Lakers Pass First Test

In what might've been the best game in the NBA all season, the Lakers beat the Suns in Phoenix, 130-124, behind Kobe's 41 points on 16 of 25 shooting (what pinky, injury?). Pau added 29 and Odom poured in 22 with his 11 boards in the win. The game marked former Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal's first with the Suns since being traded last week from Miami. Shaq wasn't very productive offensively, although he managed 15 points, most in the 4th quarter, and 9 boards. But he showed no signs of a hip injury he'd been battling recently as he was hustling and diving for loose balls all over the court all night. Of course, I don't expect this to last too long. Shaq has a tendency to turn it up a notch when he joins a new team to prove people wrong, but don't be surprised if it doesn't last either. By the way, with the win, the Lakers pulled even in the division standings at 37-17 atop of the Pacific with Phoenix. Meanwhile, New Orleans lost last night, while Phoenix won. So the top of the conference standings now has Phoenix and New Orleans in a dead heat tie, with the Lakers holding the 3rd seed just 1/2 game back.

Lakers return home tonight against the Clippers, although it's technically a Clippers home game.

History Made!

That's right! Lakers finished 7-2 on their 9-game road swing, a new league record for a road trip of that many games, with their win last night in Minneapolis, 117-92. Kobe led all scorers with 29 points and added 5 boards and 5 assists, and Pau Gasol added 19 points and 9 boards. But Lamar Odom stole the show, posting a triple-double with 10 points, 16 boards and 10 assists. Along with the win, the Lakers pulled to within a game of Phoenix in the division after Phoenix lost last night in Golden State. The Lakers remain the 5th seed in the West, but only a game and a half behind New Orleans, now atop the conference by half game over Phoenix. Dallas and Utah are sandwiched between the Lakers and Phoenix.

The Lakers now get a much needed break as they head into the All-Star Game this weekend. The Lakers return home next Tuesday night for one game when they host Atlanta, but then head right back out on the road for three games (although one really isn't a "road" game) when they take on the Phoenix, the Clippers and Seattle.

Lakers on Verge of History

Well the Lakers are halfway to history tonight, as they hold a 60-44 halftime lead in Minnesota. Should they hold on to the lead and win the game, it would be their 7th win in 9 games on the road trip, which would give them the most wins on a single road trip of at least 9 games. Stay tuned as the story develops...

Lakers Spoil Marion's Heat Debut

That was a fun game to watch today, wasn't it? Lakers get a nice win, 104-94, as Kobe bested D-Wade 33-19 in the scoring department. Kobe also added 5 assists to Wade's 9, and Lamar Odom added 15 points and 18 boards. Shawn Marion finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds in his Heat debut as Miami falls to a league-worse 9-40. The Lakers, meanwhile, continue to roll on the road trip and improve to 33-17 overall, and leapfrog San Antonio by 1/2 game into the 5th spot in the Western Conference. San Antonio lost in Boston earlier in the day, 98-90.

The Lakers head to Charlotte on Monday night before finishing up the long 9-game trip in Minnesota on Wednesday night as they head into the All-Star break this coming weekend. If all goes well, the Lakers should finish the trip an impressive 7-2 with wins in Charlotte and Minnesota.

Lakers Rockin' 'n' Rollin' Again

Since acquiring Pau Gasol, the Lakers have gone an impressive 4-1 on the road trip (4-2 overall on the trip with three more to play), including an impressive 117-113 win tonight in Orlando. How impressive you might ask? Well, in two of the games, Kobe scored a total of 17 points (he injured a finger on his shooting hand against Jersey when he jammed the finger trying to steal the ball from Jason Kidd in the second quarter of that 105-90 win on Tuesday night, the first of those two games), and tonight, the Lakers gave up 44 points in the first quarter, and were down 11 after the quarter, and led by one at the half and by 11 after three quarters.

What's really surprising me is how quickly the team has turned it around after its little funk with Kwame Brown playing the bulk of the minutes at center before last week's trade. Even more amazing is the production the Lakers continue to get from the bench. One night it's Turiaf; another night it's Farmar; another night it's Radmanovic (when he isn't starting). Tonight, as it has been on several occassions, it was Sasha Vujacic, who scored 10 points off the bench. The bulk of tonight's scoring came from the starters, though. Kobe led the way with 36 while adding 11 boards and 6 assists. Pau added 30 and 9 boards and D-Fish, Odom and Radmanovic had 14 (and 7 assists), 12 and 10, respectively.

Next up for the Lakers is Miami on Sunday, an intriguing match-up for a couple of reasons. Two nights ago, the Heat and Phoenix Suns pulled off the second stunning trade in the league in a week when Miami sent former Laker superstar center Shaquille O'Neal to the Suns in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. My reaction? Why, Phoenix, why? They had the best record in the West. Everything was hunky-dory in Phoenix. Why mess with something if it isn't broken? Shaq is a soon-to-be 36-year old over-the-hill, overweight log who can't run anymore, isn't very mobile anymore, still can't shoot free throws and he can barely get his feet off the floor when he jumps. Oh, not too mention he's injury-prone. And let's not forget... Phoenix LOVES to run! So basically they just traded arguably their most athletic player and pure scorer in Marion, for an aging guy who can't get up and down the floor anymore in a run-and-gun offense. Good luck Phoenix!

Lakers Pull Off Stunner and Head to Canada

CORRECTION (9:24pm CT): The second-round pick the Lakers got along with Pau Gasol in today's trade is for the 2010 draft, not this year's draft. My apologies.

**********
UPDATE (8:16pm CT): Lakers win north of the border, 121-101. Kobe pours in 46 points with 7 boards and 5 assists. Next up on the trip: Washington, Sunday morning.

**********
Well, Laker fans, the day we've been waiting for has finally arrived! KWAME BROWN IS NO LONGER A LAKER. The Lakers today traded Kwame, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie (who they signed today specifically for this trade so that the contracts going both ways matched up to within the required 15% threshold), the rights to Marc Gasol and two first round draft picks (2008, 2010) to Memphis for Pau Gasol (yes, aforementioned Marc's big brother) and a second round pick in this year's draft.

This is a great day for the Lakers. It's time to celebrate! Start partying, L.A.! Parade out on 11th! No, not for a championship, not yet, anyway, but just for the sole reason that Kwame Brown is no longer a Laker! And you can very well bet the rest of the league just dropped their jaws as the Lakers pretty much STOLE Gasol for practically nothing!

Gasol will slide right into the center slot while Andrew Bynum is recovering from his dislocated knee cap, and will move over to the 4 spot when Bynum returns, whenever that might be (mid-March?). When that happens, the Lakers will field a spectacular starting lineup, perhaps the best starting quintet in the league, that will feature Derek Fisher at the point, arguably the game's best player in Kobe Bryant at the 2, Lamar Odom at the 3, and two 7-footers at the 4 and 5 in Gasol and Bynum. In the meantime, Gasol, who doesn't provide much of a defensive presence for being a 7-footer, will give the Lakers some much need inside offensive help in the absence of Bynum.

When Bynum went down with his injury on January 13th against the very same team the Lakers just made a blockbuster deal with today, the Lakers were riding high, in the midst of a seven-game winning streak. They won the game that night against Memphis to put their streak at six, but have gone just 3-5 since, and have gone from a potential top-seeded team in the West, to just barely a playoff contender. They squeezed out an important momentum-boosting 120-109 win at home against the Knicks on Tuesday night to stop a little three-game slide before heading off on a long and winding nine-game road trip, which began with a one-point loss last night in Detroit.

So for the Lakers, the deal comes at a very important time of the season which could either make or break their entire season. The impact of the deal is already being felt positively as the Lakers are rolling in Toronto with a 102-89 lead with about seven minutes left in the game. Time will tell if Gasol can help propel the Lakers into the playoffs as serious contenders or fairy pretenders.

**********
Disclaimer: Once again I have been insanely busy which has prevented me from posting as often as I'd like, but I will continue to do my best to post as frequent as time will allow. Thanks to all my readers for being patient with me and cooperating.