Similar to Doc Brown, this thread helps Lakers fans go back to the future. And would this be a huge win?  Hello, McFly!

Remember, don't spoil any surprises for the folks still in suspense.

AK

Remember kids, if you're planning on watching the KCAL feed, don't read this thread.  My guess is it'll include a spoiler or two.  By the way, Darth Vader?  Totally Luke Skywalker's father. 

BK

Wait, check that.  We got "Michigan" and "Minnesota" (the state housing L.A.'s ninth consecutive road foe) mixed up. Tonight's opponents, the Detroit Pistons (4:30 pm PST, KCAL) are actually quite good.  On the plus side, their toughest game of the stretch- the longest since The Logo was just Jerry West- is out of the way right from the jump.  On the minus side, they're doing it with three guys out (Ariza, Bynum, Mihm), one questionable (Walton) and another nursing a welted shin (Odom).  Plus, there's Sasha Vujacic's sore jaw, an injury so heinous the league saw reason to take action.  Those players, however, all likely garner a certain degree of sympathy from fans over the ow-ee's.  The same can't be said about Kwame Brown, who remains stunned by a recent negative crowd reaction while he struggles (on the court and to recover from injury).  The knock on #54 may always be that he hasn't lived up to expectations, which makes swapped counterpart Caron Butler's expected second All-Star reserve nod (cbssportsline and SI both concur) even tougher to swallow.   But at least Jordan Farmar's career is cruising along at a nice clip.  Made the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge as a newbie last season.  He's on the "experienced" team this season.

Last night's win against the Knicks ran pretty late, so I didn't have time to transcribe all of the player copy, but I wanted to make sure y'all got a complete taste of the locker room jabber.  Some Ronny Turiaf and Jordan Farmar items (to go along with previously posted nuggets from PJ/Kobe/Sasha Vujacic), plus some thoughts from Derek Fisher after Sunday's loss to Cleveland, the third defeat in a row. 

During those losses, there had been much talk about production being picked up during Andrew Bynum's absence (and frankly, those conversations don't end after last night's win).  Is this a question of a player emerging as the unspoken (or even spoken) second option (and if so, "who" remains a mystery) or was it simply a matter of everybody upping their numbers a bit? Fish thought the latter scenario was the ticket and as last night's showing of six double-figure scorers showed, the savvy vet may be onto something.  We also talked about the offensive tweaks that'll be required until mid-March (since no other Laker is truly capable of duplicating the options Bynum creates) and how, while winning is still a possibility, how much smaller a margin for error the team has running their game without Drew (an aspect that hasn't been talked about much, but can't possibly be overstated).  Here's what everyone had to say.

AK

Unfortunately, Renaldo Balkman never read the NBA Rulebook's fine print.  As as result, he's getting suspended one game for yesterday's flagrant (literally and basketball-y) shot to Sasha Vujacic's grill.  I imagine Slovenia's Favorite Son won't be too unhappy with the decision, having talked with him after the game.  Sasha mentioned that his time spent on the floor was in no way an attempt to play things up (accusations he dealt with after the incident where Carmelo Anthony grabbed him around the throat).  Having seen the play live, I don't doubt that.

By the way, BK and I both noticed yesterday that not only are Balkman's elbows pointy (meaning that knock Vujacic took had to hurt), but so is the man's whole body.  Nose.  Face.  Knees.  Even his braids form into points.  Dude may very well be the most angular cat in the entire league.

Anyhoo, justice has been served.  On to Detroit.

-AK   

PROGRAMMING NOTE:  Remember, Purple, Gold, and Blue starts at 11!  We're hoping to have Eric Pincus of Hoopsworld.com fame on today. 

Even taking into account the degree to which the Knicks have increasingly jelled during the decreasing presence of Stephon Marbury (a shocking development, I'm sure), they're still a 14-win team and the Lakers are still about to hit the road in grueling fashion, meaning the need to snap a three-game losing streak at New York's expense was fairly clear.  The 120-109 win did the trick, although the victory was rather slow in development.  Phil Jackson told his squad- a touch uptight during this losing stretch- to let the game come their way and relax a bit.  The "relax" part was perhaps taken too literally, as their 58 halftime points were actually bested by the Knicks tally (61).  It wasn't until the fourth quarter that scoring was accompanied by some honest to goodness D.   In between slowing Jamal Crawford and flaring Nate Robinson's temper (the former tougher than the latter), Sasha Vujacic exploded for a dozen final frame points.  Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom- who's been in dire need of a pick me up game- were decidedly on the same page, creating a chapter that included a winning box score.  The only downside to the victory was Luke Walton's hip pointer injury that makes the roadie even lighter on dudes of any size.

There were serious questions, however, about who would take this eventual 120-109 Lakers win.  Perhaps inspired by the presence of Eddy Curry, mutual defense took a holiday in the first, second and third frames.  In particular, the quarter before Big Games James' show witnessed a particularly porous showing from both teams, with the Lakers' 55% shooting clip representing the lesser effort.  The 61-58 Knicks lead heading into the third was obviously not the sign of a trend positive.  The third saw a shrinkage in New York baskets, but this was a moot point, considering the Lakers also forgot how to put a roundball in its proper home.  Sluggish ball movement (only four total assists) and a slew of bricks created action equal parts herky-jerky, odd and, frankly, dull.  But down by two and with a dozen final minutes of regulation, the Lakers finally got it into gear. 

After some trey-balls were traded between both squads to help create a 104 tie, the Lakers went on a 14-4 run, with everyone adding their two cents (and points).  Aside from Kobe's near trip-dub (the slacker was too satisfied with a 24/8/11 to grab that extra pair of boards), big contributions came from several Lakers, especially those six fellas (Kobe, Kwame Brown, Jordan Farmar, Lamar Odom, Ronny Turiaf and Sasha, who raised the dander of both Renaldo Balkman and Wee Nate Robinson) who played in the closing frame.  It would have really been a bummer for the Lakers to do their version of "Easy Rider" while riding a losing streak, so the triumphant box score will help settle some nerves, if not completely placate all those involved.

BK's breakdown is below.

-AK

BK here.  Pardon my typos.  I haven't live blogged for two games. 

Lakers open with pregame montage set to Sympathy for the Devil.  Nice little change of pace. Rock solid classic rock.  Crowd seemed to like it, too.  Then into the traditional Baba O'Reilly.  All in all, it's been a big night for old school iconic bands. 

Starting lineups- Kwame, Luke, Kobe, Fish, LO.  Knicks- Curry, Richardson, Crawford, Collins, Randolph.

Apropos (sp?) to nothing in particular, how much fun would it be if the Knicks got Morris Peterson?  Then they could have Zach Randolph, Randolph Morris, and Morris Peterson all on one squad. I bet that sort of thing never happens.  Anyway,

FIRST QUARTER:

11:00- Nice work by Kwame on Curry to avoid picking up his second foul as Curry backed him down on the post.  The Knicks have fed the post on every possession thus far.  With a quick foul on 54, they'll keep at it, I'm sure they'll keep at it. 

Given that the reporter/player ratio in the locker room was an unfavorable 8/.3 (the one-third coming from periodic fly-bys from Ronny Turiaf), there wasn't much to get before the game.  So with that in mind, you get PJ's pregame audio, and a look back at the ultra-scary 95-90 win the Lakers bagged in New York before Christmas.  For those of you who were perhaps decorating your tree or doing a little last minute shopping, it was a tale of two halves.  In the first, the Lakers utilized some epic ball movement, had great looks at the hoop, attacked, played some defense and generally looked like they were ready to run the Knicks out of the building.  Around the middle of the third, they stopped doing all of those things.  Jamal Crawford went all goony on them, and suddenly the Lakers found themselves in a dogfight. 

Fortunately, they scraped by. 

Sure, things look stark after the Bynum injury, and yes, a loss tonight to the Knicks will very likely bury the needle on the ArmageddonIsNigh Meter, but that makes it a perfect moment to gain a little perspective.  Last night, watching a Brand/Kaman/Maggette-less Clippers squad get waxed by a Bobcats squad that had won only three roadies entering the game, the Fox Folk were so desperate for something to talk about that they did a courtside interview with Clipper Darrell, who is apparently being courted by Mark Cuban to become, one would think, Maverick Darrell. 

In what was one of the most painful interviews ever, CD repeatedly declared "I have to do what's best for my family," proving that sports cliches are not simply limited to locker rooms.  So if you're keeping score, that's 13 wins, the possibility for mass star defection after the season (Brand, Maggette), and even the quasi-mascot is thinking of jumping ship.

All told, things aren't so bad in Lakerville.

Carry on.

BK