ESPN

Dave McMenamin has the news.

In a nutshell, Kobe Bryant will sit out the regular season finale tonight in Sacramento, ceding this year's scoring title to Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant. Kobe has said repeatedly over the last few days the scoring crown isn't important to him, and certainly anyone who didn't believe him before ought to now. Had he decided to strap 'em up and make a run at K.D. I would have understood, and this poll on the official Lakers Facebook page suggests Lakers fans wanted to see him go for it. Still, Kobe is unquestionably making the safer choice, and more than a few fingernails around town will probably be preserved.

With that, tonight becomes all about extended run for seldom used players like Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris, along with everyone's first look at Christian Eyenga in a Lakers uni.

Kobe Bryant needs 38 points in Thursday's regular season finale against the Kings to capture this year's scoring title over Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant.

Bryant has said repeatedly over the last few days he doesn't particularly care if he wins. The Lakers are expected to sit at least some of their starters for most, and perhaps all, of tonight's game -- totally meaningless as far as the standings are concerned -- but Mike Brown said Wednesday he'll give each player the option to suit up or not. Meaning if he chooses, Bryant can lace up his Kobe VII's and see what comes of it.

Should he?

With the playoffs starting Sunday, plenty of Lakers fans would prefer Kobe kick up his feet and relax. Having spent seven games in street clothes with tenosynovitis in his left shin and only now getting back into the lineup, why risk injury in a game that doesn't matter? The better safe than sorry logic is pretty clear. Some might even consider playing just to get a scoring title selfish, putting personal glory ahead of the team's best interests.

They'd be wrong. If Bryant decides to sit, or play a quarter or a half, that's fine. I'd love to see him in street clothes, where nothing can go wrong, but if he wants to go as long as it takes to get that 38th point, more power to him. No player in the NBA works harder on his game or his body, both requiring more will with each passing year, or tries harder to win. At 33 years old, with 16 seasons under his belt and the equivalent of about 2.5 more in playoff games, to lead the NBA in scoring would be a remarkable accomplishment, particularly given Kobe's position on the floor.

I believe Bryant when he says it's not very important and resting would certainly prove his point, but if he changes his mind nobody should hold it against him. There is room in team sports for individual honors and accomplishment, particularly for players who have put in the hours Kobe has. It's not the ultimate prize, but still a pretty good one.

As for the rest of the game ... well, there's just not that much to watch. There could be significant burn available for Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris, and eyes will be on Devin Ebanks, suddenly thrust into a potentially prominent role this postseason. Plus, Lakers fans (at least those who haven't been hanging at D-Fenders games) will get their first look at Christian Eyenga, acquired in the Ramon Sessions deal on deadline day. With Metta World Peace suspended and Matt Barnes out with an ankle injury, the Lakers are thin at small forward. If you ran out and bought an "88" jersey right after the trade, Thursday is your day.

Jordan Hill gets a chance to follow up on his outstanding game Sunday against the Thunder, as well.

That's about it.

As for the other team, our man Jonathan Santiago at TrueHoop's Cowbell Kingdom (Tweet him here, Tweet them there) was kind enough to answer a few questions for us, looking back at another lottery run in Sacramento ...

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The Lakers made things interesting Friday night at Staples Center, but came away with the win, 115-107 over the Kings. Kobe Bryant was again mask-a-riffic, piling up 38 points on 13-of-24 from the floor. He was supported well by Andrew Bynum (19/15) and Pau Gasol (15/7/4) and a big 15 point night from Metta World Peace.

Now, we can all look forward to Sunday's game against Miami, which is basically what everyone was doing anyway, except now the clutter of another game in between has been removed.

Friday on Lakers Late Night, we hit on these things, and more, including:

• A steadily improving offense for the Lakers. Can they continue the trend against the league's better teams?
• Why Kobe ought to keep the mask. Apparently, the thing brings good fortune.
• Mike Brown continuing to give his players more freedom offensively, something they appreciate.
• L.A. vs. Miami. What do the Lakers need to do to win, and what would a victory mean?

Click below for postgame video, from Brown, and Bryant...

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For most of Friday's game against the Sacramento Kings, the Los Angeles Lakers put the engine in cruise control. Not ideal, but understandable for a team facing a horrible road squad in a season where discretion is definitely the better part of valor. Unfortunately, in the fourth quarter the Lakers kept the cruise but lost control, turning what should have been a blowout into a far tighter game.

In the end, Kobe Bryant put down a few buckets late and the defense earned just enough stops to keep the Lakers on the positive side of the ledger. They win 115-107, avoiding an embarrassing misstep heading into Sunday's game against Miami.

Here are five takeaways:

1. The Lakers played the right offense to help their defense.

The Kings are horrible on their end of the floor, but nonetheless the Lakers should be credited with the way they executed offensively. With few exceptions, they pushed everything toward the rim. Bryant set up shop in the post early, making five shots in the first quarter from 10 feet and in. Later, he finished a couple plays off the dribble at the basket, both from the top of the key and the baseline. Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol were both effective in the paint, contributing a host of nifty finishes. In the third, Bynum executed one of the best post moves I've ever seen him make, with a massive step high off the block to change the position of Sacramento's double team, then spinning on his pivot foot back to the basket to score over Chuck Hayes.

A very nifty bit of footwork, for sure.

They did a great job as well using size to create easy baskets over the top, working hard inside to get a seal, then waiting for the lob. If anything, they were a little too lob happy. They didn't make a ton of mistakes, but a decent percentage of the miscues came on misguided lob attempts.

2. The Lakers were also very generous at all the wrong times.

Early on the Lakers were sloppy, fueling Sacramento's transition game (seven of their first 15 points came on the break). That wasn't great, but paled in comparison to how the Lakers started the fourth, turning the ball over six times in the first eight minutes. They didn't just open the door for Sacramento to get back into the game, but walked them through it tossing rose petals in their path, like those fetching valets did for Prince Akeem in "Coming to America."

Fortunately for Los Angeles, the Kings simply aren't good enough to take full advantage, allowing the Lakers to ultimately keep them at arms length. But I can't imagine they'll be happy letting a 20-point lead shrink to five in the fourth quarter. It had a feel all along of a game that the Lakers were content to match the Kings' scoring, knowing they could clamp down and put some space between themselves and the Kings later in the game (see the 27-16 third quarter). But it could have been a game the Lakers won going away, and earned their starters some rest.

Didn't happen.

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Some teams are greater than the sum of their parts.

Other teams are the Sacramento Kings.

They're littered with intriguing, exciting, and athletic components. DeMarcus Cousins oozes potential. Tyreke Evans is as tough to keep out of the lane and off the line as anyone. Isaiah Thomas has shined since entering the starting lineup. Marcus Thornton can score in bunches. Jason Thompson has plenty of athleticism for a near seven footer. Unfortunately, each has his own flaws (Cousins is immature, Evans a marginal shooter, Thornton inefficient and still somewhat one-dimensional, Thomas inexperienced, Thompson short on high-end skills) and put together the package lacks cohesion offensively and any coherence at the other end.

After losing Thursday night to the LAC, Sacramento is 12-23, dead last in the Pacific, exactly where the Kings have finished in four of the last five seasons. Still, all that talent makes them a dangerous opponent -- Sacramento is one of the league's most potent teams in transition -- particularly with Miami coming in Sunday. Can you say trap game?

To get a little more insight into Keith Smart's gang, we hit up Jonathan Santiago, one of the esteemed princes lording over TrueHoop's Cowbell Kingdom, with some questions . . .

1. How has adding Isaiah Thomas to the starting lineup impacted the Kings?

Santiago: The Kings have picked up their pace. In five of the six games Thomas has started, Sacramento has scored 100 or more points. For a team loaded with offensive talent, crossing the century mark has been an issue this season for the Kings. Unlike rookie counterpart Jimmer Fredette and now starting small forward Tyreke Evans, Thomas has always been a point guard and that's led to a seamless transition to the pros.

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You can read about it here, but if reading is to painful, just close your eyes and listen.

Following L.A.'s second loss in as many tries in as many days, we look at what went wrong Monday night and what went right (namely Metta World Peace), potential roster shortcomings over the long haul, what Andrew Bynum's return might help fix, whether Pau Gasol requires fixing, and more.

My wife, walking past the TV halfway through the third quarter: "If they don't win this game, people are going to be very upset, right? Because they should win this game." She's a lot of things -- a wonderful woman and a fine mother to name a couple -- but a basketball fan isn't one.

But even she knows the Sacramento Kings have been garbage for a few years now, and she has watched me do my job long enough to know how Los Angeles Lakers fans react to nights like this. Sunday's loss was one from which positives could be taken. A day later, there was virtually nothing to like, other than happiness the Lakers made a push at the end to try to steal the game.

On the other hand, don't fall behind to a lousy team, and heroics aren't required. Here are five takeaways. ...

1. Scoring is hard to come by.

We've been hammering it through the offseason, into training camp, through two preseason games, following Sunday's loss, and will do it again tonight: The Lakers lack seriously a second shot creator and non-Kobe Bryant ball handler. It's not that the Lakers don't have players with some offensive utility -- they do. Only one guy, though, can create his own shot (Bryant), and the Lakers are short reliable ball handlers proficient in working outside the triangle. The combination means the offense too easily gets bogged down, and when it does there aren't enough guys able to break down the opposition and bail them out.

It was certainly a problem Monday night. The Lakers did miss a ton of often shots from the perimeter-- while there is potential they haven't yet established themselves as a good shooting team, but 1-16 from downtown is a fluky kind of bad-- but overall everything was a struggle. Initiating the offense, cuts, decision-making, ball movement. It all looked ragged, and as a result the Lakers resorted to a ton of jumpers, often taken under less than ideal circumstances. Late, they used decent moments of defensive pressure to earn easy points, but for most of the night their half-court sets could make a small child cry.

The Lakers have many problems time likely helps solve. This isn't one of them.

2. It's better to be lucky than good, and defensively to some degree the Lakers were lucky ... and still not good.

At halftime the Lakers were down nine, despite Sacramento shooting over 52 percent. While the Kings were taking advantage of their chances, they could only generate two offensive rebounds and had just eight free throws. Obviously, controlling the boards and playing defense without fouling are important defensive principles, but that they shut off what are normally necessary avenues for a team to goose its percentages and scoring and were still down a bundle speaks to the difficulties L.A. had containing the Kings. As the game went on and Sacramento's numbers evened out (they had eight offensive rebounds and 27 free throws in the second half), the Lakers couldn't completely close the gap despite lowering Sacto's overall shooting mark.

While Sunday they did a decent job overall, and a stellar job in the second half, keeping Chicago's Derrick Rose on the perimeter, tonight Sacramento's offensive stars, Marcus Thornton and Tyreke Evans in particular, were more than capable of creating space for themselves in the paint and in mid-range. 24 hours later against a lesser team, the Lakers took a real step back. Mike Brown said last week he typically struggles to limit his film time, because there's so much he wants to go over.

If that's the case, Tuesday's film session ahead of the Utah game might be lengthy enough to require an intermission.

3. Pau Gasol didn't endear himself to Lakers fans.

Sports are a funny thing. A side-by-side comparison of box scores says Gasol had a better game Sunday. More points, more rebounds, better shooting percentage. This is why newspaper box scores are going the way of the dodo. Pau picked up some easy buckets late, including a couple of alley-oops as the Lakers created turnovers and break opportunities on the other end. Those plays padded what would otherwise have been a very bad night. He was listless early, basically a non-factor and well below the standard he has set as a Laker.

Pau's right sholder was an issue following Sunday's loss and Gasol played with a big padded donut contraption peeking through his sleeve. At times, he seemed to go left and use the left hand just to avoid the right, though it's hard to say for sure, since Gasol is so skilled with either hand. Either way, he was on the floor, and therefore needed to perform better. Hopefully the damage isn't extensive, because the Lakers could hardly lose Gasol so close to Andrew Bynum's return. They need all their talented bodies on the court.

It's not necessarily fair given all he's accomplished in Los Angeles, but Gasol has worked himself back into a position of having to prove himself as a frontline player following last year's playoff disaster. Monday didn't help his case.

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If there's an upside to this season's hyperactive NBA schedule, it's the lack of time to dwell on disappointment. That'll come in handy for the Lakers on Monday in Sacramento, as they try to move past the way they punted away the season opener Sunday at Staples against Chicago.

Save the final score, there was much to like about Sunday's loss. Many good things happened, and I think it can be generally said that if the Lakers consistently provide efforts of similar quality throughout the season, they'll win plenty of games, starting with this one.

Here's what to watch:

1. How will Kobe's wrist respond to a back-to-back?

(Note: This question is a prequel to tomorrow's "How will Kobe's wrist respond to a back-to-back-to-back?" ahead of the Utah game, as well as variations you'll see throughout the season including "How will Kobe's wrist respond to playing on a Wednesday?" and "Kobe had eggs for breakfast, how will his wrist respond?" Just so you know.)

Sunday's game featured any number of positive moments for Bryant. There were strong drives to the bucket, some pure jumpers from midrange coming off screens, a couple nice pull-ups, and that killer spinning drive-'n'-baby J along the left side of the lane that put L.A. up by six with a minute to go. There were also worrisome sequences, including two lost dribbles early in the game, two of his eight turnovers on the night. Some of those might be attributed to the wrist, others to a lack of familiarity with teammates, and a couple more to bad ideas and a couple misguided attempts to pass fancy like a Harlem Globetrotter.

But too often Kobe finished plays shaking that right wrist, which is now rather famously lacking an intact lunotriquetral ligament. He shook it after plays as apparently harmless as a fairly gentle two-handed breakaway dunk as well as after more violent falls, meaning he probably could have shaken it a lot more. While he certainly filled up the box score, you'll pardon me for thinking he isn't, in fact, "fine," as he's declared over the last couple days.

2. Turnovers.

On Christmas, the Lakers were a little too literal with the whole "better to give than receive" thing early on, handing the Bulls 10 turnovers in the first half. Many came with the reserves on the floor, as players other than Kobe and Pau Gasol were forced into greater ballhandling/decision-making roles. There was also uncertainty and some garden variety sloppiness, too. In the second half things were better, though the game certainly swung on a critical turnover in the final seconds.

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USC and UCLA take the field Saturday in a football game close to my heart. After four years spent at USC, it's ingrained in my head to dislike UCLA. I've actively rooted against them since 1990. For six years bartending at Westwood Brewing Company, a decidedly Bruin-partisan establishment, I annoyed many customers with Trojan smack talk.

I've come to appreciate many Bruins athletes upon leaving -- Arron Afflalo, Trevor Ariza, Maurice Jones-Drew, Jonathan Ogden, among others -- but while student body members, I've wished them nothing but failure. As a rule of thumb, that's how I treat anybody on a team I can't stand. I may respect and admire your game, but I ain't about to like you. With one notable exception:

Bobby Jackson, a core member of those Sacramento Kings teams that feuded heavily with the Lakers.

Ironically, at the height of this rivalry -- the classic 2002 Western Conference Finals -- I made the shift from "closet Bobby Jackson fan" to "I love this dude and if my fellow Laker fans don't like it ... oh well."

I'd long found Jackson an extremely fun player to watch. He was a high tempo, unpredictable, whirling dervish. Seriously streaky, but when he got rolling, points were often accumulated in a blink. On defense, he could create steals, and his undersized stature (a perhaps exaggerated 6'1") was offset by considerable strength, so bigger opponents didn't bully him.

But mostly what I loved was about Jackson was his fearlessness, never on better display than during that classic playoff series. Despite pushing L.A. to seven grueling games, it felt like many key Kings tensed up as the pressure mounted. I vividly recall how in the biggest moments, guys like Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, Hedo Turkoglu, Doug Christie and Peja Stojakovic never seemed to want the ball. At times, it felt like they were playing "hot potato." This came to an ugly head in Game 7, as the first four players cited shot a crippling eight-for-19 at the stripe, while Peja missed nine of his 12 field goal attempts.

Jackson, however, boasted grapefruits for days. This reaction was no surprise in a vacuum, but with his teammates often resembling deers in the headlights, Jackson's heart stood out even more. That a role player, albeit among the best in the league, was calmer under those bright lights made the performance even more inspiring. From then on, my Jackson fandom was solidified. I hated the team he played for and cursed those possessions where Jackson carved up the Lakers, but he was among my NBA favorites, Sacto jersey and all.

(To put this in perspective, Mike Bibby was also an absolute assassin during that series, probably the best King on the court. This prowess wasn't lost on me and objectively speaking, I could appreciate the excellence. But I still HATED Bibby. He was annoying, demonstrative, whiny, and had this bizarre habit of clipping his nails while on the bench, which my mom used to call "bad courtside hygiene." Bibby was the only other King who never looked intimidated, and my respect for him grew immensely during that series... along with my dislike for him.)

I've developed a personal affinity for many players who've battled the Lakers for serious stakes. Tim Duncan. Malik Rose. Brian Grant. Arvydas Sabonis. Steve Nash. Shawn Marion. Ben Wallace. Allen Iverson. Kevin Garnett (before he became a classless, bullying parody of himself). But for whatever reason, I never developed a huge distaste for any of their teams. I even found the Portland "Jail Blazers," a team so unlikable they turned off a fan base among the most loyal and fanatical in sports, too comically dysfunctional to truly hate. They were enemies I wanted defeated, but not necessarily destroyed.

The Kings provided no such ambiguity. Those cats rubbed me the wrong way and I relished their failure. But even while actively rooting for their demise, their was still a soft spot in my basketball-loving heart for Jackson.

As Laker fans, have you ever experienced similar affection towards a player on a rival squad? For whatever reason, you became a fan of this guy despite his stomach-churning jersey? Or do those affiliations simply eliminate that scenario, end of story?

Colin Hanks has a wide range of interests including sports, music, and of course, acting. He'd love a similarly eclectic IMDB page, but freely admits this hasn't been the fate so far. His new role as "Travis Marshall" on the hit Showtime series "Dexter," however, could perhaps be a game-changer. Hanks hopes being cast far against type as a serial killer will broaden the variety of parts offered his way.

We spoke at length with Hanks about his favorite sports teams, a documentary in the works, acting, and "Dexter." The entire show can be heard here, or if you want to hear specific parts, click on the links in the breakdown below:

- (2:46) A die-hard San Francisco Giants fan, Hanks explains what went wrong for the 2010 World Series champs. Also, if any further proof of how messy the Dodgers' ownership situation has grown, chew on this: Hanks doesn't even feel any pleasure as the Blue wallow in lawsuits. He actually feels bad for them. This is "human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria" territory we've just entered!

- (10:18) Hanks, who grew up in Sacramento, explains how devastating a 2012 NBA season lost to a lockout would be for the city. His concern is the Kings will actually be contracted, rather than moved to Anaheim or elsewhere. Either fate, however, would be a horrible blow. He also talks about the desperate need for a new arena and shares memories of the Lakers-Kings rivalry at its most heated.

- (19:06) "Dexter" talk!!! Hanks is in the unusual position of playing a show's "bad guy" serial killer. (As opposed to the title character, who at least boasts some sense of warped honor.) How do you approach such a role, particularly as someone cast mostly as the straight man or, as Hanks puts it, a "quasi-likable, funny-ish type fellow?" It's a challenge relished by the young actor.

- (26:11) "Dexter" has an extremely fanatical following that dissects every bit of minutia possible. Having never been part of such a project before, that obsessiveness took Hanks by surprise.

- (28:54) Hanks compares joining a show in its sixth season with being an athlete in the final year of a contract before free agency.

- (32:58) Hanks is working on a documentary about the rise and fall of Tower Records, a franchise born in Sacramento. In the age of downloaded music, places like Tower that created a communal outlet for experiencing music barely exist anymore. While Hanks does acknowledge the oodles of great tunes he's discovered via the Internet, there's something special about the vibe at a crowded record store or sifting through an album's liner notes.

- (43:00) Colin shares how his interest in acting had very little to do with exposure to Hollywood as the son of Tom Hanks, but rather high school plays.

- (51:03) Hanks praises the heck out of Jim Harbaugh, who's done wonders transforming his beloved 49ers this season.

The 2011 NBA Draft is Thursday afternoon (4 p.m. PT, ESPN). We've spent scads of time taking stock of where the Lakers stand heading into draft day, and now aim to catch up on the rest of the Western Conference.

Today, the Pacific Division...

Los Angeles Lakers

2010-11: 57-25, lost in second round 4-0 (on the odd chance you forgot) to Dallas.

Picks: 41, 46, 56, 58 (Round 2).

Where They Stand: Uncharacteristically uncertain. The Lakers certainly have more questions this offseason than anything faced in the last two. With four second round picks, making significant additions through the draft to a roster still designed to win now is, to say the least, unrealistic. G.M. Mitch Kupchak has said he just hopes to find a player able to stick on the roster. An admirable goal.

As a team, though, the Lakers have plenty of needs, including outside shooting, point guard production, center depth, speed/athleticism, and another shot creator.

Projections (Round 2): Chad Ford, ESPN.com (Insider required)- Nolan Smith (SG, Duke), Malcolm Thomas (PF, San Diego State), DeAndre Liggins (SG, Kentucky), Julyan Stone (SG, UTEP). DraftExpress- Shelvin Mack (PG, Butler), Jordan Williams (C, Maryland), Jereme Richmond (SF, Illinois), Greg Smith (C, Fresno State).


Phoenix Suns

2011-12: 40-42, missed playoffs

Picks: 13 (Round 1).

PODCAST
Andy and Brian talk with David Thorpe (ESPN.com's Scout's Inc.) about what the Lakers can do in the second round of the draft. Plus, a look at the hot rumor (Pau for Kevin Love/#2 pick) and the vocal stylings of Dirk Nowitzki Podcast

Where They Stand: Limbo. A surprising run to the Western Conference Finals two seasons ago faded from memory this year, as the Suns finished below .500 and in the lottery. Steve Nash is entering the final year of his contract, while Grant Hill is a free agent. At 34 years old, Vince Carter, acquired in December's big deal with Orlando, is a shell of the shell of himself, and reportedly will be bought out.

The supporting cast has some quality in it. Marcin Gortat was a major score in the Orlando trade, quickly overtaking Robin Lopez in the starting lineup and becoming one of the most productive centers in the NBA. Channing Frye didn't quite meet his lofty shooting stats of 2009-10, but still hit nearly 40 percent of his triples. Plenty of teams would love to have a guy like Jared Dudley.

Role players, though, won't be enough to again lift the Suns to the elite. They need serious help on the glass, landing near the bottom of the league in rebounding on both sides of the floor. Where in previous seasons the Suns were bad more by reputation than actual output defensively, this season they were genuinely lacking, finishing 25th in efficiency. Contrary to their reputation, with a hole at shooting guard and a decision to make on Aaron Brooks, the Suns could find themselves in need of scoring, as well. Certainly an upgrade at the two is required.

Projections: Ford- Tristan Thompson (PF, Texas). DraftExpress- Thompson.

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Before this game, I decided I'd provide a formal breakdown only in the event of a loss. I mean, let's be honest. At the end of the day, is the nitty gritty of how the Lakers managed to beat the lowly Kings really all that compelling? But on the flip side, if the Lakers actually dropped a contest to the Pacific Division bottom-feeders, which by extension means dropping the second seed in the West, fans would likely and rightly be curious to know what the (N.S.F.W.) happened.

Thankfully, if you missed tonight's game, you won't learn a thing about what happened in this space. Well, except one small, trivial detail.

The Lakers blew a 20-point fourth-quarter lead and required overtime to secure a victory.

It's the perfect regular-season capper for a massively underwhelming April. Five consecutive losses, with the skid finally snapped by a discombobulated victory over a short-handed San Antonio Spurs squad. The victory drought featured wretched offensive execution, a sudden inability to avoid turning the ball over, late rotations and nonexistent transition defense. Plus, there's been no shortage of complacency, the most glaring example coming against Portland, when the Lakers resembled a squad of zombies. And not the fast, aggressive kind from "The Walking Dead." I'm talking your daddy's zombies, the ones easily timed with a sundial.

Oh, and Andrew Bynum hyperextended his knee, Matt Barnes' surgically repaired knee began flaring up and Steve Blake is, to the best of my knowledge, the only 31-year-old man in America with chicken pox.

I'm not saying the Lakers backed into the playoffs ... I just don't know how to finish this sentence.

But on the positive side, there is a positive side.

The Lakers wanted the second seed, and despite the ugly delivery, they got it.

They wanted (with hands on the Bible and truth serum ingested) a first-round date with the New Orleans Hornets, and they got it.

A potential second-round match with the Dallas Mavericks -- or even the Portland Trail Blazers, who I think will upset the Mavs -- feels easier than a showdown with the Thunder, and they got that as well.

Bynum and Barnes will be in uniform by the time Game 1 rolls around, and everyone should be rested and ready to rock and roll. Plus, there are several days ahead to regroup, refocus and and get their proverbial "stuff" together. And while I'll constantly remind people the regular season is often a horrible barometer for predicting postseason futures, the Lakers' 4-0 clip against the Hornets, now battling without David West, makes me think the first round won't be merely an extension of the status quo, but an opportunity to bang out some of the kinks. Like a series of dress rehearsals, if you will.

By the time the presumed second round arrives, the Lakers will have perhaps rediscovered the white-hot form they exhibited immediately following the All-Star break -- or if not quite that good right off the bat, something in the neighborhood.

Is it really all that simple? I don't know, but for the Lakers' sake, it better be. The final games allotted for playoff tuneups were inexplicably frittered away, so this is the lumpy bed they've made. Focus, execution and intensity must be summoned from scratch, and they'll need to hit the ground running after a whole lotta walking.

Then again, this is a team built decidedly for the playoffs. The Lakers have had their eyes blatantly fixed on mid-April and beyond since roughly December, and it's finally arrived. Maddening as it might be, this is the Laker DNA. And for the last two seasons, the purple and gold double helix has amounted to success. No team enters these playoffs with a better pedigree, more experience and -- despite the recent malaise -- more unwavering belief in an ability to win when the games truly matter. That time is now, and it's the time the Los Angeles Lakers live for.

Let the second season begin.

Tuesday wasn't exactly a banner day for the Lakers. First, Steve Blake was diagnosed with chickenpox, shelving him indefinitely. Unpleasant enough for kids, chickenpox is worse when contracted as an adult, so it's undoubtedly a burly time in the Blake household. Beyond that, the Lakers have three other guys who never contracted the virus as kids- Ron Artest, Andrew Bynum, and Kobe Bryant.

Since the incubation period averages about 14 to 16 days, it's at least possible Blake could have unwittingly passed the pox on to any of the three. (Let PoxWatch '11! begin...) How's that for an exotic reason for Lakers fans to worry about the derailment of this year's playoff run?

Then Matt Barnes, who sat out Monday's practice because of soreness in his surgically repaired right knee, missed last night's win over San Antonio.

These stories served only as appetizers for the main course Tuesday night, when Bynum left the game after hyperextending his right knee in the second quarter. He underwent an MRI early Wednesday afternoon. (Yes, his injury distracts momentarily from the possibility Bynum might come down with chickenpox- make no mistake, if anyone else on the Lakers gets it, it'll be him- but surely there was a better way to accomplish such a goal.) None of the three made the trip to Sacramento, in a game still holding a great deal of importance for the Lakers. With a win, L.A. clinches the Western Conference's second seed. A loss, plus a win for the Mavs at home over New Orleans, leaves the Lakers in third, giving Dallas home court should the teams meet in the second round.

(Should the Hornets pull the upset, they'd obviously be doing the Lakers a favor, allowing Phil Jackson to rest players from the moment a final score in Dallas is posted.)

So with plenty on the line, a thinned out Lakers squad takes the floor against a bad-but-improving Sacramento Kings squad quite possibly playing its last game in franchise history for hoops fans in our state capital.

To gain more insight into the Kings, and a game sure to be filled with emotion on a few levels, I hit up Zach Harper. You know him as the host of TrueHoop's Cowbell Kingdom blog, as well as the host of ESPN.com's Daily Dime Chats. He was kind enough to answer a few questions...

1. What kind of atmosphere do you expect Wednesday night? I can picture a highly emotional environment in which the Kings and Sacramento fans are passionate and intense. I can also picture a more "defeated" building in which the team is ready to pack it in and Lakers fans dominate the stands. What's your take?

Harper: The past few years, Lakers fans or people wearing Kobe jerseys have infiltrated Arco Arena (I refuse to call it Power Balance Pavilion unless they stay) and made it a 50-50 atmosphere in the arena. Wednesday night is most likely the last home game in Sacramento Kings history. After seeing a very strong showing from the crowd Monday night against the Thunder, I'd expect a packed house with mostly Kings fans filling the seats.

I think they'll try to leave a potentially lasting impression on the team, more than the Maloofs, and show their appreciation for the players that have given them a lot to cheer for in the 27 years the Kings have been in Sacramento. There are also rumors of a "sit in" occurring after the game is over. I expect a great Kings' fan atmosphere.

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Brian provided the postgame analysis. Here are some talkies.

Not surprisingly, locker room conversation centered largely around Andrew Bynum's in-game knee injury. As Derek Fisher (among other players) noted, Drew's situation was tough to compartmentalize. The setting was already fairly disjointed -- no Steve Blake or Matt Barnes, a Spurs team without three stars -- and this new wrinkle made concentrating even more difficult.

"It was tough to see and obviously, he's so important to what we do. So to even think for a second that he might be out or this might be the injury that keeps him out for a while, the impact that it'll have on him individually and how hard he's worked to get himself where he's so important to our team and how it impacts the group, that's tough to deal with in the moment.

"But we did the best job that we could, I'd say, in just trying to play the game as it unfolded. At times, we got impatient a little bit and a little bit frustrated, but we just figured out how to keep playing and win the game."



Click below the jump for more videos from Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Phil Jackson, Shannon Brown and Ron Artest.

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The Lakers swore during Thursday's practice nobody was looking ahead to Sunday's showdown with the Celtics. After this debacle, I'm hoping it was the opposite. I'd like to believe everyone wasn't just looking ahead, but actually played while picturing Celtic heads on the bodies of each King. In fact, I pray they all shared a group daydream where K.G. tried to punk Devin Ebanks over nothing in particular. At least that would explain getting outclassed by a bunch of schmoes. Otherwise, the loss is just embarrassing without even some unjustifiable form of justification offered.

I'm not saying Sacto didn't play hard and earn their keep. But man alive, did the Lakers play most of this game entirely disengaged.

The boo birds were active for the first time in a while, and I wouldn't say feathers were ruffled over nothing. Sacto is an awful road team -- although really, they're not very good in any setting -- and should never nab a win on Laker soil. Throw in the fact Boston lost to Phoenix, and this was a wasted chance to gain ground in the race for home court advantage over as many teams as possible.

The Bad
First half defense
Put it this way. The Kings finished the half with a 59.1 percent clip from the field. Bad as that was, I actually smiled, because it was a massive dip from the 70 percent success rate in the first quarter. Ouch-ke! By every standard imaginable, the Laker D left something to be desperately desired.

Rotations weren't crisp, assuming they even took place, which wasn't always the case. Too many shots from the visitors were launched without a credible challenge. The paint was vulnerable. Transition defense was often a sieve, even after possessions where the Kings took the ball out of the Laker basket. Sacto may be young and dumb, but they ain't stupid. Recognizing the Lakers (in particular, Pau Gasol) were often lollygagging while getting back, they wisely put on their track shoes and racked some easy buckets.

During the second half, the lockdown wasn't consistently better, although the woes were just often the result of miscues rather than pure lethargy (see next category).

To be fair, there were instances were the Lakers were punished by bad luck. DeMarcus Cousins hit back-to-back jumpers of the "impossible" variety. Samuel Dalembert, whom you absolutely want taking 10-15 foot jumpers, splashed them left and right. Sometimes, the ball doesn't bounce your way. Mostly, however, the Lakers were too busy dropping said ball without provocation for tough breaks to be considered any sort of factor.

Third quarter turnovers
Eight in all, to the tune of nine points for the Kings. At times, these were bad passes. At times, dudes simply weren't holding onto the ball. Either way, they hurt. A lot.

Rebounding
Full disclosure, the Kings aren't terrible collecting boards. In particular, they're often quite prolific on the offensive glass, and entered the game second and fourth in the league for total offensive rebounds and offensive rebounding rate. But the Lakers are definitely better, and this rumble took place on their turf. Under these circumstances, getting outrebounded 42-36, with 15 offensive boards surrendered simply isn't acceptable.

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