We'll go out on a limb and predict you'll see her no fewer than four times and no more than seven on a TV screen between tomorrow and June 2nd (if necessary), as the San Antonio Spurs took down the New Orleans Hornets to become the Lakers' next opponent.  What does this have to do with the "Desperate Housewives" starlet?  Well, it's one of Hollywood and sports' best kept secrets, but we have it on good authority that she and Spurs PG Tony Parker are romantically involved.  Throw in the fact that Longoria occasionally allows herself to be filmed at a high profile event (despite an obvious dislike for the spotlight) and it stands to reason that her mug will grace a contest or two during the series.   And that the team she roots on presents a real challenge (even if slightly more ESPN pundits have the Lakers  triumphing against the quite literally defending champs).

San Antonio finally got their road win against New Orleans in the Western Conference semifinals, and fair to say it came at a pretty good time. Game 7, 91-82.  As it probably should be, the road to the Finals, and hopefully a parade, still goes through the champs. 

Plenty more to come tomorrow.

BK

That would be Lamar Odom's description of his weekend's activity,  the Lakers having sewn up their semifinals and offered little to do besides wait for the Hornets or Spurs to wrap up bidness.  "I just took my feet off the ground and got some rest."  Oddly enough, the Yankees junkie didn't catch any Subway Series action, but "thanked" us for reminding him that the Mets took both games (Friday was a postponed rainout).  Such downtime can worry a coach, in that the pursuit of rest sometimes leads to 48 hours of hardcore vegging, which results in a half-assed tone when practice resumes.  But from Phil Jackson's perspective, today's session signaled his boys handling their recuperation with some focus, generally speaking.  "Some players do better with it than others," admitted Jackson.  "Some players probably lay around and watch TV, maybe become couch potatoes and then when activity starts, they're a little bit loggy.  But other guys seemed very lively today and aggressive, competitive."

On a side note, if you're thinking that May 19, 2008, marks the first time "chillax" and "loggy" were used within 10 minutes of each other, I'm inclined to concur with that hunch.  'Twas a groundbreaking day for vocabulary, indeed.

Aside from the one to learn how Andrew Bynum's knee recovers from a date with the knife, there's also the wait to find out whether the Lakers will face New Orleans or San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals, a query answered this evening at 530 pm PDT (TNT).  Do the Lakers have a preference as to an opponent?  If you ask Phil Jackson, it's a coin flip involving a rust-covered quarter.  Both squads offer a serious challenge, whether you're talking the less experienced but younger/quicker Hornets (whom the OC Register endorses as the preferable draw) or the savvy, current champeen Spurs (whom BK chose and AK would concur as the more ideal foe, despite having the always dangerous Manu Ginobli on their side).  However those chips may fall, the Lakers will learn the results as a team.  The same dinner-centric solidarity shown during the Houston-Utah first round Game 7 will be in effect at an unnamed eatery.  The only difference is that this time around, Kobe Bryant will be able to display an increased cheeriness in ways that don't automatically involve his wallet (although the traditionalists will call for repetition).

It's hard to remember right about now, but there are events happening in the world more important than the pursuit of a Larry O'Brien.  Ira Newble goes out of his way to remind people.

Not from the team, or even with big knives or scalpels. Though Andrew Bynum will indeed get his knee scoped on Wednesday to clean up some rough spots under his kneecap. We'll know more about it later in the week, but at this point, it's certainly no surprise to see he needs more work.

BK

With their opponent for the Western Conference Finals yet to be determined, these are mellow days in Laker Land. It's a good day to reflect:

• On the impact of Derek Fisher's return to the Lakers this season. 
• On why the heck Kobe Bryant is so damn good. (He is, if you haven't noticed.)
• On the popularity the Lakers have around the world, as if readers of this blog needed such a reminder...
• On the stats L.A. has posted through the playoffs thus far, and what it might mean.
• On the Utah series.  And how it ended.  And again. 

More on Mayo, and Kevin Love is getting in shape.

Enjoy Cavs/Celtics Game 7 this afternoon! 

Hey folks.  I'm afraid you're going to have to do your own link huntin' this morning, as I've got to haul down to Anaheim for the Dodgers game.  Of course, all the really important information from Friday night is contained in the score: 108-105 LAL, putting a cap on a 4-2 series win over the Jazz.  The Lakers may have let most of a 19-point lead slip away, but I will not abide by any "they didn't look good enough winning" talk.  Any road win in the playoffs is a good one, especially when the opposition had lost five games on its floor all year. 

Anyhoo, the big question this morning has more to do with the upcoming series than the one they finished.  As in, who are the Lakers going to play?  The fun will start Wednesday night against the winner of Monday's Game 7 between New Orleans and San Antonio.  Which begs the question (of the day)- and I know this discussion has already started- who do you want the Lakers to play in the next round? 

Nobody with a hint of realism would have expected the Lakers to pull off a series-clinching win against Utah in the SLC with the greatest of ease.  Those folks keeping their feet firmly affixed to the ground knew exactly what they were talking about.  Yes, the Lakers did manage to best the Jazz and advance to the Western Conference finals, but a 108-105 score shows it was no bed of roses (nor a pleasure cruise of any sort).  After the Lakers built up a 19-point advantage before halftime Gatorade and orange slices, then lost just three of those points before the final frame, Utah made a serious push.  With two minutes and change remaining, five jazzy treys were dropped, cutting the Laker lead to a pair of angst-ridden points.  But after a pair of freebies went down for Kobe Bryant, plus one of two for Derek Fisher, the Lakers defended their scant lead with solid contestings of downtown shots from Mehmet Okur and Deron Williams. Box score secured, along with a trip to the finals.  All five Laker starters and Sasha Vujacic hit double figures, led by Kobe's well-balanced 34/8/6 clip.  Their opponent won't be decided until Monday night, but whether New Orleans or San Antonio, the road to the Finals will literally begin in the City of Angels.  Ain't nothing wrong with that.

AK 

Boston couldn't win on the road earlier, nor New Orleans last night.  Here's hoping third time is the proverbial charm.

AK

Can the Lakers close out?  These and other items of curiosities are addressed below. 

1) Home cooking: It's played a role in this series and the playoffs in general, where a trip out of town has served Kryptonite for the visiting squad.  In the Lakers' specific case, competing within the confines of SLC not only means dealing with an obviously prominent home court advantage, but an even more physical contest than usual, one where the locals receive a fair amount of latitude from the refs.  Unfortunately, the early game 3/4 foul troubles of Derek Fisher (see below) and Ronny Turiaf's egregious ejection can at least make a case that similar courtesy hasn't been been extended towards outsiders.  Pushing folks around is the name of Utah's game, and if they're allowed to play it, the Lakers need to take it upon themselves to stay even more focused.   

Utah is not a friendly place for visiting teams, and as recent (Games 3 and 4) history and a longer view bears out, that would include the Lakers.  But the good news is that there's only one team in the building for tonight's Game 6 of the Western Conference semis that has to win to keep the series alive, and it ain't L.A.  If the purple and gold do not do, they will not die.  The same can't be said for the Jazz, which is up against the wall and still stinging from what they see as a missed opportunity to steal Game 5 at Staples.  The Lakers, of course, would just as soon polish them off.  To do that, they understand it'll take a better effort than the one put forth in Wednesday's victory, a task all the more difficult given Kobe's lingering back problems.  Of course, the back has been about the only thing Utah has come up with to slow him down (and really, that wasn't what they drew up on the white board) and if they don't figure out how- and fast- the Jazz might not have another game until next season.  Kobe has hurt Utah in all sorts of ways through the first five games, showing enough game to make friends of potential enemies. 

If the Jazz want to contain Bryant, a better defensive effort from Ronnie Brewer is likely required.   He is doing good work on the other end, though. 

The Teams

Blue squad: Trevor Ariza, Jordan Farmar, DJ Mbenga, Ira Newble, Vlad Radmanovic
White squad: Coby Karl, Chris Mihm, Ronny Turiaf, Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic
(The starting unit, save Vlad Rad on a limited basis, got the day off)

Best Play Runner Up
Walton's over the shoulder alley oop to Mihm, who throws down a one-handed dunk

Best Play
Walton's layup gets swatted by Mbenga, but the ball lands in Turiaf's hands.  Ronny throws what's just short of a touch pass cross court to Karl, who hits a catch and shoot from behind the arc.

Final result?  Turiaf converted two at the stripe, securing victory for the white team.  Newble called shenanigans, claiming you can't end on free throws.  "You can today," retorted Phil Jackson with a smile.

If I managed to make an intersquad scrimmage between bench players sound considerably more exciting than it actually was, my work here is done.

For your viewing pleasure, post game video from last night.  More to come as they're built out...

(UPDATE: Now with more Odom!  And more Sasha!  And more Sloan!)

The Lakers, despite some profound advances in the quality of the players around him, are still fundamentally Kobe Bryant's team, so when he took the floor with a very balky back for Game 5 of L.A.'s Western Conference semifinal against Utah with the series tied at two, there was certainly reason to worry.  Or maybe not.  Despite a quality effort from the Jazz, L.A. walked away with a critical 111-104 win Wednesday night at Staples.  Kobe was, despite his team high/extremely impressive 26 points, clearly limited and had to pick his spots, which meant the guys around him had to pick it up.  Rare are the close games in which Kobe doesn't attempt a field goal in the fourth, but that's what we saw last night, as his teammates, generally another member of the starting five, stepped in to fill the void. 

The box shows Pau Gasol had a huge second quarter, then finished strong late in the fourth (not without a little controversy).  Lamar Odom (22/11, two blocks) was a force on both ends, while Derek Fisher contributed key buckets and four steals and Vlad Radmanovic broke out of his playoff slump with 15 points. 

Coming so soon after Sunday's OT controversy - did Kobe abandon his teammates, or did they bail on him? - on Wednesday it was clear Kobe's mates came prepared to chip in, and did in support of their hobbled (but still pretty damn effective) leader.

Really, we'll do anything to work a Short Circuit reference into a post.  It's so transparent and cheap.  But damn if that movie isn't the epitome of delightful!  The way Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg were able to enhance their own humanity via an unusually human robot?  I think there's a lesson in there for all of us.  No wonder it was nominated for a Saturn Award. 

But I digress...

Wednesday night, the Lakers faced a pivotal Game 5 against the Utah Jazz in their Western Conference semifinal series, needing a win to hold on to home court advantage but facing life with a diminished Kobe.  (Perhaps you heard he hurt his back?)  It wasn't easy, nor particularly elegant, but in the end the Lakers got what they needed in a 111-104 win.  They'll take a 3-2 lead into Friday night's game in Salt Lake City, comfortable in the knowledge that should they lose, one more game on the friendly home floor awaits.  The Big Three were large for the Lakers, carrying them through different parts of the night.  Kobe's back was clearly aching, but he still had a major impact on the proceedings.

Click below for the breakdown, including a whole bunch of audio.    

Technically, it's not a must win, so we'll call it a "Damn, it sure would be seriously freakin' helpful to" win.  Kobe took his pregame shots with Sasha on his back, so I guess he's feeling OK. 

I might have made that last part up.

BK with the first....

FIRST QUARTER:

First good review of the night goes to the Staples fans, who have brought their collective A Game tonight.  The noise during the pregame intros was as loud as I've ever heard. 

11:40- Kobe opens by elevating and draining a three on the left wing.  He then comes back on the next possession, takes the pass, and drills a jumper from the right elbow.  Guess he's feeling OK. 

5-0 LAL. 

"It's the most important game of my life.  Every game from here on out is the most important game of my life."

- Lamar Odom, on whether tonight was the most important game of the season.

And there you have it.

A pivotal contest approaches between two squads knotted at 2 wins apiece.  Keeping with that theme, here are five items worth keeping eyeballs on, in my humble estimation.

• Kobe's back: This would be the highest profile of X Factors, and on a couple levels.  For starters, how much pain will Kobe be attempting to play through?  Bryant said he felt better yesterday, but still couldn't ride in a car or sleep without experiencing discomfort and is just now able to do some shootaround stuff.  Hopefully, the additional 24 hours between Tuesday and tonight see a continued uptick in healing, one allowing him to play at reasonably close to 100%.  If not, the focus could end up revisiting the much discussed differences between Kobe during the fourth quarter (facilitating) and OT (shooting) of Game 4.  Whether you think Kobe tried to do too much down the stretch, his teammates didn't assert themselves enough or somewhere in between (and I'm really interesting in rehashing a 72-hour-old debate), two facts can't be disputed.  Kobe missed a lot of late-game shots and admitted his back prevented lift and explosion.  Unless his mend has progressed nicely (fingers crossed), a multi-faceted "something" will likely have to give. 

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Join us for Purple, Gold, and Blue today at 11 am, when our guests will be Bethlehem Shoals of Free Darko, and Ken Levine, host of Dodger Talk on 790 AM.  Click the show widget on the side of the page, or go straight to our show at NowLive.com by clicking here.

Took a team of writers to come up with that gem, folks.

But all terrible puns aside, tonight does indeed mark commencement of a pivotal game 5 between the Jazz and the Lakers (7:30 pm PST, TNT).  One that will feature Kobe Bryant playing through the mother of all back pain, an injury sustained early into Sunday's loss in Utah.  Kobe hasn't practiced since touching down in L.A., but as everyone would fully expect, there ain't even a snowball's chance in hell that he'll sit out this contest.  Thankfully, The Mamba is reporting a positive change in his condition and remains hopeful he'll grow even more pain-free come the tipoff.  His effectiveness on the court, however, remains unknown for now, as well as his approach while on it.  Game 4's loss saw Kobe in heavy facilitator mode during the fourth, followed by a heavy shooting performance in OT, followed by Phil Jackson's comments that the supporting cast let down their star. Some felt the finale was Kobe attempting too much while others felt that notion was ridiculous on any level.  For what it's worth, Kenny Smith of Yahoo! and TNT, PJ's thoughts were actually directed at both parties in question.  Whatever the case may be, the development has people wondering the style and effectiveness Kobe will be armed with this evening.

According to Derek Fisher, the Lakers as a whole are pretty savvy when it comes to assessing via body language Kobe's ability to play through injury.  Most of them have played with Kobe for at least a few seasons and have become familiar with certain physical tendencies.  Thus, through careful observance, it becomes more evident how much agony is involved and how limited he will or won't be.  Sometimes, that ability to read Bryant can even come off the court as well, and Fish labels Turiaf as the "most perceptive guy that can kind of figure things out."  The most recent example of Ronny's intuition came during Kobe's MVP press conference.  "(Kobe) was tapping the side of the podium.  Ronny and I turned to each other and he was the first to say, "Kobe is really nervous."  He never gets nervous, but just by that tapping of the fingers, Ronny could pick up on the fact that he was nervous. Thirty seconds later, Kobe said he was nervous."

From there, Ronny correctly deduced that Kobe would actually keep his trophy in lieu of putting it on EBay, but I don't necessarily think it was the boldest of calls.
 

AK will have more from practice later, but he just texted me with the news that Trevor Ariza has indeed been cleared to practice without restriction.  He'd been deemed ready by two independent doctors, who felt that his fractured foot had sufficiently healed.  More details later, I'm sure, but however it gets sliced and diced, the information is good for the Lakers. 

BK

(That ought to solve any lingering "Hip to be Square" resentment...)

Not everyone has experienced turf toe, tennis elbow, or sports hernia, but most can identify with back pain.  So in that, fans and scribes alike might finally have something in common with Kobe Bryant (we can assure you that before, aside from things like requiring oxygen and having 10 fingers and toes, you did not).  Most of us, though, don't have to play in Wednesday's Game 5 with the season very much on the line, making the condition of Kobe's back the question of this Western Conference semifinal series.  Kobe says he'll play, hoping to take advantage of the extra day between games to get his back right.  That he'll suit up isn't really a shock - did anyone think he wouldn't? - but how mobile he'll be is another question.   The Jazz is working under the assumption that he'll be his fine and dangerous self Wednesday night, and won't play him any differently than they did Sunday, when they treated him no differently than normal, despite the injury. 

In other issues of personnel, Ronny Turiaf won't be suspended for the hard foul he put on Utah's Ronnie Price Sunday afternoon that was called a Flagrant Two violation and got him tossed from the game. 

I figure I'd just put that out there in the header, since it's the most important piece of information learned today at practice.   No surprise, given that even if he'd been wheeled into the building on a gurney and encased in a body cast, Kobe would say he'd be ready by Wednesday.  That's how he rolls.  Fortunately, he was fully vertical in his media session today, though he admitted to being pretty damn uncomfortable.  Now it's a matter of getting himself through some round the clock treatment and back on the floor for Wednesday, with the added benefit of an extra day off.  Every bit of recovery time will help, hopefully getting him just a little more whole.  If not, he could again be limited in what is a ludicrously important Game 5.  But feel comfortable hitting the pillow tonight in the belief that Bryant will be in uniform two nights from now.  "I'll play.  I can't imagine it being worse than it was last night," Bryant said.

Sunday, the back clearly affected his play, especially late. "I just couldn't elevate," he said, "and get enough space to knock down a jump shot here and there.  What I tried to do is not re-injure it, so I tried to play and make drives to the basket where I could withstand the pain without the back completely spasming, which put the next game really in jeopardy."

Unless, of course, The Mamba is totally indifferent towards being selected, along with Bruce Bowen, Marcus Camby, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, to the first-team all-defensive team.  But I doubt that's the case.  Congrats to Bryant on his eighth inclusion over the course of his career, the sixth of which includes the word "first."  Kudos are also in order to Derek Fisher, who garnered four total points and one first place vote. 


AK

The playoffs are supposed to be a grind, a titanic struggle filled with dramatic highs and lows, and plenty of tension.  For six games, the Lakers didn't really have that.  Fair to say now, after Utah beat them 123-115 in overtime on Sunday afternoon in Salt Lake City to knot their W.C. semifinal series at two games apiece, that the playoffs have officially arrived.  We've got drama (a big comeback late in the fourth followed by a flat OT), concern (Kobe Bryant tweaked his back in the first quarter, and played in obvious pain throughout), and a touch of controversy (did Kobe abandon his teammates as Utah took control in the OT, or was it the other way around?).  The Lakers played from behind most of the day on Sunday, both on the scoreboard and from a personnel standpoint, once Ronny Turiaf was lost after a very shaky flagrant two call on a hard foul he delivered to Utah's Ronny Price. 

Turiaf's ejection helped contribute to what was a big advantage in bench production for the Jazz, which contributed to the hole LA found themselves in. Only a big push in the last 4:21 of the fourth, when they erased a 12-point Utah lead, got them into the extra frame, but then things unraveled on both ends for the Lakers.   

But he apparently doesn't root purple and gold, because after a 123-115 OT victory by Utah, their playoff series now sits an all square 2-2, a development the Laker Nation considers anything but hip.  The defeat saw quite a few obstacles tossed in the Lakers' path: Derek Fisher picking up three rapid-fire fouls, which limited him to approximately the same number of first-half minutes and increased the PT of Jordan Farmar, who continues to struggle on both ends of the floor. Ronny Turiaf getting ejected in the second quarter on a dubious flagrant foul call, with Price's awkward landing turning his obvious block attempt with no extra mustard applied into something apparently worse. 

Kobe Bryant's stiff back, injured on an early game jumper and never allowing him to operate in pain-free fashion.  Throw in physicality Utah was still afforded, and that's some tough sledding for the Lakers. 

Pressure is still on Utah, who can't afford to go down 3-1.  Fewer TOs and more made jumpers and the Lakers can steal one in Salt Lake.  A heartier constitution displayed by Pau Gasol won't hurt, either.

BK

Instead of slogging through every and all Laker-centric article floating around cyberspace, I thought I'd link a particularly interesting few and focus more on some topics I consider of importance for today's Game 4 against Utah.  Hopefully, that'll do for the Lakers Blog community.

• The purple and gold mind-set after the first obstacle: The streak was fun and, in my opinion, established the Lakers as the team to beat during this playoffs.  But that assessment only holds true if these Lakers are as adept at overcoming adversity as they are rolling over opponents. And "adversity"  might be a little strong, because even squads that snag an O'Brien get tagged with an "L" along the postseason way.  But that's sort of my point.  If the Lakers treat the loss as the cost of doing business and go back to handling theirs, it's all Kool and the Gang.  As I wholeheartedly stressed after the loss, the Jazz played at the top of their game, with the Lakers at the bottom of theirs, and it was still a tight contest.  In some ways, Utah should be hit wth more doubts than L.A.  But if the Lakers make the fall into something bigger than it is and overthink what's been working, that's where problems begin.  Personally, I'm not expecting a panic- or doubt-stricken mode, because there's no logical reason for such a vibe.  But it's still worth keeping an eye on.

The Lakers arrived in Salt Lake City sporting a perfect 6-0 playoff record.  But conventional wisdom states that a playoff series becomes a brand new can of worms upon changing venues for the first time.  Even when the now-home team has been thoroughly outplayed in the opening pair of contests, as was the case for the Jazz when they played the Lakers at Staples.  Put the basketball in EnergySolutions Arena and Utah became a considerably more effective squad, as evidenced by their 104-99 win.  In particular, a previously floundering Carlos Boozer seemed to benefit from a change of scenery.  Those struggles in Los Angeles felt about 10 years removed as he put up a 27/20 effort and controlled much of the action whenever he was on the court.  His control of the paint was a reflection of Utah's typical physicality that received more whistle-free leeway while in SLC, a style of play that often seemed to irritate the Lakers.  In particular, Pau Gasol was thrown for a loop by the lack of referee love and was often reduced to a turnover in waiting.  For some, the reaction could be read as a measure of Gasol's "tough get going" nature (or lack thereof). Or perhaps Gasol's subpar play was simply an extension of the tough sledding endured by other mates like Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar (who in particular seemed rhythm-free from the moment he stepped on the court).

Realistically speaking, the undefeated ride would come to an end at some point.  And tonight's game 3, which took Utah back to its turf for the first time in the series, struck me as logical a time as any for the Lakers to get hung with an "L."  The dust settling on a 104-99 Jazz victory proved that instinct unfortunately correct.  But like the title suggests, this loss doesn't bug me much as a Laker fan.  Yes, there were negatives.  Pau Gasol, save about the final three or so minutes of action, spent the game getting pushed around in the paint on both ends (which often led to some turnovers).  The backup backcourt of Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar (often torched by Deron Williams) went a combined 0-9 from the field for a combined goose egg in the scoring column.  The Lakers turned the ball over 18 times and hit only five of their 23 attempts from downtown. 

But despite these issues, despite the Lakers playing often at their worst and Utah vice versa, the Jazz could never put away the Lakers for good.  The purple and gold execution was often hinky, but the energy and spirit was always there.  Kobe Bryant, overcoming a slow first half, set the final 24 minutes' tone with a killer performance that featured the majority of his 34 points and a few SportsCenter worthy buckets.  His teammates eventually followed suit and put some legit screws to their opponents.  It turned out to be a little too little, a little too late, but more "late" than "little."  The Lakers' worst effort, and the Jazz couldn't pounce all over it.  If I'm the Lakers, I'm neither thrilled nor satisfied with the box score, but I'm not be losing sleep over it, either.

AK   

Good Jazz brings to mind names like "Coltrane," "Davis," and "Monk."  Bad Jazz brings to mind names like "G," "G," and "G."  Let's hope tonight's jazz is even weaker than the stuff played by Kenny. 

AK

T-Minus four hours and counting until game time.  Thought I'd toss out a few factors I think could affect the Lakers, positive and negatively.

• The Crowd: As in, how much will it either help the Jazz or hurt the Lakers?  As a writer that covers a team but doesn't travel on a regular basis, I can't say with iron clad certainty which NBA casa is truly the loudest, rowdiest and most distracting for a guest.  But I will say this much.  Of the destinations where I watched a game this season (Dallas, Houston, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, Portland and obviously Los Angeles), Utah's EnergySolutions Arena definitely hurt my ear drums the most. Damn near deafening at times, with the fans right on top of the action  going several rows back.  Like Lamar Odom said yesterday at practice, there's no reason to be "intimidated," especially since the Lakers have pulled out a "W" in Sodium Country.  But there's also a reason the phrase "home court advantage" caught on more than "home court albatross"  (unless you're the New York Giants).  I'm not saying the Lakers have to get up early in order to beat this squad that went 37-4 in their backyard.  I'm just agreeing with Phil Jackson's dry observation that playing possum until the fourth quarter and launching a surprise attack is a strategy worth avoiding.

The popular saying is that a series doesn't truly begin until a team loses one on its home court, a saying that the Utah Jazz is taking to heart this evening as it preps for game 3 (6:00 pm PST, ESPN).  But even if the notion that L.A. merely held serve is indeed the case, that doesn't mean a shift of venues works as a Robitussin-style cure all.  Only thirteen teams in NBA history have pulled out a series after falling behind, 2-0.  Of course, there's a difference between long odds and impossible ones, a fact this Utah squad knows via firsthand experience. They also come armed with a coach who knows a thing or two about teaching an effective pick and roll.  Plus, they consider themselves in possession of an ace in the hole, an arena with everything from  deafening volume to a motorcycling bear that's capable of creating a boxed in effect on the home team.  That boisterous crowd isn't afraid to get in a player's ear, even ex-Jazzman Derek Fisher, whose 365-day-old story is considered inspirational by everyone but the SLC residents (and speaking of anniversaries, nearly 11 years ago to the day, Kobe Bryant used a high-profile failure in Utah to gain wisdom for a brilliant career). 

And since the Lakers had to catch a flight to "The SLC" (as the kids like to call it), practice more or less concluded the minute doors were open to us media types.  Many players bolted quickly after shooting their final baskets, and those who stuck around didn't talk at great length.  Thus, the day was low on quirky details we live to share... save for one little nugget involving Ronny Turiaf and DJ Mbenga.  I'm not sure what prompted this, but the two seemed to be engaging in some kind of contest involving penalty pushups.  It wasn't like Turiaf and Mbenga were channeling their inner "boot camp."  We're talking two or three in a row, tops.  And both (along with any teammates who happened to see) were cracking up, so whatever stakes were involved (quite possibly just the pushups) were clearly of a light variety.  But every so often, one would call out for the other to drop and press some floor.  DJ even whipped off a set while standing next to a bunch of writers and a camera crew.  Both took off before I had a chance to ask what the deal was, leaving me no earthly idea what the hell they were doing.  But I'd be lying if I claimed it wasn't oddly amusing.

UPDATE: Kobe has been named unanimously to the All-NBA First Team.  No real shock there, but still pretty impressive.

In case you missed the top of the show last night...

BK

If Staples Center featured an Ouzo vendor (and if the powers that be thought outside the box a bit, they would), you'd have heard plenty of that chant getting hollered throughout the building on Wednesday.  Twas a night for celebration in the ol' Staples Center shack, decreed underway by Kobe Bryant upon receiving his MVP trophy and hitting another level of "par-tay" with the Lakers' 120-110 win over the Jazz. 

In the case of the latter event, the home squad ensured a celebratory vibe by riding out whatever was thrown their way.  With the benefit of a geeked crowd in his pocket, Kobe was met with a wide variety of defenders assigned to shadow.  And while Matt Harpring was the most relatively effective, 34 points on 11-18 shooting reflects nobody really stopping The Mamba.  They weathered a huge second half from Deron Williams, one that could have been more effective had D.Will's rocky opening not have helped keep the Jazz permanently out of sync.  In particular, Carlos Boozer found the sledding tough, mostly dividing his time between taste testing Gatorade flavors on the bench and struggling to stroke nylon.   But at least he found some company from his mates in the latter struggle.  The Jazz entered a boatload of FGA's into the box score, but didn't find nearly the same numbers when it came to actual makes (45).

The Lakers entered Wednesday night's Game 2 against Utah having never lost on a night where Kobe Bryant was presented with an MVP trophy.  For that matter, the Lakers had yet to suffer a blemish during their playoff run, going a perfect 5-0.  Both records stayed pure after a 120-110 win over the Jazz.  The Lakers held the Jazz to 45% shooting and had plenty of practice defending them, what with the Jazz putting up 101 attempts (which dwarfed the Lakers' 68, although the home team's connected at 57%).   Along with racking up FGA's, the Jazz also seemed hell bent on picking up as many fouls as possible.  Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur each fouled out and Carlos Boozer spent most of the game in foul trouble, which helps explain LA's 43-16 advantage in FT's attempted.  Deron Williams came through with a monster second half (22/5, 4-4 from behind the arc), but his bad opening 24 minutes mirrored his teammates, who weren't able to put together a good rhythm before the break.

For their part, the Lakers occasionally suffered lapses on both sides of the ball (or simply competed against a quality playoff squad, depending on how realistic your POV), but were never in anything remotely resembling danger when it came to holding the stick's short end.  When they needed stops, they came.  When big shots were required, they fell.  Sasha Vujacic led the bench with a dozen points. Lamar Odom had sixteen boards and a pair of blocks to complement his 19 points, barely falling short of the scoring pace set by fellow starters Pau Gasol (20) and Derek Fisher (22).  And Kobe Bryant performed in a manner that confirmed his hardware worthiness, a 34/8/6 stat line on 11-18 shooting and a near perfect 11-12 at the line.

Finally, a factoid that occurred to me on this momentous day in Laker history. Kobe Bryant has never won MVP without playing a full season with Coby Karl.  Chew on that one for a while.

The breakdown is below, courtesy of BK.

AK       

You would think on a night where he won the MVP award, PJ would choose to start Kobe.  Odd that he's not.

Just kidding.  A lot of people believe that this game is the series, so to speak, at least as it relates to Utah's ability to actually win it.  Can't say I disagree.  At the very least, a solid effort tonight puts the Jazz in a serious hole. 

BK with the first.

FIRST QUARTER:

11:00- AK 47 and Vlad Rad trade buckets, both on jumpers from the perimeter, then Kirilenko comes back on the other end, posts up Vlad, and pulls the little up and under.  Good lord, he's got some seriously long limbs. 

9:45- Odom takes the ball from the top of the key and aggressively gets to the rack.  Little spin move, and puts up the floater before AK could get there. 

Very little going on pregame beyond what we've already posted in terms of adjustments, what to watch for, and all that analytical stuff. Phil Jackson's media time was more about Kobe's MVP than the game. The big news, of course, was the latest installment of the Andrew Bynum Medical Update.  Here's basically how it breaks down, as explained by the kind folks in PR:

-- Bynum saw Dr. Steven Getcha in New Jersey today, and the diagnosis was... murder! No, wait. The diagnosis was... more waiting. There has been some improvement but definitely not enough to start real basketball activities. He can likely do therapy and treatment if he's feeling well enough but don't expect tall buildings to be leaped, no matter the number of bounds. They're going to wait three to four more weeks, then re-examine him and decide if he'll need an arthroscopic procedure, which would be somewhat exploratory in nature, to try and figure out exactly what isn't going as it should. Not a whole lot new, medically speaking, it seems.

So there you have it. If it wasn't already -- and really, it was -- it's pretty clear now that Bynum's recovery has stalled. Now they're trying to figure out why. 

AUDIO:  Jackson, talking mostly about Kobe. As I said, worth a listen, and we'll probably pull some quotes later or tomorrow. Interesting stuff.

• Download phil_jackson_5.7.mp3

BK

Clearly I'm not going out on a limb when I say tonight's Game 2 is absolutely massive for Utah. Good as they are at home, should they fall behind 2-0 to the Lakers, the idea that they could rip off four of the next five seems a little far-fetched. Could it happen? Sure. Would I put any money on it?  Maybe yours, but not mine. With that in mind, expect the Jazz to come out hard from moment one, and keep the pressure on the Lakers all night. A few things to look for:

• Pau Gasol: The Jazz beat him up, and clearly had the lanky, limby Spanaird out of sorts for much of the game Sunday. But they couldn't limit him for 48 minutes, and despite having what seemed to be a relative off night, Gasol still made big contributions at the beginning and end of the game. I'd be shocked if Jerry Sloan didn't continue to throw more physical play his way. 
• Pace: Both teams can push when they want, but it might be in the Lakers' best interest to try and run a little more than they did in Game 1. The break creates space and minimizes contact. It can also help draw Utah (no slouches on the run, by the way) out of their very disciplined, often punishing offensive sets. Of course, to make that happen, they'll have to keep Utah away from the rim and off the offensive glass.
• Kobe: What does Sloan throw at him, and does that include the parade of fouls that sent Bryant to the line 23 times in Game 1? Probably not.  Sloan said after the game that his team needs to do a better job of guarding Kobe without fouling. At the same time, it's important to be physical with him. You can see the bind they're in...
• The Push: The Lakers have developed the ability to do that San Antonio thing, where they can play even with an opponent for a stretch, then crank it up a few degrees to a level that can't be met. A four-point lead swells to 10 or 12, and suddenly the entire complexion of the game changes. It's not a question of running teams out of the gym but slowly squeezing them through the doors. If the Lakers turn the screws on Utah tonight, will they be able to match it? By the way, Utah is good enough to have this work in its favor too.

Click below for more Game 2 thoughts from around the Interweb... 

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Join us for Purple, Gold, and Blue at 11 am.  Our guests will be Eric Pincus of Hoopsworld.com and Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune.  Click the show widget on the side of the page, or go straight to our show page by clicking here.

And for those confused, it's not Utah's Kyrylo Fesenko (whose outright snubbing by the voters was nothing short of disgraceful). For that matter, it wasn't an international player at all, breaking a three-season trend mirroring the NBA's current path. The award winner in question was Kobe Bean Bryant, who wound up outdistancing Chris Paul of the Hornets by a fairly sizable margin after a season spent seemingly neck and neck with the young point. The afternoon was often loose, with Luke Walton and Tex Winter taking on the role of wise apple reporters, spontaneous acts that clearly amused Bryant. But the degree to which the honor affected Kobe on an emotional level was never lost amid the laughs.  He thanked his teammates profusely, stressing that he wouldn't be standing on that stage without their great play. There was also acknowledgment of his off-season displeasure that should have been handled differently, as well as praise for the front office's decisions (albeit in a manner some found perplexing). Plus, the words every Lakers fan never get tired of hearing. Kobe wants to remain in purple and gold until he hangs up his uni for good. 

SportsHubLA.com gathers up all their best Kobe-centric articles into a neat, tidy bundle.

• Practice was pretty much a ghost town once the gym opened up to us media types.  I'm guessing guys wanted to bolt, grab a quick something to eat, then hit the Sheraton Gateway Hotel for the award presentation (which can be viewed here, for those who haven't seen it yet).  Few players stuck around to talk, and the ones that did, didn't stay long.
  
  Much has been made about Kobe's evolution as a leader, a progression that has hit previous high points but never with such a sustained positive effect or result over the course of a season.  "He's been growing as a leader ever since I got here when the whole (Shaq era) team split up," said Luke Walton when asked about Kobe's 2007-2008 floor captain stint.  "This year, as far as leadership and being involved with the team, it's the best job that he's done.  Bringing everyone together.  Getting everyone to want to play for him and win for him." 
  
  Walton cited approaches such as taking teammates out to dinner, spending more time explaining opposition nuances, and arguably the most important element, having the patience to ride out results that aren't perfect.  "I think before, he used to be a lot more negative towards his teammates as opposed to now, pulling people to the side, talking to them.  Figuring out ways to figure it out together, instead of just coming down hard on them."

AK will have more soon, but here are a few links to some MVP-related material:

A clip of the press conference, and Ric Bucher discussing Kobe's worthiness as an MVP winner.  If you'd like to see the entire thing, this one from KCAL9/CBS2 should do the trick.   

For those of you interested in margin of victory, the vote table is contained herein. 

BK

"It" being Kobe's ownership of the MVP trophy, which will be formally pronounced his at a hotel press conference this afternoon.  To put this in reality TV speak, Kobe's "journey" to this point has been quite the ride, even within the context of just 2007-2008.  But here we are, with Kobe being recognized for being essentially impossible to guard, as his teammates can knowledgeably attest.  Those same teammates are also bearing the fruit of Kobe's play this season, specifically the confidence he's created in them by allowing them a little more leeway.  But all heralding aside (and warranted), don't expect Kobe to get caught up in hoopla and lose his playoff focus.  He, along with the entire roster, remain aware of the tasks still at hand, like getting their hands on more loose balls.  The lion's share of step up will have to come from Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, but a group effort will be needed for the Lakers to iron out a rebounding margin leaving them shortchanged.  Rebounding is often a matter of tussle willingness, but whether or not a lack thereof is causing the glass eating woes, matching Utah's physicality is also being labeled a must for game two.  The Lakers spent much of the game pushed around in victorious fashion, if that makes sense.  The Jazz to-do list is topped by a mission to keep the Mamba from kicking it so often at the line, which will require a team-wide improvement on the defensive end.  That would include the man called D-Will.

First, the big off-court news: Andrew Bynum will get another opinion on his knee - this would be the third (at least that we know about), after the Lakers team surgeon and Dr. David Altcheck, who had treated Bynum when he was still a high schooler in New Jersey.  This time, he's back on an eastbound plane to see Dr. Steven Getcha.  The visit will come Wednesday in Princeton, NJ.  The problem, as it was described to me, was continued "pain and discomfort."  We'll try to find more about the situation (not much was given away at practice), and certainly after he's examined, there will be more information, but my guess is that Camp Bynum is trying to figure out where to go from here, and see if there's something they should be trying that they're not. Just a guess, though. 

OK, now on to the practice scene. First of all, the Lakers continue to get a lot more popular. The size of the media throng is growing like one of those weird Katamari balls.  It's sort of kill or be killed in there, which you'll see manifested in the angle at which I shot the Kobe video today.  I happened to be standing in the right spot when Kobe came out of the locker room, and suddenly found myself inside the biggest scrum I'd seen since I quit playing rugby.  As a result, I'm shooting from about a foot away on a guy who is about eight inches taller than I am. 

For those of you whose love of 24 extends to what might be inside his nose, well, today is your lucky day!