Ironic that this post arrives on a day with almost no Lakers coverage (a little L.A. Times here, a little Daily News there), but this exceptional day proves a saturated seasonal norm.  After Sunday's win over Golden State, I arrived at Fish's locker as he wrapped up a response to another writer's question. I only caught the tail end, but heard enough to get the gist of his answer and the preceding question, having witnessed a zillion versions of both many times over 30 games. 

Basically, Reporter X asking Player Y about the meaning of life.  And by "life," I mean, "tonight's game," since each contest is being treated with such seriousness that mankind's very existence might as well be the subject pondered.

Sorry.  The mothership hasn't called us, nor are they returning calls.  Maybe they decided to get a head start ringing in 2009.  At any rate, we apologize to the blogosphere and Forum Gold and Blue's Kurt Helin, who was kind enough to be our scheduled guest today.

None too thrilled,

AK

With just a few hours remaining before we all have to go buy new calendars, it's a good time to take a look back... so we'll continue Highly Interactive Tuesday! with a very simple Question of the Day:

What was your favorite Lakers moment of 2008? 

Suggestions include:

• The day the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol.
• This season's Christmas win over Boston.
• Kobe's 29/10/8 in an April 12th win over CP3 and New Orleans that clinched his MVP candidacy in the minds of many media types and clinched the Pacific for the Lakers.

Use those as a jumping off point.  Feel free to go with your heart. 

BK

Give it up to Julia for setting the bar high.  Breakin' out the photoshop!  This is some good work! 

Got this pic in the K-Bros inbox (kambrothers@yahoo.com) with a note from Dan in Ventura: "I absolutely love this picture.  Nothing gets me more fired up for this season and our rivalry with the hated Celtics.  The look on Kobe’s face as the two stars of Boston are spewing hatred at him is an utterly confident and defiant “I’m going to end you” look.  Please make a big deal out of this."

Dan, fired up, as I'm sure all of you are!  But technically, of course, we don't actually know what those two are saying to Kobe... which makes it perfect for our first Lakers Blog Caption That Photo! Contest.  Remember, keep it clean.  Best entries get props on the most widely read Lakers Blog the LA Times has to offer, and steaming hot bowls of pride.

Go forth and caption!

BK

(Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

Monday was a day of rest for the Lakers- Doc Rivers wishes KG had the same opportunity- which provided Kobe Bryant an opportunity to put his feet up, relax and bask in the glow of his Western Conference Player of the Week honors.  The award would come as no surprise to Don Nelson, who recently praised Kobe's drastically improved leadership and ability to make his teammates better.  The result is a Lakers squad that has similarly earned the respect of Nellie's soldiers.

Kobe's also doing pretty well in that whole "All-Star" voting dealie.  As for other Lakers, Andrew Bynum is third among centers and Pau Gasol is sixth in the always brutal W.C. forward category.

OTHER NOTES

• Give blood, get free Thunder tix.  Give blood, anyway.
• After injuries forced a bigger and successful Pistons lineup, Michael Curry might play either Rip (upon returning to action) or A.I. off the bench.
• Boston and Cleveland may get all the Eastern love, but the Hawks are on a pretty solid winning pace of their own.
• Some introspective thoughts from Sacto C Mikki Moore, whose teammate Kevin Martin could be back in action tonight against the Clips.
• Baron Davis thinks close bud Jax misunderstood him, because he's cool in L.A.  Which works out great, since Corey Maggette doesn't want another go around with the Clips.
• Ricky Buckets suspended five games for drug violation.
• Steve Nash is confident his back spasms won't lead to a long absence.
• O.J. Mayo and Kevin Love finally square off, but Al Jefferson swipes the spotlight.

The common theme of the Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom and Sasha Vujacic jabber: The future.  As in, "What it holds and how to ensure that unknown commodity is as positive as possible."  LO and Sasha both discussed what it would take for a "down the road" that resulted in a league best record (Marc Stein has the Lakers' back for the time being).  In LO's mind, it's about using that standing as motivation to be "perfect."  Sasha had a bit of a Freudian Slip, noting the difference that homecourt could make in the Finals, then quickly catching himself and acknowledging that you gotta earn a trip first.   

As for Fish, his thoughts centered around a much shorter horizon, one that began today and featured no practice (ditto tomorrow), providing a chance to recharge the batteries.  Every Laker has a bump or bruise worth nursing. In particular, guys like Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, in the midst of an endless roundball campaign (plus, by Fish's own admission, a certain 34 year-old point guard whose minutes may rise a touch) will benefit greatly from a little R & R. 

Click below the jump to watch the boxes talk and stuff.

AK

With Jordan Farmar out, I know the point guard situation is front and center on the minds of many fans, so with that in mind, I thought I'd weigh in on a couple issues:

• PJ reiterated after the game that the team is in no hurry to fill Farmar's slot on the roster.  There's a good chance the team could simply wait it out. 
• Chatter before the game Sunday night indicated bringing Jannero Pargo back from Russia is pretty complicated. Then, of course, there's the issue of what the Lakers would have to pay him.  They're not looking to add much to an already high payroll, and if Pargo manages to escape his contract there could be teams able to outbid Dr. Buss.  While I think he'd be a decent addition for sure, Pargo isn't worth any commitment that might impact LA's ability to re-sign Trevor Ariza.

On the heels of a big win over the Boston Celtics (a multi-faceted victory at that), the biggest concern among Lakers fans was the threat of a fizzled encore Sunday night at Staples.  Particularly against a Warriors squad with only nine wins on the resume and garnering more ink of late for Stephen Jackson and Don Nelson's residence on opposite pages than any success on the court.  They're far from perfect, except in their potential to serve as a snafu of sorts. (Right, Boston?)  But such fears were vanquished with swift reassurance during a 130-113 win over Golden State, a victory that saw the Lakers establish control and never let up.  Kobe Bryant managed to rack 31 points without even stepping foot on the hardwood in the fourth quarter and saw that fine effort bolstered by the supporting players.   

GSW's defensively challenged front court opted to double Pau Gasol every time he touched the pill, which set up El Spaniard to become more play maker than scorer in the box score.  Derek Fisher went 9-12 from the field for his 19 points and even unheralded dudes like Josh Powell made the highlight reel in Showtime-worthy fashion.