As you're watching the Lakers on most given nights, do you ever get the sense that Chris Mihm is growing frustrated with the refs? Well, that's only because he is. And he doesn't quite know what to do about it. I imagine Mihm would be the first to admit, there are many nights where he's matched against a big with more pure skill than him. But in his mind, that's nothing compared to challenge provided by the whistle blowers, who often make his life hell. No doubt, Mihm's productivity is more directly related to his foul count than any other single factor. And unless Odom feels like working the post, L.A. has basically no inside scoring when Mihm's parked on the pine. Thus, his whistle tally is a legit issue for the team as well.

I talked briefly with Mihm after Wednesday's loss to Memphis, a night where he nonetheless played very well (15 and 11, plus 2 blocks). Coincidence that he also didn't rack up much (relatively speaking) in the foul department (only 4, in an OT game)? Not likely. We didn't speak much about the game itself, as I figured the game would be analyzed plenty on the blog as it was. Instead, I focused the conversation mostly on the refs and his relationship with them, a situation that will remain relevant as the Lakers look to make a playoff push. Here's what he had to say.

During the preseason, you couldn't find an NBA analyst, journalist or expert not making a variation of same "Lakers starting point guard" joke, all of which ended with the punchline, "Smush Parker."

Look who's laughing now.

To say Smush has turned a few heads after three games would be a serious understatement. Granted, it's still early, and the question remains whether he can do this for 82 games. But what began as an under the radar free agency signing has turned into an electric roster addition. I figured fans don't know much about the journeyman PG- save 16 games last season with Phoenix and Detroit, he's been playing in Europe and the NBDL since 2003- so after Sunday's win against Denver, I talked a bit with the man of the hour. The conversation began with Smush discussing his decision to leave Fordham early in 2002.  He went undrafted, signing with the Cavs as a free agent. The rest, as they (and he) would say, is history in the making.