A Quiet Win

The Usual Suspects led the Lakers to a ho-hum 100-90 win over the hapless New York Knickerbockers last night out at Staples. And as Forrest Gump proclaimed, "And that's all I have to say about that."

Now I go prepare to eat turkey and pie tomorrow.

Happy Turkey Day and safe travels, if you're traveling, to everyone!

Say What?!

Kobe decides to start a quick game of H-O-R-S-E during last night's game...

Ok... your turn!

Lakers Win Another Yawner...

This one against the OKC Thunder, 101-85.

Didn't get to see the game as I don't have League Pass on my DirecTV. But from what I could tell just looking at the box score and whatnot, the game wasn't really even that close.

Kobe led all scorers with 26, adding six rebounds and seven assists, while Andrew Bynum poured in 25 plus seven boards. I guess that "jammed" ankle wasn't bothering him tonight. The newfound actor added 15, seven and six, as well.

Lakers improve to 10-3, and get the Knicks at Staples on Tuesday. (So, make it 11-3?!)

Lakers Run Past Bulls

Pau Gasol's return was a doozy: 24 points and 13 boards in 35 minutes of a 108-93 running of the Bulls. Word on the street is Gasol will be promoted to pick the locale of the next CSI series after this stellar season debut.

(Rumor has it he's also been asked to pick a The Who song for the show's theme song and chose "Run Like Hell" to commemorate tonight's win over the Bulls, not knowing it was a Pink Floyd song instead.)

CSI: Barcelona anyone?!

Meanwhile, 'Drew Bynum left the game midway through quarter three with a jammed right ankle, and is listed as D2D. My thinking is he was kept out of the rest of the game because of the score, and not so much because the injury is worse than it is.

Next up: Kevin Durant and the OKC Thunder Sunday night at Staples.

CSI: Miami Star Returns

To the court. Pau Gasol is back in action tonight, making his season debut against the Bulls at Staples. So far, so good.

Kobe Goes For 40 For the 100th Time

And for the fourth time this season alone. Kobe finished the night with 40 points on 17 of 29 shooting as the Lakers ripped Detroit, 106-93.

Lakers improve to 8-3, with Chicago in town Thursday night.

Walton Out Six Weeks

Luke Walton, who missed last night's game with a sore back, is expected to miss the next six weeks after being diagnosed with a pinched nerve.

Pau Gasol...

As Doc Brown once proclaimed in Back to the Future, "the actor?!"

A snipet...

Kobe Goes Cold Against Rockets

Uh, Houston? We have a problem.

That seems to be the glaring theme tonight after Kobe went ice cold, scoring just 18 points on 5 of 20 shooting, while the Rockets blasted the Lakers 101-91. Of greater concern was Kobe's right groin, an injury he originally suffered last week against New Orleans, which he apparently re-aggravated in the first quarter. He was nice enough to stay in the game and play through it.

In a strange twist, only one Rocket starter scored in double figures tonight: Aaron Brooks led all scorers with 33 points. But it was still enough to hand the Lakers their second straight loss and third of the season.

Lakers Look Lost in Denver

Fortunately for them, it was a game in November, and not May or June. The game was competitive for about 24½ minutes and then the Nuggets took over and turned it into a blowout. Final score: Home Team 105, Visitors 79.

The Lakers did manage to get balanced scoring from four of the five starters, but Derek Fisher was virtually unheard from tonight, and the entire bench with the exception of eight Jordan Farmar points was non-existent. Kobe and Andrew Bynum led the Lakers with 19 points apiece.

Back home on Sunday with Houston. Trevor Ariza gets his ring.

Win Streak Reaches Six

The Lakers improved to 7-1 as their win streak reached six tonight with a 121-102 blowout of the Phoenix Suns at Staples. The win follows a 104-88 romp of New Orleans on Sunday.

The "Captain" Has Leukemia

Hall of Fame and Laker legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar announced last night that he has a rare form of leukemia. Kareem sounded optimistic about the long-term prognosis, and provided he follows through with all of treatments and medications, says it is manageable.

Kareem intends to continue with his normal schedule of activities while undergoing treatment.

We wish Kareem all the best and pray for a speedy recovery.

41

That seems to be Kobe's new number. For the third time in six games this season, Kobe has scored 41 points as the Lakers ripped the Memphis Grizzlies 114-98.

Lakers improve to 5-1 on the young season.

Another Nailbiter...

But Lakers prevail 103-102 in overtime in Houston. Kobe finishes with 41 again, and 6 and 2.

Lakers improve to 4-1.

Overtime Again

Tied at 92 in Houston...

Gasol Update

While the Lakers are battling it out deep in the heart of Texas against the Rockets and former teammate Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasol was cleared today to resume all basketball activities after his extensive MRI revealed he did not have a tear in his hamstring. That said, he's expected to practice tomorrow and could see game action as early as Friday.

Meanwhile, Ariza and Ron Artest were assessed technical fouls in the first quarter, and Artest, who played for Houston last season, was booed mercilessly by Rockets fans every time he touched the ball.

The game was tied at 22 after one quarter.

Lakers Dodge One in OKC

Final: Lakers 101, Thunder 98, OT.

Kobe finished with a 31-6-4 line while battling flu-like symptoms.

Houston tomorrow night.

Kobe's in the Lineup

His fever is gone but he's still got a sore throat and isn't 100%. None of this has stopped him from playing before, so he'll be ready to go.

Kobe Out Tonight?

He has flu-like symptoms and a high fever. He missed this morning's shoot-around, as well. He's listed as questionable for tonight and is a game-time decision. Stay tuned.

Gasol To Miss At Least Two More

As it turns out, he might have a small tear in his hammy. A sonogram revealed the possible tear and he underwent an extensive MRI today, of which the results won't be known until tomorrow.

This is obviously not very good news, but we'll keep our fingers crossed for that MRI to come back negative tomorrow.

Lakers Romp Hawks

Wasn't expecting this against a pretty good young team. but still without Pau Gasol, the Lakers rolled to a 118-110 win over Atlanta at Staples. Kobe poured in 41, the 97th time in his career he's scored 40 or in a game.

The Lakers trailed the Hawks midway through the second quarter, 38-37, but by halftime, they had regained the lead and opened it up to 64-58. By the end of the third, the Lakers were cruising by 22 points, 98-76.

The Lakers hit the road for a back-to-back in Oklahoma and Houston tomorrow and Wednesday nights before heading back to Staples for a matchup with Memphis on Friday night.

Gasol Still Out

Pau Gasol got his first ever championship ring just before the Lakers began their title defense on Tuesday night with a 99-92 win on opening night. But he didn't play. Three nights later, the Lakers looked sluggish, still without Gasol, in a 94-80 loss at Staples to Dallas.

Tonight, the Lakers hope to get back on the winning track against Atlanta, but Gasol will not be available again. Gasol is still nursing a sore hamstring that has kept him out of action since early in the pre-season.

The Lakers aren't too concerned about it, but Gasol is, as there is no timetable for his return. While he's still listed as day-to-day, it seems more like he's week-to-week.

Hopefully they can get him back sooner rather than later.

Ring Ceremony Revisted

Twenty-two years and five titles later, this never gets old. This is from the 1987 ring ceremony, emceed by the late, great Hall of Fame Laker broadcaster Chick Hearn.

It's time to hand out some more hardware and raise another banner to the Staples Center rafters! The quest for 16 begins tonight!

Pre-season Winding Down...

Opening night is just three days away. Championship banner number 15 will be raised to the Staples Center rafters that night, against their in-house, in-town rival Clippers, with number one pick Blake Griffin making his official pro debut for the Clippers.

So many storylines heading into the 2009-2010 season.

For the Lakers, the big question is, can they repeat? Many people they can, and a lot of people think they will. Some don't think Ron Artest will make them anymore better than Trevor Ariza, and those same people don't think they can repeat. Either way, it won't be easy. And it looks like they'll have to start their quest to repeat without the services of Pau Gasol, who is still nursing a nagging hamstring injury that has kept him out of the last six pre-season games.

Back to the task at hand: repeating.

The West is loaded again. Denver still appears to be their biggest challengers, but Utah is still there, Dallas has gotten better with the addition of Shawn Marion, Portland is a year older and experienced, San Antonio is another year older but added Richard Jefferson, and just to throw them into the mix, the Clippers might contend for a playoff spot if they stay healthy.

The East still has its three beasts: The Celtics, who are a year older but added Rasheed Wallace to the mix, the Cavs, who added Shaq, and Orlando. All three teams have 60 wins written all over them.

All but the Clippers are serious contenders, and any one of them (minus the Clippers) can dethrone the Lakers. But really, the only team that can really beat the Lakers, is the Lakers. They've got to stay healthy. Artest has to be on his best behavior. (He's been seeing a sports psychologist for the past year to work on his anger management issues front he past.) Lamar Odom needs to stay focused and be accept his role off the bench. If all that happens, there's no reason the Lakers won't repeat.

The roster is virtually the same with the exception of Artest. And you can't help but think that the former Defensive Player of the Year and four-time All-Defensive Team can only help. And not to mention his 17-point career average is a little more intriguing than Ariza's eight-point average.

So let's get the banner up and defend that title.

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!