was just the timing of the statement.''

Miles' $18-million salary will count against Portland's salary cap over the next two seasons if he plays in two more games this year. He was with the Celtics in the pre-season, and the Grizzlies until Monday, when he was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies. The Players Union announced Friday that it would file a grievance against Portland on Miles' behalf.

Over the years, a lot of people have compared Kobe Bryant to Michael Jordan. Today, as he was releasing his new Nike shoe, Jordan himself made the comparison:

"Will there be another Michael Jordan?'' he was asked.

``That's not for me to answer. That's basically how the consumer responds to that individual. I've been blessed, obviously, and to say that someone else won't be blessed down the road, I'm pretty sure they will. I just can't pick that person out, unless it's my kids, which they don't have to, they're already a Jordan. I can't speak for LeBron, and I can't speak for Kobe. They're great athletes. I think they're great people. I think they've got a long career ahead of them, but it's up to them how they're being received by the community and by the consumer. I'm just happy that I've been able to connect and maintain that."

Ever the sportsman, Kobe Bryant and an intereresting take the other day on pacing himself during the season. He compared the NBA season to another grueling event that, at least in the early going, also seems to have no end in sight.

"I've always approached the season like the stages in the Tour de France," he said, referring to the annual three-week bicycle race. "I'm not going to hit the hill and sprint the hill every time. I'm going to let my teammates help pull me up and then I'm going to wait for a certain part of the race to start to start picking it up. That's how I approach the season."

No practice today, so there's no update on Lamar Odom. Listening carefully to Phil Jackson before Wednesday's game, when it was announced that Odom has a bone bruise in his right knee, it sounded like the Lakers' sixth man might be out a while. Odom was hurt in Tuesday's loss to the New Orleans Hornets. He didn't play Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors and might also miss Friday's game against the Indiana Pacers.

OAKLAND -- Pau Gasol scored his points (33) on the court and then made some more good ones (see below) in the locker room after the Lakers' 114-106 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. Gasol made it clear that he needs more shots than the eight he got in Tuesday's loss to the New Orleans Hornets.

"You've got to find balance in your game as a team," Gasol said after matching his career high with 18 rebounds and falling one point shy of his season best for points.
"You've got to take advantage of your strengths. Some nights it's going to work out better than others, but you've got to use your weapons.

"I was disappointed because if we would have been more aggressive (Tuesday), we could have attacked their big guys. David West was having a big night (scoring 40 points), but he was resting on defense.

"When a guy is attacking me and I can't retaliate, that's upsetting. It wasn't the only thing, but it was a big reason we weren't successful (Tuesday). ... We're finding (balance) some nights, but we get away from it on other nights.

"The nights we find it, we're very effective and very successful as a team. When we get everybody involved, we move the ball and things work out well. ... We have to make sure we continue to do that and grow as a team."

OAKLAND -- Lamar Odom suffered a bone bruise in his right knee, the results of an MRI performed today revealed. He will not play tonight against the Golden State Warriors and his status for Friday's game against the Indiana Pacers is uncertain.

His status is listed as day-to-day, the Lakers said in a statement. He was hurt in Tuesday's loss to New Orleans. The initial diagnosis was a hyper-extended knee.

UPDATED
"I'm not pinning any hopes on that," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said when asked if Odom could play Friday. "We'd like to have him play, but we're not counting on that."

"Have you ever had a bone bruise?" Jackson asked a reporter during his pregame session. "It takes a while (to heal). It's a tough one. We're still not out of the woods with this just because of that diagnosis. We'll use other guys."

In addition to Odom, the Lakers also will be without Luke Walton (foot) and Jordan Farmar (knee) when they play the Warriors tonight. Walton is out two weeks because of pain in the ball of his right foot. Farmar had knee surgery Dec. 24 and might not be back until after the All-Star break next month.

Eight shots. In 42 minutes of play in Tuesday's loss to the New Orleans Hornets, that was the extent of Lakers forward Pau Gasol's involvement in the offense and he wasn't exactly thrilled by it.

``It's hard because you don't get in any rhythm,'' Gasol said. ``And obviously playing 42 minutes, eight shots for me might not be enough.

``The game didn't go my way I guess. I try not to be too worried about that, but obviously when you lose, it maximizes it a little bit.''

Afterwards, when I chatted with Gasol he said he was more frustrated by the loss than angry about his lack of involvement and didn't want to turn it into an issue.

``I think we had the two main bigs in foul trouble in the first half and we did not do a good job of recognizing that,'' he said. ``We didn't punish them, and I think it was a mistake.''

Gasol admitted that he could've crashed the offensive glass harder, and perhaps generated some second-chance points. But rebounding was a bit difficult Tuesday because so many of the Lakers misses came off of 3-pointers, which generally create long rebounds.

Neglecting to get Gasol touches has been a constant theme for the Lakers this season. And whenever it happens more than one or two games in a row, Lakers coach Phil Jackson has generally come out publicly and called on the team to make a point of feeding its second-leading scorer.

When asked about Gasol's lack of shots in Tuesday's game, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant offered another theory ... and some advice to the lanky Spaniard.

``He feels uncomfortable just catching and shooting,'' Bryant said. ``I tell him: `You can shoot the ball 25 times. You catch the ball and a guy's hands are down, just shoot it.'

``It's an adjustment to make, and that's what we need him to do. If he's got the ball and a guy's hands are down, just shoot it right in his face.''

Hmmm... Anyone think the Lakers miss Lamar Odom?

With Odom out with a knee injury for the second half of Tuesday's loss to the Hornets, David West went wild, scoring 27 of his game-high 40 points in the second half.

He also helped key a 15-0 New Orleans midway through the 4th quarter, which turned the game from a 99-94 Lakers lead with 8:31 into a 109-99 Hornets lead with 4:48 to go.

In the previous two meetings with the Lakers, West had been relatively quiet, averaging just 17 points on a combined 14 of 34 shooting (41 percent).

But Tuesday night, with the Lakers most versatile athletic big man out, West was virtually unstoppable.

Lamar Odom suffered a hyper-extended right knee late in the first half against the New Orleans Hornets and will not return to the game. Odom will undergo an MRI exam Wednesday, according to a Lakers spokesman. He was hurt on a play in which he fouled Chris Paul with 3:03 left in the half. He left the game and went directly to the locker room.

...Vladimir Radmanovic!

Phil Jackson announced that the player formerly known as his favorite Martian would once again be his starting small forward. At least for tonight. While Luke Walton is out. Or as long as he says so.

Here's exactly how he un-resoundingly delivered the news:

Q: Who is starting for you at small forward?
A: ``Vlade Radmanovic."

Q: Why?
A: ``Because he's the best choice."

Q: Why?
"Because I said so."

The only thing coaches hate more than players who complain about a lack of playing time are players who don't complain about a lack of playing time. And that brings us to Vladimir Radmanovic, who has had difficulty masking his disappointment after Lakers coach Phil Jackson stapled his rear end to the bench after 20 games as a starter.

Here's the full text of Radmanovic's postgame comments Sunday, after he scored a season-high 16 points in the Lakers' victory over the Portland Trail Blazers:

"It was just one game. I took advantage of the chance I got. That's basically it. There's no big talk or philosophy about it. It is what it is.

"The position I'm in right now is really frustrating. I've tried not to bring it up because we have something really great going on here. But for me personally, from starting and playing decent, I believe, to not playing at all is something I'm still trying to understand and figure out.

"Whenever I get a chance to play, as a professional, I have to contribute as much as I can."

Luke Walton saw foot specialist Ken Jung today and learned he has something called sesamoiditis, which is more commonly seen in long-distance runners and dancers. In layman's terms, he is experiencing pain in the ball of his right foot.

Walton will be sidelined for at least two weeks and will wear a protective boot. He was cleared to begin rehab exercises in a pool today.

"It stinks that I've got to be out for a while, but it's nothing too serious," said Walton, who moved into the starting lineup Dec. 10 after playing infrequently in the season's first 20 games. "They gave me some strong meds. There's nothing you can really do besides stay off of it, which is the reason I'm in the boot."

Lakers coach Phil Jackson declined to name a starter to replace Walton for Tuesday's game against the New Orleans Hornets. Trevor Ariza replaced Walton in Sunday's victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Expect him to start again.

The Lakers' 100-86 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers moved them percentage points ahead of the Boston Celtics for the best record in the NBA. The Lakers are 27-5 for an .844 winning percentage. The Celtics are 29-6 for an .829 winning percentage.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are third (27-6, .818).

Kobe Bryant had this to say about having the best record on Jan. 4: "Well, it's just a challenge, that's how we look at it. It's obviously important to have home-court advantage, but we have to win on the road, anyway. But we look at it as a challenge for us to achieve that goal."

Said Pau Gasol: "Well, obviously, it's a good sign, but it's a long year. There are still many games to come, and we know that. We're just trying to take advantage of this nice homestand. It's always a good sign to be on top. You just can't relax. there's just too many games and too much competition to relax and get comfortable and be satisfied."

The Lakers had the best record in the Western Conference last season, earning home-court advantage for the first three rounds of the playoffs. Boston had a better record and held home-court advantage for the Finals, however. The Celtics won the first two games in Boston and went on to a six-game victory over the Lakers.

"We do want to be the best and we do want the best record," Trevor Ariza said. "It's definitely worth something, home-court advantage."

With Boston, Cleveland and Orlando all losing Sunday night, it seemed like something strange was going around the NBA. Whatever breeze that was, didn't seem to make its way west.

The Lakers breezed to another win Sunday night against the Brandon Roy-less Trail Blazers.

A 15-3 run in the third quarter did the trick this time.

Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 19.

Trevor Ariza started in place of the injured Luke Walton (foot).

Luke Walton will not play tonight against the Portland Trail Blazers because he has an injured right foot. He is scheduled to see a foot specialist Monday. He is out indefinitely, according to Lakers spokesman John Black. The initial diagnosis is sesamoiditis, a pain in the ball of the foot most commonly associated with long-distance running or dancing.

The Trail Blazers have lived up to their billing as one of the hottest young teams in the NBA and have ostensibly improved quite a bit since their opening night drubbing in Los Angeles. But it's going to be hard to get a true read on where Portland stands tonight because star point guard Brandon Roy didn't even make the trip to Los Angeles due to his sprained hamstring.

According to the Oregonian, Roy will miss 7-10 days with the injury.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said today after practice that he asked center Andrew Bynum for a progress report the other day. It's been almost a year since Bynum suffered a season-ending left kneecap injury during a game against the Memphis Grizzlies. His scoring and rebounding averages are off slightly from what they were at this time last season.

"He said he wasn't totally happy with the way things were going," Jackson said. "He thought he had fallen into a little rut lately."

Bynum wasn't available to speak with reporters after practice, leaving the facility before media members were admitted to the gym. He also did not stick around to talk after Friday's victory over the Utah Jazz, when he had eight points and two rebounds in the Lakers' win.

So, it was left to Jackson to analyze the 7-footer's game.

"He's gone through a lot of games now," Jackson said. "I think some of it is power and going through the motions and getting the power (back in his knee). ... I think he has endurance. I think he has enough endurance, but I think he loses energy. There is a difference."

Bynum's averages this season: 12.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.9 blocks in 31 games so far.

His averages last season: 13.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.1 blocks in 35 games before he was injured.

It got a little snug there towards the end as Utah cut the Lakers 15-point fourth-quarter lead to 97-93 with just 2:58 remaining, but Trevor Ariza made several key steals down the stretch to spark a 16-7 closing run for the Lakers, who extended their current winning streak to five games.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 40 points, one off of his season-high set two weeks ago in Orlando, and Pau Gasol added 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.

Mehmet Okur led the Jazz with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Paul Millsap had 16 points and 17 rebounds in his first game back since missing three games with a knee injury.

With his last two points in the game Gasol passed the 10,000-point mark for his career, making him the fourth European player in NBA history to achieve that status.

Already this season, the Lakers (26-5) have had two seven-game winning streaks, one five-game streak (current), one four-game streak and one three-game streak.

Wait, wasn't this supposed to be the game where the Western Conference's elite finally walked through the doors of Staples Center?

So far, it looks like just another rout as the banged-up Utah Jazz have shot just 37.8 percent in the first half and scored just 43 points.

The Lakers are getting another all-around night from Pau Gasol (11 points, seven rebounds, four assists) and Kobe Bryant (17 points on 6-of-8 shooting).

With the Lakers run to the NBA Finals, then the Olympics and his commitments back in Spain, Pau Gasol has been going pretty strong without an extended break for nearly a year. If anyone could use a few days off to recharge around the All-Star break in mid-February, it's Gasol.

The thing is, Gasol wants to go.

He's only been an All Star one other time in his career, in Houston for the 2006 All Star Game as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, and it was a fairly miserable experience he'd like to have another crack at.

``Trust me. I know the beauty of enjoying those days off,'' Gasol said. ``But I also know the pride of playing in the All Star game. The time that I did make it, I got sick and I was in bed the whole weekend. I played like 15 minutes, but playing in the game was like the only thing I got to do. I had to just stay in bed the whole time so I would have the energy to play in the game. ''

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he expected ``a lot of support'' for Gasol among Western Conference coaches who will be filling out the roster after fan voting. Gasol is averaging 17.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists in just over 35 minutes a game this season. Perhaps most impressively though, he's shooting a torrid 56 percent from the field and has an efficiency rating (the measure of how a team does when a particular player is on the court) of +23.28.

Jackson's support for his own candidacy -- the coach with the best record in the conference coaches at the All-Star game -- was far less enthusiastic.

``I have go and grin and bear it. That's what my mom told me,'' he said. ``It's just all that stuff you have to do. If it was just the game it wouldn't be so bad.''

Kobe Bryant was named the Western Conference's player of the month for December. Bryant led the conference-leading Lakers to an 11-4 record in the month, averaging 28.2 points. He topped 30 points five times during the month, hitting his season high of 41 during the Lakers' loss to the Orlando Magic on Dec. 20.

Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat was the Eastern Conference player of the month.

Jordan Farmar reported feeling little pain from his surgically-repaired left knee and did not rule out a return by the All-Star break in mid-February. Here are a few other tidbits from his conversation with reporters today after practice:

"It feels good, really good. There's not a lot of pain. I just need to get my quad strong and my muscles firing again. I just need to get back on the court and get working on some stuff again.

"I'll probably get into a pool next week. I'll probably do some cardio work in the pool. Once it gets strong again and I get my full range of motion back, then I can go back on the court and start doing some stuff.

"Being away from basketball is the hardest part. This is the third day I've been back to the facility. I've been at home trying to keep the swelling down. I've been in here at 7 a.m. working on it."