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The Utah Jazz began this season regarded by most as a team in flux: Enough talent (Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, promising second-year player Gordon Hayward) not to be terrible, but not enough to hang with the Western Conference big boys. And a surprisingly strong start to the season notwithstanding, that's basically what they've revealed themselves to be. The Lakers have already beaten the Jazz twice, and Utah's 5-16 road record suggests a third win should be on the docket. The result can't be taken for granted, but a betting man would lay his money on the hosts.

However, should that theoretical W come, I'm more interested in how it's manufactured than simply notching No. 29. The Lakers have a bad habit of getting an opponent on the ropes, then letting them back into the game rather than stepping on their necks. It's occasionally resulted in some horrible losses (at Detroit and Washington), along with wins made more complicated than necessary. Should the Lakers build the lead they're capable of against the Jazz, it would be nice to see the last five or so minutes closed out with Devin Ebanks on the floor, rather than Kobe Bryant.

For the inside skinny on the Jazz, we consulted Spencer Ryan Hall from the True Hoop Network's Salt City Hoops blog. Check out his thoughts on a few Jazz-centric queries.

Land O' Lakers: After initially playing better than most expected, The Jazz have been a .500-ish team. Has something gone wrong, or is this a matter of water seeking its own level?

Spencer Ryan Hall: Just as Linsanity was built on a premise that required everything to go right to be successful, the Jazz rode a wave of good scheduling (almost a million home games, give or take), surprising chemistry (with Earl Watson emerging as the team leader), and breakout performances from Hayward, Alec Burks, and others. In limited minutes, young Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter and Jeremy Evans all provided big sparks to lead the second unit.

There was no Melo returning to upset the fragile Jazz ecosystem, but the unfriendly confines of road arenas, injuries to Watson, stagnation of the offense, and a strange shortening of the lineup rotation to feature the underperforming Raja Bell and Josh Howard all contributed to taking the magic out of a magical start.

While the early success was a product of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts, the parts (namely Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap) have dominated the offense in a way that seems to have removed a lot of the movement and joy that the team had early in the year.

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Even though it's been nearly 10 years since Michael Jordan played his last All-Star game in 2003, you couldn't watch this year's All-Star game in Orlando without getting a heavy dose of MJ nostalgia. The Lakers' Kobe Bryant had a lot to do with that, as he pushed his career All-Star scoring total to 271 points, passing Jordan for most points in All-Star game history (Jordan had 262 points in 14 selections; Bryant has played in 14 All-Star games as well).

Jordan was also recognized as one of the stars who was out-dueled by Magic Johnson in Orlando 20 years ago when Magic made his memorable one-game MVP return to the All-Star game after announcing his retirement because of HIV months before.

And if you watched the commercials, instead of flipping back and forth between the All-Star game and the Oscars, you would have noticed Jordan in a new ad for Gatorade featuring former Bulls and Lakers coach Phil Jackson reflecting on Jordan's "flu game" in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz. (Click here to watch the commercial.)

ESPNLA.com was on the set of the commercial shoot at the Walter Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State back in December and had a chance for a 1-on-1 chat with Jackson about his memories of Jordan's performance with the flu.



ESPNLA.com: When you think back on all the significant games you coached, where does Jordan’s “flu game” rank? On the set, you said something to the effect of, "We know he can score 40, we know he can get triple-doubles, but this stands out because it’s more than that."

Jackson: “Yeah, the big thing was we knew that coming back and playing in Salt Lake was going to be a difficult thing, as it always is in the playoffs. That team was talented and they were good at home. So, after winning two in Chicago, we said, ‘Let’s go out and make sure we win one game out there in Salt Lake.’ We didn’t want to come back [to Chicago] behind 3-2 in a series like that. We lost the second game [in Utah] at the end of the ballgame in a close game.

"Perhaps Michael was doing too much. I can’t remember what his totals were in that ballgame, but he made a spin at the top of the key and [John] Stockton stole the ball and it set up a win for them that we shoulda, coulda won.

(Editor’s note: Jordan finished with 22 points on 11-for-27 shooting in Game 4.)

"So, it was a really a hard defeat. I remember having really a sleepless night that night. I was meeting the owner the next day and I was just really fatigued about it. That mental fatigue that you have after a loss that you think you’re going to win and you don’t sleep very much at night thinking about it. Then, we had a little time to recover and it came down to this game, we ought to take this one home and then the disappointment of finding out on game day that the guy that’s the superstar on our team didn’t sleep, was sick, felt like crap, didn’t feel like he could eat, was nauseous and wasn’t going to go to shootaround. That’s happened before. Guys have felt like they couldn’t go to shootaround. It’s not like the end of the world. But this was a pivotal game and then when we saw him and we saw what he looked like …"

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Realistically speaking, a split in the first two games of the road trip felt like a win heading in, and that's what the Lakers have after dropping Saturday's game in Salt Lake City.

Still, after what the Lakers did the night before, they will surely be disappointed with how they performed tonight particularly in the second half. Here are six takeaways...

1. The Lakers have the grit thing down.

Playing on the wrong end of a back-to-back has been rough for teams throughout the NBA this season. Friday night in Denver, the Lakers were the beneficiaries, playing a Denver team that played a night earlier and didn't get back into town until about 4 a.m. Friday. On Saturday, it was the Lakers' turn. They landed in Salt Lake City in the wee hours of the morning, and while they played a strong first half, their legs clearly began to go in the second.

Not an excuse, but it's definitely a factor.

Still, rather than fold up the tent and get ready for Philly, the Lakers continued pushing. They couldn't score much in the third quarter -- 18 points-- but stayed strong defensively and held the Jazz to 20. When Mike Brown's ejection (see below) sparked a big run from the Jazz, the Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant's big burst of offense for the evening, pushed back. Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol continued crashing the boards, each earning fourth-quarter putbacks.

They didn't play well for 48 minutes, but they did play hard. When compared to efforts against Miami and Orlando, for example, it's a big improvement, and combined with Friday night's showing against Denver, it's a sign the Lakers are moving in the right direction as a road team.

That had better be the case, because at 3-8 away from home, they don't have any wiggle room.

2. The question of "How many nights of questionable officiating can Brown watch before going ballistic?" has been answered.

Two.

While the work from the whistle bearers Saturday didn't approach the shoddy performance of their cohorts Friday night in Denver, the game was still undeniably physical and very intense. So when Gasol appeared to get mugged at the top of the key by Earl Watson, coming from behind on a strong double team to steal the ball while Gasol went to the floor, Brown lost it. As Derrick Favors finished with a dunk at the other end, Brown was already on the court, making his outburst against the Clips during the preaseason look tame by comparison. He had to be restrained by Matt Barnes and Metta World Peace, said some things later requiring the big pixel treatment so the KCAL folks could show the replay without running afoul of the FCC and was -- no shock -- tossed from the game.

Unfortunately, the incident pumped up the Jazz more than the Lakers. Following Brown's ejection, Utah ripped off an 8-0 run, effectively sewing up the game despite a valiant late push by the Lakers.

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So far so good for the Grammy roadie. The Denver Nuggets are arguably the best team the Lakers will face, but they pulled off an 93-89 win, despite some late-game scares. But a battle waits less than 24 hours later at Energy Solutions Arena, a venue that treats outsiders like Bob's Country Bunker treats bands that don't play country and/or western. Of course, the Lakers have already won in Utah this season, and a three-game series sweep is actually possible.

For further perspective on the Jazz, we called upon Spencer Ryan Hall, who runs Salt City Hoops for the True Hoop Network. Here are his thoughts on four questions about the Lakers' next opponent.

Land O' Lakers: How has Jamaal Tinsley looked this season, since he may be the starting PG against the Lakers?

Spencer Ryan Hall: After only playing 45 minutes all season, it was cool to see Tinsley's hard work pay off on Thursday with his first NBA start since 2009. He had a team season high of 13 assists to go along with 9 points, 6 boards and 2 steals. It's a rare luxury to have a solid third point guard and it looks like Tinsley's contributions will get his contract guaranteed later this month. He makes smart plays, and is the floor general the Jazz look for in a PG. He's not going to put up the points Harris can, but some might argue the Jazz need a pass first PG more than a shoot-first one. For a guy who started the season playing in El Segundo for the D-Fenders, it's nice to see that he can still play.

Also, no one rocks denim on denim better than Tinsley.

LO'L: Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol vs. Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap. Who gets the best of the frontcourt matchup and why?

SRH: Pffffffffft. As well as Al and Paul have been playing this season (not only as individuals, but the two have make significant strides in playing to each other's strengths), they always have been, and probably always will be OWNED by Bynum and Gasol. I don't expect this to change.

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Here's the way Lakers fans should view this. Sure, the Lakers often looked sluggish during Wednesday's game, but the overwhelming majority of Laker Nation watched this game on TV for free. In the meantime, those hated folks in Utah actually plunked down good money to attend this contest and actually had to sit through it for five extra minutes.

That's the victory inside the victory, kids.

Here are four takeaways.

1) Back-to-back basketball remains a messy affair.
This isn't specifically a Lakers issue, of course. Look around the league on any given night, and teams look ragged while (relatively) fresh as a lily during this compressed season. But when one or -- in this case -- both teams are playing the second of consecutive contests, man alive, this stuff was U.G.L.Y. ... even with an alibi.

Back-to-back games by definition mean less practice time, which in turn creates ragged possession and poor chemistry. Plus, there's the fatigue. Andrew Bynum -- who at least made his presence felt defensively -- and Pau Gasol struggled to make shots Wednesday. (To be perfectly honest, Gasol was pretty ineffective on both ends of the floor.) Utah's misses often owed more to their own offensive deficiencies than crisp defense by the Lakers. And as I mentioned in today's "What to Watch" post, the Lakers have been a dominant team on the boards, while the Jazz don't count it among their strengths. That the Lakers remained in a dead heat on the glass all game reflected the lethargy largely on display throughout the game. It also didn't help that Matt Barnes, the team's resident energizer bunny, spent much of the game on the pine because of foul trouble.

Down the stretch, the Lakers managed to muster up enough fuel to push through, with Bynum getting a huge offensive rebound putback and block in the closing seconds. But they're lucky this baby didn't hit double OT, because they might have collapsed.

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When last we saw the Lakers and Jazz pitted against each other at Staples Center, the Lakers avoided an 0-3 hole to start the season by kicking the ever-loving snot outta their guests. The 96-71 loss was an inauspicious start to the Jazz's first full season sans Jerry Sloan and in full "rebuild" bloom. But ever since that drubbing, they've actually been, well, good. 6-3 "good," to be exact, and in the midst of a five-game winning streak. Granted, none of those victims sport a record above .500, but the same caveat can be slapped on the Lakers, whose 7-4 record contains just one win (home vs. Denver) against a team universally considered high end at the moment.

You can't control who the schedule makers place in your path, just the results.

In any event, a win in Utah would surprisingly be considered impressive at this moment. For some insight on the Jazz, we called upon Spencer Ryan Hall of the True Hoop Network's Salt City Hoops blog. Here are some thoughts from Hall, plus a few of my own.

Land O' Lakers: Ever since getting beaten badly by the Lakers on December 27, the Jazz have played pretty well. What, if anything, has changed during these winning ways?

Spencer Ryan Hall: Hard to blame the Jazz for being disorganized at the beginning of the season; I'm just surprised they snapped together so quickly. Earl Watson has kind of made it his team and Ty Corbin has created an open rotation that allows any of about 11 players to spark the team on a given night. Josh Howard has been a revelation, something I didn't expect. Also, the team has taken on a shot-blocking identity and somehow is leading the league.

LO'L: When the Jazz played the Lakers, there was absolutely no discernible clue as to how their offense runs. How would you describe it, and in particular, how can it succeed against the Lakers?

SRH: The Jazz offense is still a bit of a mystery. Occasionally and old pick-and-roll will show up, but usually the ball ends up in Al Jefferson's hands on the left side, he waits 10 seconds and then puts up some variety of shot-put/old-man shot that usually goes in. Devin Harris is still figuring out what to do, but the Jazz are succeeding mostly on the back of Jefferson and [Paul] Millsap combining with contributions from anyone else. The surprise factor from the others is what's been fun to watch so far.

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Did you miss the fun? No worries. Click the vid below to watch Tuesday night's show.

Topics of conversation include Pau Gasol's strongest game of the season, Metta World Peace's development as a sixth man, bench depth and how the Lakers will look to fill the holes left by Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown.



Click below for more postgame video, including comments from Mike Brown, Kobe Bryant, and Gasol.

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Exhale, Los Angeles, the Lakers are on the board.

After consecutive losses to open the season, including a worrisome nine-point loss Monday in Sacramento, the Lakers overcame a slow start to blow out the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night at Staples Center. Up 10 at the half, the Lakers pulled away from Ty Corbin's crew with a 30-15 third quarter, and from there were able to throw it in cruise control.


Here are five takeaways...

1. Utah's offense was bad, but give the Lakers some credit.

This is the NBA. Hold a team, any team, to 32 percent shooting from the field and 71 points, and it means a lot of things are being done well. More than anything, the Lakers were very active on their end of the floor. They rotated well, were strong with weakside help, and made the multiple efforts coach Mike Brown wants. It was particularly noticable near the basket. The Jazz missed a lot of shots (and I do mean a lot) from down low, leading to a ton of offensive rebounding opportunities near the basket. Still, rarely did the Lakers give up on any plays. When Utah went up, there was almost always a Lakers hand to go over, whether from the primary defender or someone coming to help. It can be tough to keep jumping on that second, third, or even fourth chance on a possession, but the Lakers did.

More than the very strong defensive numbers, I suspect that's what Brown will most appreciate about Tuesday night's game.

2. Pau Gasol had his strongest game of the (very young) season.

Sure, it's not as if the other two were hard to beat, though until the last two minutes or so I thought his work against the Chicago Bulls was solid, but a good game is a good game. It wasn't really that he put up a solid stat line (22 points, 6-of-11 shooting, nine rebounds, two steals and five blocks in 37 minutes) but how. For the first time in three games, Gasol was very aggressive from the get go. The decision making, whether choosing to pass out of a double team or look for his own shot, was strong, and when Gasol did decide to call his own number, he frequently did so by attacking the basket, evidenced by 12 trips to the free-throw line.

Oddly enough, the only line he couldn't fill in the stat line was assists, but not for lack of effort. As is always the case, Gasol moved the ball well and put teammates in position to succeed. Defensively, Gasol gave Al Jefferson fits, helping hold Utah's star to 2-for-16 from the field, and chipping in with the aforementioned blocks. As evidenced by his fist pumping, banshee screaming reaction to his bucket to beat the halftime buzzer, as he cleaned up a miss from Kobe Bryant at the rim.

POSTGAME UPDATE: Just to give an idea of how long it's been since Gasol was this productive as a scorer, his most recent 20 point game was April 10, 2011 against Oklahoma City. Counting the postseason and the first two games this season, that's a stretch of 14 games.

3. The Lakers needed a game in which Kobe Bryant wasn't asked to do a lot, and got it.

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With Andrew Bynum sitting the third game of a league-mandated four-game suspension and the franchise facing its first 0-3 start since disco ruled the world, the Lakers can't afford to go down another big heading into tonight's game against Utah.

Fortunately, they should take the floor reasonably whole.

Forward Josh McRoberts, nursing a sprain to his left thumb suffered on Christmas against Chicago, left Monday's loss in Sacramento at the 8:15 mark of the third quarter with a sprained left big toe and didn't return, but is expected to suit up against the Jazz. Starting at center in Bynum's absence, Pau Gasol wore a large pad on his right shoulder Monday protecting his own Christmas sprain, but suffered no additional damage and is also expected to play.

At Tuesday's shootaround, Mike Brown explained how losing McRoberts on Monday night put the team in a bind, forcing him to play Metta World Peace at power forward after Luke Walton was, in Brown's estimation, "laboring a little."

It was hardly an ideal setup.

"Metta has not had an opportunity to get a rep at the four in over 2 1/2 weeks. The first day or two, we started to give him some reps at the power forward spot, but I didn't like it at the time," he said. "I didn’t want him trying to learn two positions. He did not have another opportunity since about the first or second day of training camp to get reps at that power forward position."

With McRoberts available, World Peace can try to build on a strong performance against Sacramento from his reserve small forward spot. Gasol, meanwhile, is still looking for a true breakout game, though upon further review Brown had good things to say about his performance last night.

"He did a terrific job, going back and watching the tape, of facilitating. We played through him a lot, especially in the second half on the post, where he might not have scored, but man he made some very good passes to his teammates from that post up position," he said.

I asked if, with Bynum still out, Brown wants Gasol to be more "selfish," calling his own number more. “If he was I’d be OK with it, because he’s very skilled. But because he’s playing the way that he is, a lot of the passes that he made were set-up passes. Guys got some very easy looks from it, so I’m OK with that," he said.

"When I was in Cleveland, people asked me that about LeBron all the time. But when a guy is making the game easier for his teammates, you’ve got to be OK with that. Other guys will step up."

Should the Lakers drop Tuesday's game against Utah, it will result in their first 0-3 start since Oct. 17, 1978. To put in perspective just how long ago that was, Jimmy Carter was president, Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing" was the year's chart topping-est single and Kobe Bryant was barely two months old.

In other words, it's been a while, and for a franchise as proud and successful as the Lakers, that's not by accident. Safe to say everybody would prefer to keep that little piece of history tucked firmly away in the vault. To avoid a trip down Bad Memory Lane, the Utah Jazz must be dispatched. Here are four items to watch for as the Lakers try to get off the schneid.

1) Fatigue

Back-to-back games can be tough in a normal season for young NBA players at the peak of NBA conditioning. Following this logic, three consecutive games by definition becomes that much more of a chore, especially for a team filled with veterans and still working themselves into game shape after an extended lockout and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it training camp. As somebody who didn’t travel to Sacramento, I can’t say with absolute certainty fatigue was a driving force behind Monday's largely sloppy and unfocused effort, but this much I know: Against a considerably less seasoned Kings squad blessed with younger, bouncier legs (and no game on Sunday to boot), the Lakers often struggled to keep up.

Like the Kings, the Utah Jazz are a team pegged by few to make the postseason. They're rebuilding and by point guard Devin Harris' admission, completely devoid of identity (i.e., the kind of opponent a Lakers squad desirous of re-establishing its championship pedigree should destroy, especially at Staples). However, like Sacto, the Jazz open the season against the purple and gold, so energy shouldn't be an issue whatsoever. And while not quite as young as the Kings, Utah's roster is nonetheless chock full of dudes under 30, with nobody past that milestone expected to be more than a supporting player. In other words, they’re the bizarro-Lakers, and could very well be the beneficiaries of their hosts sucking wind.

Ever since the compressed schedule was announced, I've been of the decided opinion that getting the Lakers' lone back-to-back-to-back series immediately out of the way was a major blessing, even without Andrew Bynum for this rough opening stretch. Even with the possibility of 0-3 staring down the team, I stand by that assessment. Even in a compressed season in which the importance of wins and losses is highlighted, what matters most for this team is what's in the tank come playoff time. When the upside is a veteran team not having to endure a trio of consecutive games in March or April, when it is most susceptible to injury or just passing out, this struck me as a worthy deal with the devil.

But just the same, I'll take 1-2 over 0-3.

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The 2011 NBA Draft is Thursday afternoon (4 pm 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 Northwest Division...

Oklahoma City Thunder

2010-11: 55-27, lost Western Conference Finals 4-1 to Dallas

Picks: 24, Round 1.

Where They Stand: Tall. After losing to the Lakers in the first round of last year's playoffs, the Thunder reached the Western Conference Finals this year, eliminated by Dallas in a series tighter than the five-game result suggests. The Thunder, they know they've lost only to the best, and looking towards next year remain the Western Conference franchise with the highest amount of upside. While there is some early speculation about the future of Russell Westbrook in OKC, he's under their control for two more seasons, meaning the core of Westbrook, Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Serge Ibaka is locked in, with role players like Kendrick Perkins and Nick Collison sewn up as well.

Really, the only question they have from a roster standpoint revolves around 3-point specialist Daequan Cook.

They don't need much, but if the WCF proved anything, the Thunder need another guy to facilitate the offense. As brilliant a young player as Westbrook is, Harden proved himself easily their best facilitator of the halfcourt offense. In those moments he couldn't play (after fouling out in Game 4 against the Mavs, for example), OKC suffered greatly. Westbrook should/must improve as a wheel-greaser, but adding another guy fitting the profile won't hurt.

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

OKC could use a little more shooting, as well.

Projections: Chad Ford, ESPN.com (Insider Required) - Nicola Mirotic (SF, Serbia). DraftExpress - Kyle Singler (SF, Duke)


Denver Nuggets

2010-11: 50-32, lost in first round to Oklahoma City, 4-1

Picks: 22, Round 1. 52, Round 2.

Where They Stand: Littered with options. Predicting exactly what the Nuggets will look like next season is like determining exactly where one of those Escher staircases ends. G.M. Masai Ujiri can go in any number of directions with his roster, depending on how he wants to use the assets gained in the Carmelo Anthony deal. Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith are free agents, Nene has an $11.6 million player option, they have a decision to make on restricted free agent Wilson Chandler, and Raymond Felton is a hot name in trade rumors. About the only thing that can be said with confidence is that Denver won't let Arron Afflalo, also a restricted free agent, get away.

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Arash Markazi sitting in for Andy, following Tuesday's dud at Staples for the Lakers. Included among the evening's topics are the potential for the surprise loss to impact the standings, a burly game for Kobe Bryant, a career high in rebounds for Andrew Bynum, and more...

If the collective purpose for the Lakers and Jazz in Tuesday night's game at Staples was to set basketball back about 50 years, congratulations on a spectacular effort. If it was to entertain those in attendance ... yikes. Describing the lack of quality in a way to do it justice is difficult. The teams combined for 19 turnovers in the first half, and in the second quarter produced 12 points over the first eight minutes of play, just to toss out a couple of "for examples."

With the loss, the Lakers very likely have polished off any chance of catching either San Antonio or Chicago in the standings, but on the other side have left themselves open to Miami, only one game behind in the loss column, and Boston (also one game back, though the Lakers own the tiebreaker over the Celtics).

Lamar Odom called it the worst loss of the year. "This wasn't us," he said. Not in the big picture, no, but for one night, it was, resulting in a potentially costly loss. Though we might have to wait until June to find out.

Here's how it broke down (and I mean that literally)...

LOWLIGHTS:

1. Kobe Bryant. Worst game of the season? Probably, since I'm having trouble remembering a game in the past few years when he played this poorly. More turnovers (seven) than field goals (six). Sure, he led the team in scoring with 20 points but also took 18 shots to get there, 17 of which came in the second half after Kobe took a back seat offensively over the first 24 minutes.

The end of the fourth quarter basically summarized his entire game. With about 4:30 remaining, he got caught in the air off dribble penetration and misfired on a pass to Ron Artest at the arc for a turnover. With under 2:30 remaining, he took a horrible early-clock triple against Gordon Hayward, missing badly, though fortunately bailed out by a Johnny-on-the-spot Lamar Odom, who corralled the rebound for a score. Even when things started looking up for 24, they didn't stick. He hit a critical 3 to bring L.A. within three with 1:17 remaining, then drew an equally important foul on Hayward at the other end.

Kobe came back with a triple, tying the score at 85-85, but on the ensuing Jazz possession lost Hayward through a series of screens, then got his hand on Hayward's hip as the rookie drove the lane. A savvy play he'll often get away with, but on this night he got caught, and it cost the Lakers a pair of free throws, giving Utah the lead. Then, there was the final trip -- Kobe isolates on Hayward, tries to step through ... and loses the ball out of bounds, walking off the court staring at his hands.

Everyone has off nights, but perhaps the biggest problem with Kobe's game was how he seemed to get sucked into a competition with Hayward, who was doing great work against him on both ends. Were there a few calls that could have gone Kobe's way? Sure. But Bryant didn't pay Hayward nearly enough attention defensively, then tried to show him up offensively. It's a bad habit. If you ever want to find a fantasy sleeper, pick a player who Kobe might guard, assuming Bryant has zero respect for his game.

Kobe wasn't the only guy who played poorly -- in that he had plenty of company -- but play poorly he did.

2. Turnovers. 19. This after surrendering only nine against the Jazz in Friday's game. Shave off even a few of those mistakes, and likely the Lakers escape with a win despite the horrid showing.

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Good news out of this morning's shootaround: Both Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol are expected to play tonight against the Utah Jazz.

That Bynum will suit up is no surprise. He basically delivered the news himself Monday afternoon at practice. Gasol, diagnosed with a bone bruise after an MRI yesterday, was listed as "day-to-day." Apparently, this day was a good one, because Pau told Phil Jackson he feels good enough to go. The Lakers will monitor both players carefully, but it appears they dodged a major bullet after two-thirds of their PF/C rotation suffered knee-related scares in Sunday's loss (the type prompting questions about how the Lakers should treat the final six regular season games).

As for this evening's tilt with Utah, obviously the presence of Bynum and Gasol gives the Lakers a boost, keeping intact their significant talent advantage. Given how horrendous the Jazz have been of late, going from 27 wins and 14 games over .500 on January 14 to 36 victories and five games under today- one of the more monumental collapses in NBA history- tonight's affair now falls squarely into the "It's about the Lakers, not the opposition" category.

Friday night in Utah, the Lakers overcame a sluggish start, completely overwhelming the Jazz over the final three quarters en route to an 11-point victory more dominant than the score might indicate (Utah scored the game's final seven points, all in garbage time). After generating 28 points over the first 12 minutes, the Lakers held Ty Corbin's crew to 56 points the rest of the way, using the formula serving them so well since the All-Star break- only nine turnovers, and 18 free throws allowed, combined with a heavy dose of defensive intensity.

Anything close to those numbers tonight, and more than likely the Lakers win in a walk. The Jazz don't have what it takes to stick with L.A., unless they're done a few favors along the way.