Thus far, no game has passed in the "Phil Jackson-extended era" where a Laker doesn't hit a career high.  It's arguably a small sample size, but let's be optimistic and assume the trend a given.  Who's got next?

-AK

Ian Thomsen of SI.com posted an interesting article Thursday afternoon about Kobe, and whether or not he's really 29 in NBA years.  Does the fact he's played an incredible amount of minutes for someone of his relative youth mean that then end is closer for him than it might be for another player?  Is decline only a couple years away?  Obviously, Kobe doesn't think so.  And the good news is that even if he's wrong, Kobe has elevated his game to the point that, assuming no major injuries, it would take him a while to truly be "diminished."  It's not like he'll wake up at 33 and look like me during a pickup game. 

I was hoping to give this a little more copy, but we're running short of time (heading down to Irvine for more radio gaga), so I'll pose it as a patented Lakers Blog Question of the Day:

Nobody in Staples Center Thursday night, from the players to the fans to the coaching staff to the guys who give away free towels to try to encourage folks to sign up for a credit card, liked what they saw from the Lakers in the first quarter.  It was ugly in a roadkill, '72-'73 Sixers kind of way.  Fortunately, over the final three quarters the Lakers produced some serious hoop, turning what could have been a terrible home loss into a 127-99 blowout win that provided happiness (and tacos) to the masses.  It was a win reminiscent of some of L.A.'s better ones this year for a squad more inconsistent than your girlfriend.  Kobe Bryant playing a killer but controlled game, scoring in bunches to keep the team afloat but also keeping everyone involved.  A box score that shows contributions up and down the lineup, including solid games from Derek Fisher, Andrew Bynum, Luke Walton, and a career high 22 points from Sasha Vujacic.  The Bench Mob (haven't heard as much from them, lately) was so good in the fourth that the starters were able to sit.  When five guys hang 46 points on the other guys over the final 12, it's easier to give folks some rest, something that could pay off as the Lakers square off against Utah tonight (7:30 p.m., ESPN) in Salt Lake City. 

The win wasn't the day's really big news, though. 

Had you turned off the television Thursday night at the end of the first quarter, you definitely missed the good stuff that came later in L.A.'s 127-99 stomp job of the Nuggets at Staples.  At the end of the first 12, the Lakers found themselves down 33-21, had turned the ball over eight times, shot at a 37.5% clip, and let Denver convert at nearly 64%.  Three more quarters of that and there would have been a lot of Elvis style shot-out televisions smoking up the Lakers Nation.  Fortunately, the L.A. got the offense going and stopped handing Denver the ball on a silver platter, serving to boost their point total while simultaneously slowing down the Nuggets' open court game.  Really, everyone's a winner in that equation.  LAL got to within two by halftime, used some great ball movement and defensive energy to post a 26-18 third quarter, then really put the screws on Denver in the fourth, when they shot 61% from the floor, shut down the Nuggets on the other end, and blew the game wide open.

In the end, the box looked a lot more like the quality ones LA turned in earlier in the season, where Kobe both scored when they needed it, and did a great job distributing.  Lots of good things to talk about, including a refrigerator door night for Sasha Vujacic (a career high 22 points), five minutes of run for Trevor Ariza and Javaris Crittendon, and best of all?  Von Wafer took off his sweats for George Karl's gang.  Jenga.   

Click below for the breakdown:

BK here.  Now that the Celtics have squeaked by the Knicks, the Laker game can start.  Two teams that like (this year's buzzwords) "early offense."  I'd take the over.

FIRST QUARTER:

And, of course, a minute and a half in, there's no score.  Well played, Nostradamus...

Finally 'Melo drops one in for the Nuggets, and Kobe gets the and one on the other end.  Now we're rollin...

7:30- Sloppy start for Vlad Rad.  A couple of early turnovers, extremely cold shooting from beyond the arc (including an air ball).  The strong start he had as faded a little bit. 

6:45- Marcus Camby flops in a big, bad way in an effort to try to draw a charge on Drew. No call, thankfully.  That was ludicrously obvious.  The type of thing that makes you wonder if the NBA needs a soccer/hockey esque diving rule.

The big news, of course, before tonight's game was the announcement that Phil Jackson has signed a two year extension to stay with the Lakers.  He met with the media before the game, and we have the full audio below.  Jackson talked a lot about his health and how much more comfortable he's feeling, his confidence in the young players on the roster (though not to the point that he'd commit to that batch of kiddies being the nucleus heading forward), and his faith in and comfort with the organization.

And for those of you who might be curious, Jackson said his decision is basically independent of any of the Kobe Kwestions.  Don't strain your eyes trying to read the tea leaves.  I'm sure the extension will be a topic of conversation for the next few days, so without further ado, some notes for tonight's game:

• Chucky Atkins, Nene, and Steven Hunter are inactive tonight for Denver, while Kwame Brown and the D-Leagued Coby Karl won't dress for L.A. 
• For those of you hoping to get a nice, healthy dose of first ballot Lakers Blog Hall of Famer Von Wafer tonight, don't hold your breath.  A) It's an immature way of trying to get what you want, and b) Nuggets coach George Karl seemed to indicate that the unleashing of Von isn't exactly what his shot-happy, defensively challenged bunch needs right now.  Let's all pray for foul trouble in the Denver backcourt.
• Projected starters tonight still include Vlad Rad and Drew.  No changes on that front (assuming that plays out as the little sheet says it will, which isn't always the case...).
• AK said Ronny said he's "Feeling good.  Thanks for asking."  Granted, Ronny always says he's feeling good, and always thanks you for asking.  So take that with a grain of salt. 

AUDIO:

• Phil Jackson:  Download phil_jackson_11.29 on contract extension.mp3
• George Karl, talking about his kid's demotion:Download george_karl_on_coby_karl_to_the_dleague.mp3
• Lamar Odom, on PJ: Download lamar_odom_11.29.mp3

BK

But one thing's for sure.  He definitely did not say, "Bring in Trevor Ariza and there's no way in hell I'm signing."  Because ink hit the papers today.  Two more years.  An estimated 11-12 mil per season.  Two hips apparently good enough to coach on.

What does more Phil mean when it comes to Kobe?  Dunno.  The only thing I've ever figured out about The Mamba is that you can't ever figure out The Mamba.   But I'll say this much.  I have a hard time believing Phil sticking around hurts Kobe's chances of eventually deciding to follow suit.  May not clinch matters.  But I seriously doubt Phil's presence prevents anything. 

For that matter, I also have no idea if this development ensures that Coby Karl will resign at season's end.  If you think #24 is an enigma...

More to come as details emerge.

AK

BK and I will be dropping by "The Steve Mason Show" today from 1-2 pm PST, the first installment of our new gig as regular contributors to the program.  Others in and out of the mix will include J.A. Adande, ESPN Fantasy Guru Matthew Berry, Michelle Tafoya, Ben Lyons of E!, Iron Mike Ditka, LaDanian Tomlinson... and us.

Quite a toss up when it comes to picking the least accomplished guests in that crew.

Anyhoo, our schedule for the show isn't set in stone yet, but we'll be sure to keep y'all in the loop.  I imagine we'll be talking a lot of Lakers and Dodgers.  If you can listen in, we'd appreciate the ears.  If your boss hasn't figured out how much company time you're wasting on the blog, an extra hour of radio isn't likely to raise any flags, either.

AK

They say an NBA season is a marathon, not a sprint.  But tonight's game against the Nuggets (7:30 PST) could very well be both.  A sprint, in how Denver plays.  A marathon, with the game being brought to your home by TNT, meaning the mandatory TV timeouts and halftime show could turn this baby into a three hours plus event.  Which gives fans plenty of time to ponder certain questions.  Like how the bench can rediscover its groove in the face of continual shuffling.  Or how George Karl might have tweaked Denver's game plan with his son Coby in uni.  Our guess.  Probably little to no change.  But again, we'll never know for sure.  Or how lucky the Lakers are to be missing only Kwame Brown, because as the Nuggets have found out, Nene and Stephen Hunter being out and Kenyon Martin being questionable can lead to situations like relying on Jelani McCoy.  Or whether Lamar Odom will ever consistently score bushels and bushels of points.  Or whether you agree with Kobe Bryant that a lotta petrol remains in his workout-fueled tank.  Or the heights of Andrew Bynum's ceiling, which is appearing further and further above one's head each day.

Or if you're a K Brother, you'll just be thinking, "When the hell is George Karl gonna put Von Wafer into the game?"

Not necessarily on the court, mind you, but man alive if our man Smush isn't throwing his weight around in other places.  Like at the valet stand.  No word yet if the conflict described within this link involves the Smushcalade.  We can only hope.  At least Smush plans on growing from this incident, or so his agent says.  This sort of news reminds me there's still a piece of my blogging heart that misses ol' William Henry.  Not in a "Von Wafer" or "Slava Medvedenko" way, where I'd consider donating a kidney to bring either one back to L.A... but really, when you do what AK and I do for a living, a guy like Smush can be pretty handy to have around.

Try to remember the good times.

BK