In talking yesterday with NBA Vice President of Communications Tim Frank about how Trevor Ariza's situation with Rudy Fernandez (and others similar) might be evaluated, I learned of a common misconception among fans, players, coaches, and media (yours truly included). Whether someone makes a play on...

On a good night, facing the Rockets in Houston is a challenging proposition. They're a tough, physical, defensive minded team that can make things difficult for the best of squads, defending them in a variety of ways. For the Lakers, things already looked hard enough. Now, coming off their worst per...

"It was the Lakers," Blazers center Joel Przybilla said. "And we beat the (snot) out of them. And you can print that. In bold. And big letters." I can do the bold, but haven't actually figured out how to change the type size. So Joel, this is the best I give you. But while it probably wasn't a great...

The Lakers ain't won in Portland since 2005. You know what came out ten years earlier? Braveheart. So give this speech a listen, get inspired, and cheer on your squad to battle the odds. It's a shame Mel Gibson's goony bird insane, because he's one hell of a film maker. The jabber box is below. AK...

On a minute-to-minute basis, there's probably nobody on the Lakers' roster who has better taken advantage of his playing time than Josh Powell. Brought in to fill a backup power forward role when Ronny Turiaf left for Golden State, Powell hasn't matched Turiaf's level of enthusiasm on and off the fl...

Well, I wouldn't go that far- beyond the soccer skills, Pele is one hell of an actor- but Bryant proved he can pull off a solid bend in a pinch while... wait for it... kicking it with the LA Sol and their newest mate Marta, the Brazilian soccer star considered to be the best female soccer-ist on the...

I've spent the last 45 minutes or so scrolling through the various informational combinations available on NBA.com's Hot Spots feature, and I am only reminded of how addictive the thing is. We spend so much time talking about shot selection, guys playing to strengths, and so on. It's great to have a...

Many of you know about the documentary Spike Lee is working on centering around Kobe Bryant. (It airs, I believe, in May.) If you're interested in getting a little early information, check out this interview with Lee on WQXI in Atlanta. It opens with talk about shooting around Kobe and the Lakers, b...

If the NBA is a big, friendly neighborhood, the Memphis Grizzlies are the local pharmacy, always ready to provide a cure for what ails. Losers of seven straight and 24 of 27 outside the confines of FedExForum, tonight's visitors to Staples Center served as honorary sacrificial lambs for a Lakers squ...

Regardless of who is or isn't on the floor this afternoon in Phoenix, I doubt Sunday's game against the Suns will repeat the Globetrotters vs. Generals theme in LA's 132-106 beatdown of Phoenix Thursday night at Staples. The Lakers may be looking to rebound after a nearly historical effort (the bad ...