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Here's the skinny on the Lakers' Western Conference-clinching victory in the 'Sota.

It wasn't the most impressive performance, but at this point, I've joined the Lakers in looking ahead:

So there you have it. Some good, some "meh," and arguably little revealed as the Lakers remain firmly under the microscope. Like many of the previous 78, this game was an exercise in getting by. Killing time before the real season begins. What to take away from the results, I don't know, especially minus two key starters. Hell, at full strength, this squad can be a riddle, which makes the search for "meaning" in a game against NBA bottom feeders the equivalent of peeling a metaphorical onion the size of L.A. County. Tears are more likely to surface than answers.

Plus, it's been a loooooong five months and change since the 2009-2010 season began. Full disclosure, I'm a little tired.

Like the Lakers, I can't wait for the playoffs to start, ready or not.

Speaking of underwhelming results, ESPNLA.com's Dave McMenamin took a deep look at some numbers recently surfacing for the Lakers:

Not counting the win over the Timberwolves on Friday, the Lakers hadn't won three out of four quarters in a game since March 9 against Toronto, a string of 14 consecutive games. For a team that's leading its conference, it just seemed suspicious.And there's good reason for that.

The Lakers have outscored their opponents in only three or four quarters of the game in 24 of their 56 wins.

Now, this isn't a perfect measure of course because sometimes you blow out a team so thoroughly in the first half that you're bound to have a letdown with your reserves in in the second half. Plus, there are the games when you win three quarters by a couple of points each and then have one clunker where you're outscored by a dozen and lose the game, but still, it's a stat Fisher is paying attention to, so that makes it relevant.

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Fourth quarter. The game clock registers just three seconds remaining.

Then two.

Then one.

Another tick, and the Lakers take official ownership of the Western Conference for the third year running. The exact totem pole spot anticipated back in October when analysts went into Nostradamus mode. No surprises. A script faithfully honored, and through more than just the standings. Fittingly, this win was secured in a manner some might say is a microcosm of the season as a whole.

The Lakers got the job done, despite a failure to offer four dominating quarters of roundball. Or even a dominating half. The same inconsistency, lack of execution and waning focus painting this entire season was present again.

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This just in over the sportswire:

"The Lakers early Friday morning announced the passing of Hopes for Continuity Before the Playoffs, age seven months. The long-suffering goal, dealt an early hardship with a training camp injury to Pau Gasol and hindered by a variety of other maladies through the winter, was placed on life support earlier in April. Hopes for a late recovery were dashed before Thursday night's game against the Denver Nuggets when Kobe Bryant pulled himself from the lineup with swelling in his right knee, and later Phil Jackson indicated Bryant would likely miss this evening's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Meanwhile, Andrew Bynum announced he would not play until the first game of the playoffs. The events had a cascading and catastrophic effect ultimately proving fatal.

Hopes for Continuity is survived by The Search for the Magic Button, age four months, Undying Faith in Kobe, 14, and Intense Fan Concern, eight weeks. Private services will be held at the Lakers training facility in El Segundo, California. In lieu of flowers, the team asks fans pray for a favorable postseason schedule allowing for extra time on the practice court."

Here's what the masses had to say about last night's so-close-yet-so-far outing in Denver.

My brother noted how invested the Lakers remained during what initially appeared a blowout in the works, a huge reason things eventually went down to the wire:

In the end, the Lakers couldn't make enough plays. Final trip aside, Brown hurt the team with a terrible pass after a great backside block on Smith. Gasol, who finished with 26 points, 13 boards, a team-high five assists, and three blocks, frittered away a critical possession, holding the ball too long against Nene, then having it stripped by the Brazilian.It was ugly in spots, but the more important thing to take away from the game is the palpable sense of emotion.The Lakers were invested in this game, and almost pulled it out, despite playing without two of their top five players. As a result, they almost stole a game they shouldn't have been able to win.

Of course, you can't win a title via silver linings. A certain degree of execution is also required, and ESPNLA.com's Dave McMenamin wonders if we'll ever see it:

And the way you win a championship is to be consistent for 40 days and 40 nights, the NBA's slogan for the two-month slog that is known at the playoffs and Finals. Bryant called the postseason "another process" on Thursday, but a process usually entails a series of steps that one can only advance by completing the previous one successfully.Somehow we're supposed to believe that this team is going to escape all the perturbing patterns it's fallen into and suddenly stay consistent enough to win 16 games in four rounds over two months to lift the Larry O'Brien trophy again?It's beginning to look like if they haven't done it yet, they're not ever going to do it.

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The final play was, to be frank, a disaster from the start.

With 12.7 seconds remaining and the Lakers down by two to the Nuggets in Denver, Pau Gasol inbounded the ball to Derek Fisher, who quickly pushed up court against Chauncey Billups. With about seven seconds to go, Lamar Odom popped out and set a screen for Fish, blocking off Billups. The other three Lakers --Gasol, Sasha Vujacic and Ron Artest (you'll notice an important name missing) -- were closely guarded. Here Fisher missed what would be his best chance to fire away. It would have been a deep three, but compared to what followed would have been ideal.

Off the screen and heading right at the wing, Fish was picked up by Carmelo Anthony on a switch. Six seconds to go. Fish tries to find space to make an entry to Odom, who is fronted by Billups, but can't do it over/around the much larger Anthony. Fish tries to probe with the dribble, but it's hardly his strength. With about 3.5 to play, Artest flashes high beyond the top of the arc. Maybe Fish could have hit him there? Moving away from the bucket and with J.R. Smith in the vicinity, it would have been a tough look.

Out of options, Fish rose, pulled the trigger ... and was blocked easily by 'Melo. Lakers lose, 98-96.

Obviously the outcome wasn't good, but neither was the execution. The Lakers had a timeout remaining, and despite the risk of letting Denver set its defense could (should) have used it to advance the ball and set up a play. I don't think Fisher, who struggles to create with the ball, should have brought it up. Better Odom, with his potential to create better mismatches and also get off a shot against any defender Denver had on the floor. Once LO set his screen and Fish still wasn't free, someone else needed to come and give him a better outlet.

All that said, it's still hard to get too worked up over Thursday's result. Any visit to Denver is a potential loss, even with a full complement of players available. Take away Kobe Bryant, a late scratch because of swelling in his right knee, and Andrew Bynum? Yikes. Add in a first half in w'hich the Lakers finished 12 points down 12 and shot 33.3 percent from the field, thanks to a combined three of 19 from Vujacic, Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar, and Fisher, and suddenly the context of the final shot changes.

Now, it's suddenly more impressive the Lakers had one trip to tie or win. That they didn't seem less consequential.

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Kobe Bryant is inactive for tonight's game in Denver, with Sasha Vujacic taking his place in the starting lineup. The official explanation from the Media Relations Department is "right knee swelling." Specifics beyond that weren't readily available.

Before the game, Phil Jackson said he'd consider resting players before the playoffs in order to have the roster as fresh as possible. He also felt Kobe's legs - unrelated to the earlier season ankle injury- were the chief issue with his recent shooting struggles, as opposed to the fractured finger. Guess he was offering everyone to read between the lines.

More on this situation as information surfaces.

On a related note, Andrew Bynum doesn't expect to appear in the remaining four games of the regular season, but has targeted the first game of the opening round as his return date. He's currently out with a left Achilles strain.

It's the fourth and final regular season meeting between the Los Angeles Lakers and the consensus "Western Conference team most capable of dethroning them," the Denver Nuggets. For the last five months, Lakers-Nuggets has been treated as an inevitable Western Conference Finals rematch. Literally speaking, the sequel's blueprint has been laid out, but a closer look reveals question marks.

PODCAST
In anticipation of Thursday's game against Denver, Andy and Brian talk with our pal Benjamin Hochman, Nuggets beat writer for the Denver Post. Topics include the team's psyche in the wake of George Karl's cancer battle, adjustments being made while playing through injuries and the inherent stupidity of filling Kenyon Martin's car with popcorn. Podcast

The Lakers have indeed won (for all intents and purposes) the Western Conference exactly as anticipated, but they're struggling to find a consistent rhythm before their title defense officially begins.

For their part, the Nuggets have kept the storyline intact by remaining in contention for the second seed, but they've also encountered struggles of late, between George Karl's cancer battle and injuries to Chris Andersen and Kenyon Martin. Denver is currently riding a three-game win streak, so perhaps the ship has been righted, but either way, it's another wrinkle to a recently rich history between these teams.

For a better perspective on the Lakers' opponent, we talked with Benjamin Hochman, Nuggets beat writer for the Denver Post. Topics of discussion include:

-The latest on George Karl's cancer battle. How have the coach and team dealt with this terrible situation?

-Interim-coach Adrian Dantley's changes to the rotation. Most notably, veteran Anthony Carter is getting more minutes behind Chauncey Billups at the expense of speedster rook Ty Lawson.

-With Birdman and K-Mart hurt, guys like Johan "frequent K Bros punchline" Petro and Malik Allen have gotten more minutes. This has led to Nene more involved in the offense, along with occasional flashes of production from Petro.

-An update on Carmelo Anthony, who briefly blacked out after a collision with Kevin Durant during last night's Nuggets victory. As Hochman notes, the Thunder fans were kinda brutal on 'Melo for returning to the game. Then again, at least they paid respect to Anthony while he was down, unlike OKC announcers calling the game. Let me get this straight, fellas. Melo might have been playing "possum" over being "disgusted" over a non-call?

To quote Renton in Trainspotting, "That's your theory?"

-You gotta be one serious jackass to think Kenyon Martin would find a prank involving his car and boatloads of buttered popcorn absolutely high-larious.

If these Lakers have anything approaching a true, combative, ugly rivalry, it's probably with the Denver Nuggets, who they'll see tonight at Pepsi Center (7:30 pm PT, TNT). Consecutive seasons of playoff matchups plus some heated regular season games in between.

Lakers fans don't like them, and the players don't seem all too fond of the Nuggets, either.

When the teams last met back on February 28th, there was talk Denver was the greatest threat to L.A.'s dominance of the Western Conference. Certainly I pushed that line of thinking. At the time it was true, but since Nuggets have scuffled, falling back to the pack before ripping off three straight wins, including wins over Portland last week and in Oklahoma City last night. One source of their problems has been the loss of Kenyon Martin to patellar tendinitis in his left knee, robbing them of a key source of defense and toughness.

For that, Lakers fans will have little sympathy. Not with Andrew Bynum sidelined and seemingly everyone else on the roster working through hand injuries.

The other source of Denver's struggles, though, is far more serious. Coach George Karl's battle with throat cancer has proven to be more debilitating than perhaps originally thought. Any notion he might coach the team during the regular season was quickly abandoned once his treatment began, and he likely won't coach in the first round and perhaps beyond. Karl is having trouble speaking, is feeding through a stomach tube, and taking a ton of medication, in part for pain management.

This is serious, life and death stuff.

So does it change how you see the rivalry? Does it soften it at all? Does reading stories about his treatment and the meaning for his players to visit him in the hospital cut through any of the on-court animosity? Read this story. Does it make a difference?



Definitely interested in your thoughts and comments below. If yes, why? If no, why not?

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Even as a 14-year veteran, never let it be said Kobe Bryant can't continue finding ways to learn from Phil Jackson. Check out the way 24 used his coach's example as a means of keeping his bank account $35,000 healthier.




I'm not one for putting words in another man's mouth, but I got the very distinct sense Kobe was implying NBA referees occasionally deny him an earned shot at two freebies.

Maybe it's just me.

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Throughout the season, we'll often spend a lot of time talking about the adjustments made -- or not made, in some instances -- by the Lakers against various teams. Most recently, True Hoop's Kevin Arnovitz examined how the purple and gold collapsed down the fourth quarter stretch of Sunday's 100-81, earthquake-inducing loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

What we don't often get to see, however, is a specific look at the enemy adjusting to the Lakers. Thanks to our buds at 48 Minutes of Hell, a gander is possible. Take a look below at rookie DeJuan Blair, thanks to productive instructions from Gregg Popovich, gradually making Pau Gasol work harder for his points.



It's always interesting to see elements of the battle within the battle.

PODCAST
Andy and Brian investigate Andrew Bynum's slow recovery, questioning if he'll play before the playoffs. Plus, Derek Fisher talks about the team's inconsistency, leading the Brothers to wonder what about the Lakers can actually be fixed before the postseason. Plus, Walk the Dinosaur and other classics of the "cassingle" era. Podcast

Since the start of training camp, in one form or another we've all basically been sitting around waiting for the playoffs to start. Unfortunately, "we've all" has often included the Lakers themselves, one reason why the most exciting part of the NBA calendar is being met with a little trepidation from Lakers fans.

The other big problem is health, specifically Andrew Bynum and his injured left Achilles tendon. He won't play Thursday or Friday, and very well might be sidelined for the rest of the regular season (that's me talking, not the official party line). And that's where we start in the newest Kamenetzky Brothers Land O'Lakers PodKast.

Well, technically not. After opening with Phil Jackson's comments Tuesday afternoon regarding Bynum's status, we get a little sidetracked talking about Was (Not Was) and Right Said Fred and the downfall of the Cassingle. Which could happen to anyone. But after, we're totally on this Bynum thing.

From there, we cue up the comments of Derek Fisher regarding the team's lack of consistency, and break down which of the team's problems are fixable, and to what degree. Can the shooting improve? What about offensive flow? Defensive cohesion?

And, appropriately, we cap everything with more talk of the Cassingle. In the business, they call that "bringing things full circle."

Enjoy!

A few more non-Andrew Bynum related nuggets from Tuesday's run in El Segundo...

Derek Fisher was asked to identify most important thing the team is looking for over the last five games. "Getting and staying healthy," he said. "If you don't have all your guys, it makes things tough."

From there, Fish said, it's a matter of "re-establishing the ability to play longer, better. We've really had very few times when we've played more than one half of good basketball. And I say that in terms of a total of 24 minutes, not like a (continuous) half where we played well... Just totally inconsistent."

So yes, they're watching the same games you are.



Fish suggests (as did some of his teammates) the struggles faced by the group this year will only make a title in June more satisfying, should they again accomplish the feat. Perhaps, but will it have been worth shaving years off the lives of fans supporting them? We've all seen how the Presidency tends to age people quickly. The Lakers have turned the city into one giant purple and gold oval office.

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Tuesday in El Segundo, we got a quick- and I do mean this literally- update from Andrew Bynum about his injured left Achilles tendon: He said he's about the same.

That means no meaningful running and jumping, which while not a huge part of my game tend to be more important at the NBA level. Asked if he thought Bynum would return in the regular season, Phil Jackson said they're not going to worry about pinning a date on his return, like a tail on some sort of injury donkey.

"I'm just not holding my breath on a timetable," he said. "We just haven't been able to put a timetable on it. It's going to take some time, and we just don't know when (he'll be back). Obviously we'd like him to play a couple of games at the end of the regular season, but this morning I told him if that's not possible we'll take whatever we can get in the playoffs at that time."

It seems unlikely Bynum will play until next week, leaving him perhaps two games to get his sea legs back before the playoffs. It's also possible he doesn't suit up until the postseason begins. It's hard to say at this point. More from practice to come, but in the meantime, enjoy this clip of Phil talking about Bynum...

After returning from their 2-3 road trip last week, the Lakers spoke honestly about their level of concern at how they were performing on the court, understanding things had to get better, and admitting an "on/off switch" doesn't exist. The process of getting better would be just that- a process.

As if to drive home the point, the Lakers followed a dominant performance Friday night against a Utah squad playing extremely well by falling back on old habits in a 19-point loss to the Spurs Sunday afternoon.

The laundry list of things hurting the Lakers Sunday - offensive execution, poor outside shooting, a completely non-existent bench just to name a few- has been consistent all year.

The good news is nothing they've done (or haven't done, if you prefer) automatically precludes them from winning another title. The bad news is even the most Pollyannish of Lakers supporters must admit the current level of play won't get it done.

With only five games left in the regular season, some repair work needs to be done (some of which is likely to extend into the playoffs).

So here's the big question: What exactly can be fixed? And what's beyond repair?

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Some purple and gold news for the masses. First and foremost, Andrew Bynum's MRI results are in and the original diagnosis remains the company line: Strained, not torn. Certainly good to hear, although no return date is included. Or even an updated time frame for a return. For now, everything's up in the air like George Clooney.

When it comes to these uncertainties, I'm actively choosing stay as calm as Pau Gasol during an earthquake. For example, I did some Sunday morning radio on 710 ESPN and was asked about a Saturday update (filed by yours truly), which had Drew "progressing," but still unable to run and jump. (I don't know everything about basketball, but even my hoops mind is sharp enough to identify those activities as fairly mandatory.) I noted how Bynum not being ready doesn't necessarily mean he's nowhere close to being ready. It just means he's not ready as we speak, and that's all we know for sure.

Is this willful use of semantics an exercise in self-delusion? Perhaps, when you consider Bynum's history as a slow healer and it's a leg injury, which is more difficult to play through than anything "hand," "shoulder," or even "back." I'd be lying if I claimed not to be a little concerned. But at the same time, unless there's something about medicine I simply don't know -which could very well be the case- a strain is by definition milder than Bynum's 2008 subluxation and 2009 MCL tear. That counts for something in my book. The Lakers are also, even by professional sports standards, cagey when it comes to medical details, which makes any lack of information feel like the standard operating procedure.

Plus, I might as well believe Drew will be back in time for the playoffs, because doom and gloom does me no good. If the worst case scenario proves true, everyone from the players to the coaches to the fans will simply have to deal with it. But until clearly necessary to cross that bridge, I'm willing to remain positive.

Positive enough to believe an immediately seamless return also lies ahead? Hell-to-the-no, between Bynum's struggles to acclimate before last year's title run and the general lack of cohesion plaguing the Lakers all season. But that's another headache I'll table for another day. For now, let's just get him back on the floor.

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