Kobe’s an All-Star, but what about Pau?

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.

Praising Bynum

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.”

Postgame tidbits

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.

Halftime: Lakers 58, Clippers 55

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.

Pregame surprises

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.

A really big day

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.”

Bryant update

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.”

Kobe’s injury history against the Cavs

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.

Good news for Bryant, Lakers

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.”

Lakers trailing, Bryant ailing

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.