Kobe Breaks Finger as Lakers Roll to 11th Straight Win

The Lakers keep find ways to turn close games into routs, and last night was no different. Well, actually it was.

The difference was Kobe broke his index finger on his shooting hand in the first quarter while he was reaching for a pass. He stayed in the game briefly and played through it but eventually came out of the game and went to the locker room for x-rays and treatment. He came back out for the second half and finished the game with 20 points.

With the 104-92 win over former Laker player and coach Kurt Rambis and his Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers improved their-league best record to 18-3 and wrapped up the easy part of their schedule on a roll. The Lakers got a generous schedule in which they played 17 of their first 21 games at home, and rolled through that stretch with a 15-2 home mark.

Pau Gasol was outstanding last night pouring in 17 points and pulling down a career-high 20 rebounds, and Ron Artest added 16 points for the Lakers.

In this last stretch, the Lakers won impressive games this week against Utah and Phoenix. With the Phoenix win, the Lakers reminded the Suns, the rest of the conference, and probably the rest of the league, as well, who the Cream of the Crop really is.

Utah will get a chance for redemption tonight as the Lakers travel into cold Salt Lake City for a rematch against the Jazz. But they won't get any breaks (no pun intended) because it's going to take a lot more than a broken finger to keep Kobe off the floor. Kobe is expected to play tonight, but how effective, or ineffective he is because of the broken finger, well, we'll just have to wait and find out, won't we?!

Summer News

Ever since Lamar Odom finally re-signed with the Lakers last month, I was hoping things would quiet down for the Lakers until camp started, but lo and behold, it's been anything but for the World Champions. That said, here's a brief chronological rundown/recap on some of the key news items since Odom's signing:

• The Lakers waived guard Sun Yue. I don't think anyone will miss him.
• Guard Sasha Vujacic underwent minor knee surgery following a minor injury suffered while playing for Slovenia's national team this summer. He has since fully recovered and has resumed full basketball activities. Barring any setbacks, he'll be ready for camp.
• Former Laker forward and assistant coach Kurt Rambis was named head coach of the Timberwolves. Congratulations, and good luck in Minnesota! You'll need it.
• Forward Pau Gasol broke his left middle finger (his non-shooting hand) while practicing with the Spanish national team. The injury required surgery but it's not considered a serious injury and he was expected to miss only three weeks. This timetable means Gasol should be more than ready when camp opens up in October, but to be safe, Lakers trainer Gary Vitti is flying later this month to Spain to check on Gasol, and to make sure the reports of the three-week setback are accurate.

That should about cover it. This space is now current and up-to-date!