I'm not sure that lighting does me any favors.

Anyway, the breakdown, plus heaps of video, is below...

BK

(Get it? Buzzing? Hornets? BZZZZZZZZZ!!!! Took a team of writers to come up with that headline...)

Looking for another indication everything's coming up Lakers these days? Take tonight's matchup with the 7-10 New Orleans Hornets at Staples. The Hornets, 1-8 on the road after losing Sunday night in Sacramento, will be short not only Chris Paul, on the sidelines since wrenching his ankle on Nov. 14 in Portland, but likely Peja Stojakovic as well. Considering how easily the Lakers handled NOH earlier this month, back when all hands were on deck and Byron Scott still had a gig, one expects most of the Vegas money on this one shift to a decidedly purple and gold direction.

Granted, it's not all gloom and doom in New Orleans. Since GM Jeff Bower took over for Scott a couple weeks ago, there have been a few positive developments for the Hornets. 2nd round pick Marcus Thornton has found his way onto the court a lot more, and is providing a spark and some scoring punch. CP3's injury has hastened the development of former Bruin Darren Collison, all of which has contributed to a 4-3 mark since Paul went down, including wins over Phoenix and Atlanta.

But those wins all came at home, and more importantly the Hornets haven't gotten any taller or deeper or Hilton Armstrong-y since the first time they came to Staples this year, when the Lakers used their superior size to crush them inside (and that was without Pau Gasol). Nor can the Hornets count on the Lakers playing down to their level. These days, LA is getting out fast against lesser teams. A couple years ago, the Hornets seemed destined for a higher designation. These days, it's the only way to describe them.

More Lakers/NBA news and notes below the jump...

First things first, he's not going anywhere. I'd be shocked- I'm talking flying-hippos-Best Picture-nomination- for-Ninja Assassins-Supreme Court-appointment-for-Ron Jeremy shocked- if Kobe Bryant's next contract wasn't inked with the Los Angeles Lakers, but the how and when is still a little iffy, in no small part due to the labor climate taking shape in the NBA. On the other hand, the extension considered a foregone conclusion a few months ago hasn't been signed. What gives?

Salary cap guru Larry Coon, writing for the New York Times, explains:

"...The real reason might be that signing an extension isn’t his best course of action. Bryant can guarantee himself more money by first becoming a free agent, and then re-signing with the Lakers. The reason for this is pretty obscure — the salary in the first year of an extension cannot exceed the player’s maximum salary (105% of the player’s previous salary, or the league-wide maximum salary by years of service, whichever is greater), and it is amended downward if necessary to conform to this rule. The start of Bryant’s extension would coincide with the start of the next collective bargaining agreement, which could change the way maximum salaries are calculated. If it does, the salary in Bryant’s extension would be subject to the new rules. Depending on how negotiations go, it is possible he could face a significant pay cut.

However, by becoming a free agent in 2010 and signing a new contract instead, Bryant would lock in his salary entirely under the terms of the current agreement. His salary would not be subject to amendment in 2011, as it would be with an extension..."

Whether he technically enters the free agent market or not, the Lakers hold two great trump cards over any other team. First, they can pay him more. Second, there isn't another team he can go to offering a better chance at sustained, ring-generating excellence than the Lakers. So again, he's not going anywhere, but the business side of things is still pretty interesting.

BK

I have to figure the New Jersey board of Tourism doesn't appreciate this. Already one of the more frequently mocked states in our union, the Garden State is now saddled with a historically bad basketball team after the Nets were thoroughly (and predictably) dominated by the Lakers Sunday night at Staples. Final score, 106-87. It was Jersey's 17th straight loss to open the 2009-10 season, tying a gruesome NBA record and setting them up to be the object of rubbernecker affection until they somehow manage to scratch out a win.

But while the Lakers are sympathetic, they still had a job to do, and had no interest in screwing around in the process. They built a 15 point lead by the end of the first quarter, and added another 10 to that by halftime, continuing a recent trend of strong and focused play early in games against inferior competition (I'd say the Nets qualify in that department). It was LA's fifth straight win since the return of Pau Gasol, each coming by more than 20 points, a figure that must look particularly cruel relative to what the Nets are experiencing. The box score will show strong nights for Kobe Bryant, whose 30 points included 15 from beyond the arc, the first time this season Kobe has exploded from distance, Jordan Farmar (15 points), and Gasol (20/9/7). 

The opponent was soft enough to leave the Lakers time for a little pregame introspection, with Lamar Odom quizzing fellow reserves on their very nature, something Sasha Vujacic struggled to handle.

Other Lakers/NBA notes below the jump...

The tryptophans have been ingested, absorbed, and slept off, but many of us still have another round (or three) of 'em safely stored in the fridge, the better to cap off some post-holiday lounging. Yes, the Friday after Thanksgiving is, for those without the bravery or tolerance to go shopping, about leftovers. And maybe college football, but definitely leftovers.

With that in mind, here are some thoughts and quotes I intended to put up Wednesday in the wake of Tuesday night's win over the Knicks, but didn't get the chance before the holiday. Starting with... the bench!

Phil Jackson was rightly disappointed in how his team performed in the fourth quarter, one in which the visitors outscored the Lakers 28-17, cutting into a large lead and requiring unnecessary run from Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest in the last five minutes. Nor was this the first time the reserves, when given a chance to ice a game (and get the starters iced down), failed to perform. As a group, the reserves were a putrid 4-22. This is not exactly salve for depth-concerned fans.

As we kicked around during this week's podcast, garbage time can be difficult to measure, at least in the context of deciding how good the bench really is. It shouldn't happen, but human nature makes it tough to play with the same sort of discipline and focus with a 25 point lead, as opposed to five or ten. (The same thing often happens to starters.) End of the bench players, by definition, are more limited as players, meaning when they're all on the floor at once the margin for error goes down. Add in a natural tendency to try and use that time to earn more PT during parts of the game where more than tacos are at stake, and it doesn't take a rockets scientist to see where things can go off the rails.

You can feast on both parts and still have puh-lenty of room for tomorrow's turkey!  Doesn't get any better than that!

Part I: As Thanksgiving looms, BK and I count our Laker-centric blessings: That Pau Gasol is back, looking good, and creating a positive ripple effect throughout the roster. That Kobe Bryant is still getting it done to the point where he's a legit "Lakers G.O.A.T." candidate with 5-7 years worth of chapters theoretically left to write. And that our employment means watching considerably more purple and gold than red, white and blue. From a totally neutral standpoint, as guest Geoff LaTullipe recently shared in a very funny article, the Laker experience is way better, unless you're just a glutton for underdog punishment. 

Part II: An extended sit down with director Spike Lee, in L.A. to promote Tuesday's DVD release of "Kobe: Doin' Work."  The first Oscar nominated guest in our poddy's history, so that's pretty exciting.  Lee gave us a boatload of time (nearly forty minutes), allowing us to cover a wide range of subjects:

Kobe, whose game is clearly admired by Lee, but his game intelligence perhaps even more.  The New York Knicks, past and, gulp, present.  Hip hop's presence in the NBA.  "He Got Game," and why Lee decided to cast Ray Allen as the lead.  "Do The Right Thing," now twenty years old and still relevant.  Discussing that film was a particular treat for me, as it allowed the opportunity to ask a continually burning question I've had about the riot scene.  Whether you're a fan of Lee's filmography or not, we're confident you'll find it an interesting conversation.

Oddly enough, we also discussed Allen Iverson, who Lee was disappointed went unsigned by the Knicks. BK and I disagreed, but we all concurred that if a brief stay in Memphis was indeed Iverson's last stop, it's an awful way for a storied career to end. Lee remained confident AI will play again, but that was before his retirement announcement.

(Also, for those who didn't hear/see either on the first go round, here's yesterday's Lunch with a Legend interview with Lee. GREAT story about the origin of the Reggie Miller-Spike feud.)

AK

Photo: Spike Lee.  Credit: Fred Prouser / Reuters

Tuesday night at Staples, the Lakers beat the Knicks 100-90 in a game that generally speaking, wasn't that close. Kobe Bryant, as has become his custom, torched the visitors for 34 points on 14-20 from the floor. The box score will show a steady 17/7/4 from Ron Artest, 17/8 from Andrew Bynum, and 16 rebounds for Pau Gasol. Derek Fisher continued a run of strong games, scoring 12 points to go with six boards and four assists. As a team, the Lakers outboarded New York 60-36, and held them under 40% from the floor.

All well and good. The Knickerbockers are, a wretched team. Truly awful. After last night's loss, they're 3-11, and to paraphrase Bull Durham, how the hell did they win three? Take away the storied jersey, the rich history, and the constant presence of Spike Lee (who sat down with us for an extended interview Tuesday afternoon) and they're just another bottom-feeder, one the Lakers should dispatch without incident. That, more or less, is what happened. It's all relative, but relatively speaking Tuesday's game was pretty boring, and on many nights boring is ideal for LA. It means nobody got hurt, that game wasn't in danger. Boring is just fine.

That doesn't mean it was particularly well played. The same box score will show 25 Lakers turnovers (six for Artest) and a fourth quarter won 28-17 by the Knicks, requiring what should have been unnecessary minutes late in the game from Kobe and Ron Ron. Overall, the bench was outscored 41-9 and shot 4-22. Judging garbage time is always difficult, but while Phil Jackson classified the mid-game performance of the reserves as decent-ish enough, the last eight minutes of the game left a bad taste in his mouth, and the team knows they have to close out big leads with more efficiency. 

In the end, though, it makes more sense to focus on what the Lakers have done of late. Four straight wins by double digits. Since Gasol's return, their point differential is nearly 14 points a night. There is, on this Thanksgiving Eve, much to be grateful for.

More Lakers/NBA news below...

Okay, Kobe Bryant, I'll see your behind the backboard shot and raise you one of these:

After the game, Kobe said nobody he's seen- whether teammates, opponents, or himself- gets up like Shannon Brown. He never saw AK pre-ACL injury, but that aside, who am I to argue?  I was fortunate enough to be on the side of the floor where the oop went down, and fair to say it led to a momentary suspension of the standard media-row prohibition on "Holy **@&#!" reactions to on-court events. That play could have raised the dead.

More on the game to come.

BK

From Sunday's game against the Thunder. The next guy to shoot is almost guaranteed to get an "H..."

For his next trick, I want to see Kobe do this...

BK

The headline sums things up pretty well...

...but we've been told our posts need to be...

...at least three lines long so they can be picked up by Google searches.

BK