Very little information to report (especially since I'm in my living room, not in Memphis), but Andrew Bynum hurt his right knee in the first quarter, after a driving Kobe fell into him under the Grizzlies' basket.  On the replay, it looked like Bynum's knee was bent straight back (the direction knees aren't supposed to go), and Bynum was clearly in a great deal of pain, but I'm certainly not going to make a diagnosis from my couch. 

On the television broadcast, KCAL's John Ireland said Bynum would get some x-rays (UPDATE: They were negative, but that really doesn't mean much) at FedEx Forum, and then the following:

"The preliminary diagnosis is that he has a sprianed right knee.  He is done for tonight, will not return.  he will undergo an MRI and more tests tomorrow in New York.  I'm told that they probably won't get a lot of information from the x-ray here.  They're going to take a look anyway.  More tests tomorrow in New York.  Sprained right knee for now, definitely out for the rest of the night."

Rarely is anything learned about these sorts of things until the next day, at the earliest, when the results of more tests can be seen.  Obviously it's not good news.  How bad remains to be seen.  So you know, it's not the same knee Bynum injured last season.

As soon as there's more to report, we'll post it. 

BK

A clean, workmanlike effort ought to do the trick.

Game chat below.

BK

As the saying goes, there are only so many hours in the day. A man has to work, he has to eat, he has to sleep, he must enjoy the occasional moment of leisure. And if he's smart, he leaves some time to spend with his wife, perhaps one that doesn't particularly enjoy watching basketball.  So that means while a man might have to keep up with the goings on around the NBA as part of his professional life, it requires that man to pick and choose what games he'll watch, and what teams he tends to ignore.

Place the Memphis Grizzlies in the latter column.  I haven't seen much of them since the Lakers squeaked away with a 105-96 win in Tennessee last month, because frankly they're not all that worthy of attention. They've lost 11 in a row (matching their win total on the season), fired the old coach and continued to struggle under the new one. They're not just losing, but losing bad. By 12.27 points a night over the course of the streak.  OJ Mayo is an exciting young player, Marc Gasol has done well, and I'm a fan of Rudy Gay. 

But getting down to brass tacks, they basically suck, and watching them on TV tends only to confirm that. 

It's not often a 16 win team can generate a case of the willies, but there were reasons to feel a hint of nervousness heading into Friday night's game in Minneapolis. After all, the Lakers were kicking off a long road trip, the Timberwolves have enjoyed a bountiful January, and Trevor Ariza was fighting the effects of a concussion.  As it turns out, there wasn't much to worry about.  The Lakers got off to a quick start then used a big third quarter en route to a 132-119 win.  It was another great night for Andrew Bynum, who ripped off his fifth straight double-double (27 points on 10-15 from the floor, 15 boards) and clearly got the best of Minnesota's would-be All Star Al Jefferson when the two of them were on the floor. Toss in 21 from Pau Gasol and it's pretty clear the Lakers were a little too long in the frontcourt for Minnesota. 

And 30 from Kobe helps, too, of course.

It was a good way to start the roadie, with the Lakers (with occasional exception) in firm control of the game throughout. Yeah, the defense could have been better, but things were still good enough to keep the minutes for non-European starters pretty reasonable. Not bad for the front end of a back-to-back.  This was one of the two non-Cleveland/Boston games on the trip that I thought could cause a stumble- Monday's game in New York is the other- I thought could cause a stumble. 

Other thoughts:

Over the last few weeks, these ain't your daddy's wolves.  Unless, of course, your father happens to be Kevin McHale.  If that's the case, I guess they are.

The jabber box is below.

AK

Are you capable of reading and listening at the same time?  If so, give this post a gander while checking out our newest 710 ESPN podkast with guest Patrick O'Neal of Fox Sports Net West (along with several acting credits, including my favorite, a nefarious teen in season one of Beverly Hills, 90210).  He also recently conducted an amusing Dodger interview with Manny Ramirez and Angel Berroa.  Patrick, BK and I discuss matters ranging from Pau Gasol's All-Star worthiness, which Laker is the best post-game interview and my brother's inability to remember days of the week.   

In terms of the written word, tonight's opponent, the Minnesota Timberwolves, take residence in butt ass cold temperatures, but the squad's been nothing but white hot this month.  A 10-3 January record has, to say the least, taken the league by slack-jawed surprise.  Granted, they've only beaten two teams with winning records (Phoenix, New Orleans), but when you're a sub-.500 yourself and the three losses were against solid teams (Utah, Detroit and Miami), it's still fairly impressive.

Before Tuesday night's game against the Bobcats, Andy and I did a quick hit for 710's new Lakers Insider show and I was asked if I thought the Lakers could gain the #1 seed through the postseason. "Yes," I said, and threw out "fifty-fifty" for odds, not a bad figure considering it's a four horse race.  I could still be right, but I don't know if Vegas would lay the same numbers I did. Honestly, I don't think I adequately considered LA's schedule to this point and going forward, especially relative to the E.C. Big Three (ECBT, as it was called on the blog, and I love a quality acronym).  Take a look at LA's remaining schedule.  It's burly.  14 home games, 24 on the road.  One six, than another seven game trip.  (Mercifully, they fly in style.)

In contrast to LA's 27 home games (not including two more quasi-homers vs. the LAC), consider the following:

• Boston: 25 home games played
• Orlando: 22
• Cleveland: 21

Considering they were leaving the balmy environs of Los Angeles for a six game roadie starting in the great white north of Minneapolis, with its snow flurries and (as of 8:30 PST) temperature of one degree- cold enough to make Prince shrink down to about 4'10"- the Lakers were awfully happy Thursday afternoon.  Good news was bountiful, from Andrew Bynum's non-suspension to Pau Gasol's All Star berth to Kobe getting perhaps the only endorsement that matters.

For Gasol, it's an honor he hopes to enjoy more than his All Star appearance. For the Lakers, it was a chance to smile a little before the start of a tough trip and a second half schedule heavy on purple unis. It begins tonight against the Timberwolves, who have won only 16 games but are one of the NBA's hottest teams, having lost only three times in January.  Suddenly what looked like a cakewalk is DVR worthy. The matchup to watch?  How about the red hot Bynum vs. Al Jefferson, passed over for the All Star team and likely motivated to make a point.  Given Jefferson's averages (22.7/10.5, one of only three 20/10 types in the league) that could be bad news for the Lakers.

More good news for the Lakers?  Trevor Ariza, who suffered a concussion Tuesday against Charlotte, made the trip.  He may not play tonight, but getting clearance to travel was a positive step. 

Anti-climatic in part because player availability was brief because everyone needed to be on the plane about 30-45 minutes after practice ended.  And anticlimatic because two speculative items discussed have since been settled. 

Andrew Bynum, as he predicted, didn't receive a suspension for Tuesday's flagrant foul on Gerald Wallace.  After just three seasons and change, he's a savvy enough vet to figure if the league didn't mention anything about a suspension when informing him that the foul was upped from "Flagrant-1" to 'Flagrant 2," he was probably in the clear.  Wise beyond his years, that Andrew Bynum. 

For his part, Pau Gasol spent some time talking about how he'd feel were he selected the All-Star reserve he now is, an honor he hasn't attempted to pretend wouldn't mean the world to him.  "If I win, I'll be truthfully excited about it.  It's something that fills me with pride and honor.  It's nice to make it and be among the best.  And if I don't, I'll be disappointed.  I've tried to play well to try to make this team be one of the best and play at a high level.  It's nice to be recognized."

League word officially in: Drew won't receive any additional penalty for his flagrant foul against Gerald Wallace, outside of it simply being made into a Flagrant-2 from its previous Flagrant-1 status.  While both BK and I felt, purple and gold glasses removed, that a suspension might have been in order, the Laker fan in me never goes too long without donning those shades over his eyes.  Thus, I'm very happy about the news.

Between that, Pau Gasol's All-Star bid and Trevor Ariza being well enough to travel for the roadie- though he's unlikely to play Friday- quite the positive day for Laker fans.

AK