The Lakers overcame a terrible first quarter and basically kicked the tar out of the Suns from the second quarter until the end of the game to win 114-106.  L.O. had a monster game- 34/13/6, and was supported by solid performances from Andrew Bynum (18/9), Mo Evans (17 points), and Smush Parker (9/6/7), just to name a few.  Lakers shot 55% from the field.  Not bad.  Notes/quotes to follow.

UPDATE: Obviously Phil Jackson was pleased with the effort, at least the parts that came after the end of the first quarter.  "They started out like a house of fire, and just looked like one of those kind of games that Phoenix gets on that you think they'll never miss," he said.  "Fortunately we had a little resurgence.  The second unit came out there and gave us some life back and we got back into the ballgame.  Second half, I was pleased with the way we controlled the game.  We were much better at controlling the pace."  Audio clips are below the jump.

Just so y'all know, on the white board in the Suns locker room is written the message "Luck the Fakers."  Thought everyone would find that just delightfully amusing.

Enjoy

AK

First Quarter (Courtesy of AK)

FYI - This year, they've switched the starting lineup intro music from Van Halen's "Right Now" to the Who's "Baba O'Reilly."  Some of you may call it "Teenage Wasteland."  Anyway, it's a great choice.  Much more urgent and less cliched.

Very nice pass from Bynum to Smush.  For all the talk about Bynum's interest in O, D, rebounds, blocks, his confidence passing the rock has flowmn under the radar.

Great job by Bynum beating the shot clock.  Terrific awareness, too, because Smush put him in a tough spot giving him the ball with 3 seconds left. 

Good job drawing the charge by Smush.  But the Lakers need to settle down the pace considerably.  This is very much a Phoenix tempo this far.

Gonna be interesting watching Bynum.  He's obviously got the size on Thomas, Diaw or anyone Phoenix puts on him.  But the flip side is that everyone he guards can take him away from the rack (as Kurt Thomas did sinking that long 2), where he's clearly less comfortable. 

The debut of the new number is going to have to wait a couple nights.  Wearing what can only be described as a "You better be Kobe Bryant to pull this off" pink button down, 24 told the gathered media that his surgically (almost) repaired right knee isn't quite ready to start the season. He'll sit tonight and tomorrow in Golden State, skipping the trip to get some treatment.  For those of you with tix for the weekend, Kobe did say he's "extremely optimistic" that he'll be ready for Friday night.  Apparently, he felt some pain doing some lunges at home.  Not on the first one, but on the second.  It's always the second one that gets you.  The problem?  Scar tissue.  "That's the most frustrating thing," he said.  "The scar tissue has a mind of it's own.  If you asked me yesterday, (I thought) I'm playing today.  It's such a day to day thing."  That ought to make everyone feel better, right? 

A few of you have already started making them, but in the spirit of the day (that would be the first day of the season, for those of you just emerging from your cave dwellings), why not a few more predictions? We've covered the Western Conference, we've covered the Lakers. But that doesn't mean there isn't more to discuss. You've got your MVP, scoring title winner, defensive player of the year, sixth man award, and all the other randomness that makes the NBA fun. So click below the jump for my take, and feel free to continue posting yours (and pointing out why I'm likely to look like an idiot in June. Please try to keep your answers to that question basketball related).

—BK

Everyone goes to work today. The post office will be open, the mail delivered. But for Lakers fans, it feels like a holiday. Yep, tonight, the purple and gold play their first real game since the Great Collapse in last year's playoffs, somewhat ironically against the Suns, the hyperactive bunch that eliminated them.

Maybe the NBA sensed they could get a little opening night theater out of Kobe and Raja Bell? Anyway, there are plenty of questions facing the purple and gold as the season kicks off, hoping (okay, needing) to take advantage of a cushy early season schedule that gives them 15 of 20 at Staples before racking up the frequent flier miles later this winter. The biggest one right now? Health. Then there's health, and then health again (wait, that's not for L.A. After this preseason, it's force of habit.). Not that the Lakers are the only team keeping sports med doctors busy.

But speaking of injuries, the Lakers are finally getting some good news, in the form of Kobe Bryant's healing right knee, which will allow him to slip on his brand new 24 jersey and start tonight. Maybe the beginning of an MVP campaign? (Who says the Globe and Mail never shows Kobe love?) Continued bonding with L.O. could help take the pressure off. Whether Phil Jackson's new hip will allow him to coach beyond next season remains to be seen.

Throughout the offseason, BK and I have posted a series called "Know Thy Enemy," where we break down Western Conference teams and predict if they'll finish better or worse than the Lakers. We didn't realize, however, that the biggest "enemy" was actually the injury bug. The Lakers head into tomorrow's season opener against Phoenix hurting like Keith Closs after a club-hopping spree. How out of control have things gotten? Bad enough that we can break down patients into categories.

Coming off a season where many — OK, not necessarily you guys, but media types — wondered if the Lakers would win more games than they lost, the Lakers notched 45 victories and as you may remember, were one now infamous nonrebound from advancing to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The growth of Lamar Odom, Kwame Brown, and Luke Walton conspired with a soft schedule down the stretch to push the Lakers to an 11-3 finish.

This offseason, L.A. added shooting in Vladamir Radmanovic, defense in Maurice Evans, a dude with a big noggin' (literally) coming off a nice season overseas in Shammond Williams, and they drafted their point guard of the future in Jordan Farmar. Andrew Bynum is a year older, L.O. has a year of the triangle under his belt, and Walton seems to be evolving into a poster child for Tex Winter's O. (Seriously, if the EPA covered basketball, they'd protect the triangle offense from extinction, because it's the natural habitat of Walton. If it goes, Luke might follow. He's the spotted owl of hoops.)

That's the good news.

Here at Blog Central, we're still trying to figure out how to score one of those Hollywood Walk of Fame stars down on the boulevard.

One possibility? Help build a TV sports network, because it worked for Jerry Buss. The good doctor with the funny hair will be the 2,323rd recipient of the honor today, and while he's certainly pleased as punch — who wouldn't want one of those? — anticipation of a new Lakers season is currently No. 1 on his mind.

Buss met with reporters on Sunday, discussing everything from extending Phil Jackson beyond next season to his hope that Kwame or Bynum can develop and dominate to the slow transition of power to Jim and Jeannie Buss. Some of that comes down the road, but what the dude wants now is to win. On that note, the possible return of the NBA's leading scorer for Tuesday's opener would probably be a good place to start.

Sorry for the late start, but we figured a few extra hours of waiting might lead to a definitive decision of Kobe Bryant's status for Tuesday's game. As it stands, there's still nothing written in stone, although Phil Jackson's spreading gossip that Kobe said he'd be on the court. As for the player himself, No. 24 is still taking things 24 hours by 24 hours, with no comittment yet as to whether he'll be playing under the Staples Center mood lighting.

As Kobe puts it, the ambience will be "old school." Know who else is old school? KG, The Big Fundamental, T-Mac, Vinsanity and Kobe himself, all of whom are often compared to the new school era of players. But whether you're talking young 'uns or vets, there just aren't a lot of players like Lamar Odom running around. And there are even fewer players who understand the pain Odom's feeling right now.

Longtime L.A. Times NBA writer Mark Heisler predicts the Western Conference final standings. We predict you won't like his predictions.

History may not recognize a person more deeply intertwined with Lakers history despite never having played for or coached the team. Red Auerbach's Celtics of the 1950s and '60s had some of the most epic battles in the history of roundball with the Lakers before the Aurbach constructed teams of the 1980s rekindled the rivalry with the purple and gold. I don't think I'm overstating it to say that for many people at or around my age (especially those in non-NBA cities), those Celtics/Lakers matchups of the '80s, whether they came in the regular season or the playoffs, were basically NBA 101.

Toss in the Auerbach/Phil Jackson rivalry that would develop as P.J. piled up rings, and while Auerbach was Celtic green through and through (and hated by many Angelenos), he was never more than a degree or two of separation away from the Lakers.

Auerbach died Saturday at age 89.

—BK