Sunday funday, indeed.

Breakdown below.

The first came as a 21 year-old on March 12, 2000 in LA against the Sacramento Kings, the 100th nearly 10 years later, Tuesday night in the Lakers' 106-93 win over the Pistons at Staples. In between were 98 more games in which Kobe Bryant scored 40 points or more (click here for the full list). It was the second time he lit up the Pistons, but every team in the league has been a victim: The Kings (four times), Spurs (3), Warriors (7), Raptors (4*), Rockets (8), Cavs (1), Charlotte/New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (3), Charlotte Bobcats (1), Grizzlies (6), Celtics (4), Sixers (2), Sonics (7), Suns (6), Jazz (5), Knicks (5), Nuggets (6), Hawks (1), Bulls (1), Mavericks (5), Pacers (1), Clippers (5), Heat (1), Bucks (1), Wolves (2), Nets (1), Magic (2), Blazers (4), and Wizards (3). 

"It's a tremendous honor. It's just a lot of work," Kobe said Tuesday night. "A lot of work that went into it, and it's amazing to kind of look back on that and have 100 of those games." 

You saw Kobe's laugh when asked if he had 100 more in him. That's probably too much to ask, even of him. But anyone who can do this certainly has plenty in the tank.

BK

*Question: Should 81 technically make it five?

Order, she has been restored.

Breakdown below...

Fair to say the Lakers handled the first half of their toughest back-to-back to date with style. 

Breakdown below.

It was Wednesday's big news from El Segundo, more so than the presence on the practice court of Matt Lauer. No disrespect intended, but the big Spaniard's balky right hammy it a lot higher on the pecking order for Lakers fans than anything coming up on the Today Show.

First, the video:

So there you have it- Pau Gasol, rocking the elliptical machine when the media was let in- will be on the treadmill Thursday, and if he recovers well, Friday. From there, it's a question of getting back on the practice court, playing at full speed and recovering well. For multiple practices, I would think. Looking at the schedule, that takes him into next week at the earliest.

After the big, TV camera-laden throng dispersed, Gasol answered a few questions for us print/web types, addressing first the comment from the video that he had "skipped a few steps" in the initial stages of his rehab. The full transcript is below. 

Gave myself a nice shave of the dome before heading to the arena tonight. With a machete and some Barbasol, far as you know.

More breakdown below.

We kicked it around in Thursday's PodKast, it's being discussed in reasonably wide circles around the NBA: The bench is an issue for the Lakers. This is not a state secret, but is counter to the Great Purple and Gold Depth Narrative constructed a couple seasons back, and as we all know those can be slow to change.

When everyone is healthy (something we won't see Friday night against the Grizzlies at Staples, as both Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum are expected to miss the game) the Lakers have incredible frontcourt depth, top end depth, and versatility, which I consider a form of depth. Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom. That's a serious quintet, with potentially overwhelming length and mobility on both ends of the floor, great passing skills, post play for days (fancy new stuff, too, in the case of 24) and matchup options that would make most coaches jealous.

Define deep as having a reliable and lengthy bench and it's tougher for the Lakers to compete, at least as it stands this morning. No question, once Lamar Odom, as impactful a sixth man as any in the league, resumes that role it'll solve a lot of problems. We saw last year how much his presence helps elevate the rest of the reserves, and behind him among the forward/centers, the red-hot Josh Powell and DJ Mbenga are more than adequate given their spots in the rotation. Luke Walton has a utility to the Lakers that makes him a handy rotation/role guy. When people talk about depth and bench issues with the Lakers, they're referring to the backcourt, where Phil Jackson is currently sorting through Shannon Brown, Sasha Vujacic, and Jordan Farmar in an effort to find a stable backup to Bryant and a way to better manage Derek Fisher's minutes.

Sorting is a good word for it, too.

At best, it helps clear the memory of Friday's pre-Halloween horror show. At worst, it takes the edge off a Monday morning. Particularly one accompanied by an iconic Allman Brothers album.

More stuff below, filled with (as that cute kid from those new Windows commercial calls them) lots of happy words.

That'll take some shine off Tuesday's ring ceremony, no?

More commentary below.

The ESPN news magazine put together an interesting feature on Ron Artest well worth a viewing:

A few things stick out. First, almost every clip of Artest causing problems comes in an Indiana jersey. Time has passed, and while it's foolish to say Artest has reached Derek Fisher levels of stability and maturity, it's also not fair to judge him entirely by events that played out earlier in the decade. Bottom line, he's not a bad guy, and context matters. The structure for him to succeed in LA is there. And that clip about knowing his role relative to Kobe is hilarious.

BK