Lakers guard Kobe Bryant

Lakers Coach Mike Brown

Lakers forward Pau Gasol

Lakers forward Metta World Peace

Lakers forward Troy Murphy

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--Mark Medina

E-mail the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

Should the NBA lockout persist for a while, Kobe Bryant should just spend every day collecting checks from rapper Bow Wow.

It won't require a lot of effort. He's guaranteed to make money. And he doesn't put his body at risk whatsoever.

For reasons unknown to anyone who's remotely familiar with basketball, Bow Wow challenged Bryant at his basketball camp to a game of one-on-one, wagering the rights to his next single. Naturally, the Black Mamba didn't shy away from the challenge ... err, the chance to steal candy from a baby, and humiliated him in the process. But Bow Wow wouldn't let it go. He then challenged Bryant to a rematch worth $1,000 where he could only shoot jumpers. Bryant walked away $1,000 richer with an easy way to gradually build more strength in his knee. (Note: The video contains language that some viewers might find objectionable.)

Clearly, Bow Wow doesn't subscribe to the theories of Gambling 101. One of those includes not making bets you don't have any sense of a chance of actually winning. (Credit to Laker Nation's Kam Pashai for finding this video.)

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-- Mark Medina

Email the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

Photo: Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, shown here in a regular season game, just recently beat rapper Bow Wow pretty easily in a game of one-on-one. Credit: Cary Edmondson / US Presswire / April 13, 2011 )

I have an afternoon flight to catch to go out East, so I'll just provide the rundown of Mike Brown's comments prior to the NBA Draft, followed by a links post. There'll be plenty of time for further analysis later, but below are the basic points of emphasis that came out of Brown's 13-minute interview.

-- Brown said he hasn't finalized putting together his coaching staff. He also contended that he hasn't officially added anyone on his staff, though numerous reports indicate Ettore Messina has already joined. 

-- Brown sounded incredibly apathetic to the whole situation surrounding Kobe Bryant's continued silence on the hire. As The Times' Mark Heisler recently reported, Bryant eventually took a liking to Brown's philosophies but remains mute about the Lakers' coach in hopes the front office fully understands his displeasure about not being consulted about the hire.

-- The coach shared that Bryant's offensive role will entail finding his "sweet spots" and involve a mix of on- and off-the-ball movement.

Bearing smiles on their faces Thursday, Lakers center Andrew Bynum and forward Pau Gasol conversed with each other, worked on post-up drills with assistant coach Chuck Person and appeared incredibly at ease.

Bearing smiles on their faces, guards Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher and Shannon Brown cracked jokes and shot free throws together, with Bryant even rebounding some of Fisher's shots.

And bearing a smile on his face, Coach Phil Jackson appeared far from concerned about the Lakers' 2-0 deficit in their Western Conference semifinal series with the Dallas Mavericks, offered a few jokes and downplayed any of the issues surrounding the defending champions.

Consider his response to Bynum's suggestion following the Lakers' 93-81 Game 2 loss Wednesday that the team has "trust issues": “I thought he was speaking about trusses, and my dad wore a truss. I thought that’s what he was speaking about. I don’t know the trust issue.”

And here he is playing coy with reporters wondering who would fill Ron Artest's spot in Game 3 Friday after drawing a one-game suspension for his clothesline on Dallas guard Jose Barea: "You'll know that [Friday]." And listen to what the main message he emphasized during Thursday's practice: "I thought the flogging message was really important last night. I didn't flog them physically but I did a little mental flogging today."

In turn, Bryant exuded the same playful sarcasm by dutifully noting, "We'll consider ourselves flogged," and by arguing that the Lakers' struggles are "unfixable."

There were surely visible signs surrounding the practice court, where the team exuded calmness about their current struggles. The team briefly addressed Bynum's gripe about the team having "trust issues," with Lamar Odom preparing for a possibility that he'll start at small forward in place of Artest and Jackson talked at length about the team's defensive lapses.

But the Lakers are trying to do so in a way that won't make the magnitude overwhelming, considering that only three NBA teams have ever won a seven-game series after losing their first two homes games.

"I’d like to cry but I can’t right now," Jackson said with a smile. "It’s a game and we know it’s a game and we play it and we play it hard and we anticipate winning in Dallas."

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson on 93-81 Game 2 loss to Mavericks

Lakers center Andrew Bynum

--Mark Medina

E-mail the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson

--Mark Medina

E-mail the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

--Mark Medina

E-mail the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

After converting on a right hook, Lakers forward Pau Gasol pumped his fist. After converting on an inside lob, Lakers center Andrew Bynum flexed his muscles. And after the Hornets surprisingly owned the advantage inside for most of the series, both Gasol and Bynum finally fought back with increased aggressiveness.

The Lakers' 106-90 Game 5 victory Tuesday over the New Orleans Hornets assuaged concerns for reasons besides retaking control of the series and Kobe Bryant still managing to play through pain with a sprained left ankle. It took four games longer than it should have, but Game 5 also featured the Lakers finally showcasing their superior size advantage against the Hornets in a physical nature, a quality not usually attached to the defending champions.

"We should play like that all the time," Gasol said after posting 16 points on six-of-12 shooting, eight rebounds and three blocks. "[Game 5] was a game we needed to play physical, control the boards and use our bodies."

The increased aggressiveness helped the Lakers secure the victory in so many ways. First things first, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson argued the team's 22-2 advantage in second-chance points proved to be the main variable that gave the Lakers a 3-2 series lead and a chance to close out the series Thursday in Game 6 at New Orleans. But there were plenty of other factors that helped the Lakers' cause. The Lakers outrebounded the Hornets 42-25, caused Emeka Okafor to get five fouls and Gasol, Bynum and Lamar Odom combined for 51 points.

Suddenly, Hornets Coach Monty Williams changed course from criticizing the Lakers' front line in staying in the lane too long to them playing too dirty.  

"There was more focus to be physical tonight and I know you guys saw it," Williams said after Game 5. "A lot of it, it's just not basketball. So, it's just one of those things we have to recognize and withstand and kind of play and overcome it."