Lakers Continue to Roll....

Well, since my last post a week ago, the Lakers have posted four straight wins in "routing" fashion:

Last Friday: 124-93 vs. Philly
Sunday night: 112-96 vs. Indiana
Tuesday night: 117-101 at Memphis
Last night: 109-80 at New Orleans

The Lakers continue to get balanced scoring from the starters and consistent contributions from the bench. Andrew Bynum continues to impress, posting double-doubles on a nightly basis now. I really think this Laker team is a serious contender as its constructed. Bynum is easily the biggest reason why the Lakers are where they are, and he's arguably the most-improved player in the league. The Lakers aren't having to rely on Kobe to score 35, 40 points every night. And as much as Lamar Odom seems to lack any kind of intensity, he continues to quietly put up some solid double-doubles on an almost nightly basis, as well.

The Lakers have a favorable next five games as they return to Staples tomorrow night with a match-up against Milwaukee. Memphis heads into town on Sunday; the team heads up to Seattle for a game on Monday night before returning back to Staples for a showdown with division rival Phoenix next Thursday, and Denver the following Monday (1/21)...

Odom Suspended

Forgot to mention this one: Lamar has been handed a one-game ban by the league for essentially tackling the C's Ray Allen into the stands late in the game on Sunday night. He was given a flagrant foul on the play, but wasn't ejected. Odom will sit out Friday night's Philly contest and return Sunday night against Indy...

The Big Tests

Well the Lakers passed one test, but miserably failed another. On Friday, they rolled all over Utah at Staples, 123-109. The game wasn't even that close. The Lakers had leads of 15, 27 and 32 after the first three quarters. The game was so out of hand, it prompted this quote by one of the Lakers' L.A. Times bloggers, Brian Kamenetsky, "A beatdown so thorough, AK had 12/5, and I had four blocks. The popcorn guy chipped in with 10, Jack yanked down a couple of boards, and that cute Laker Girl (you know, the brunette) managed a triple-double in only 14 minutes of play." The game really was that lop-sided. But the fun didn't last long.

On Sunday night, the C's rolled into town and rolled all over the Lakers, 110-91, who thought it'd be a cute idea to don their 80s replica unis. And I don't mean just the jersey. They donned those really short shorts in the first half (you know, the ones Magic, Kareem and "Big Game" James wore during the glory years in the 80s), essentially cutting off all their circulation and blood supply in their bodies. making them completely ineffective for 24 minutes. I must say though, Trevor Ariza went so far with it, it was that laughable. He added those knee-high socks and knee pads guys like Magic and Michael Cooper used to wear.

In any case, full throwback ensemble and all, it wasn't a pretty game to watch. The Kamenetsky Brothers, popcorn guy, Jack and the cute brunette Laker Girl were all non-factors, as were most of the Lakers.

Lakers are off until this weekend when Philly and Indy pay visits to Staples on Friday and Sunday nights, respectively, before heading off to Memphis early next week.