After crashing out of the playoffs and a couple days of exit interviews, the Lakers faded off the front pages and into the shadows. Trust that Dwight Howard and the Lakers will dominate headlines after the playoffs—hopefully not for too long—but that story awaits the big man’s return from isolated meditation. While Howard searches for a moment of clarity, the Lakers have been doing more than just drinking fresh juice drinks by the beach.

The day after Howard stepped away from the podium and into the offseason, the torn labrum in his right shoulder was examined by Dr. James Tibone. Good news, Tibone did not deem there to be any need for an operation, so Howard avoided going under the knife this summer. Yes, the Lakers have started the off-season with positive injury news: curse broken?

Considering how anti-surgery Howard remained throughout the season and his demeanor when discussing the possibility of shoulder surgery, one has to believe D12 was jumping for joy and flashing that $100 million smile after hearing the positive prognosis.

Elsewhere in Laker Land, some Kobe Bryant memorabilia drama with his mama made the rounds.

As that story settled down, the injured Mamba found a way to fly out his wife’s favorite Italian chef for her birthday. The chef’s name was Fabrizio de Togni, and he is the master chef for Paper Moon, Vanessa Bryant’s favorite restaurant in Milan, Italy.

Seriously, Mama Bryant, Monday night alone probably cost as much as you will personally make for all of Kobe’s paraphernalia. He’s not my son, but I would have considered talking to him about auctioning off all his childhood sports belongings. Money is not a major concern for a man who is scheduled to earn $30 million next season, one would imagine. After all, he flew out a master chef from Italy, and that was just his Monday.

Anyhow, returning to the business of basketball, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni also stayed involved following his exit interview. D’Antoni trimmed down his coaching staff. Assistants Chuck Person and Bernie Bickerstaff handed in their suits at the request of the Lakers. With Eddie Jordan accepting the head coaching position at Rutgers, the Lakers assistants are now down to four assistants: Dan D’Antoni, Steve Clifford, Davin Ham, and Phil Handy.

Considering his brother is the head coach, Dan D’Antoni is likely not sweating his position. Clifford is scheduled to interview for the open head coaching position in Charlotte, so the staff may be down to three. Another addition on the defensive side of the ball would probably be welcomed by fans regardless of Clifford’s retention.

Both Ham and Handy serve as key hands-on player development coaches. These two are key personnel to warm up players, develop moves, impart knowledge, and do the dirty work on the floor in practice and before each game. For anyone who goes to Staples Center early, these are the guys passing balls, running drills, and working the players out in the hours leading up to tipoff. Ham was a bit more involved past player development, but both guys were positive people and did their jobs well.

Officially, however, the entire coaching staff remains under evaluation.

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“You have to find the silver lining in everything,” Kobe Bryant said during his exit interview Tuesday.

Kobe was responding to a question asking if his Achilles injury had unexpectedly provoked openness in the context of having teammates come and visit him at his home. Prior to his surgery, Bryant’s castle was surrounded by a moat without a bridge. The only entrance was by helicopter.

After the injury, there was a pilgrimage performed on personal time by several prominent Lakers, including possibly the next franchise player Dwight Howard.

“I think having Dwight come over at that time really strengthened our bond,” Bryant said. “He went through a situation where [during] his back surgery, he was all by himself. He had nobody there for him.

“So, I think he sees that and sees me going through this and doesn’t want me to experience the same thing that he experienced. I see that, and I understand that, and I respect that.”

For the better part of this season, Bryant and Howard had a professional relationship that was respectful on the basketball court. Howard wanted more. To say their relationship was fractured or destroyed would be a gross overstatement. However, Howard wanted more.

Howard asked for a deeper relationship. He would consistently say he wanted a personal relationship with the longtime Lakers superstar, but Bryant would respond that their relationship was exactly where it needed to be—professional.

“My love for him grew a lot that day,” Bryant said of the day Howard visited him in his home.

Bryant admitted that his professional barrier had been breached and a personal bond had been formed.

Apparently, a torn Achilles built a personal bond between Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant. It may not be the reason Howard ultimately re-signs with the Lakers, but that elevated level of personal respect surely cannot hurt when Howard eventually sits down to make his decision.

 After the Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the playoffs on Sunday night, the first round of players met with Lakers management and the media for exit interviews ahead of the offseason. Steve Nash and Metta World Peace were the biggest names scheduled for day one of exit interviews.

The interviews with the media involved discussions about the season, the future, and Jason Collins’ announcement about being gay. Every player asked about the announcement supported Collins said the announcement was a positive decision and would be roundly accepted.

“I think that it’s great that Jason [Collins]’ strong enough to come out. I think he’s going to make a huge impact on a lot of people,” Nash said.

“Whether it is a free country or not, you should be free to act and do what you want to do, as long as it’s not violent,” World Peace said when asked about the decision.

The other looming Lakers offseason topic of discussion was Dwight Howard’s upcoming free agent decision to re-sign with the Lakers or test the waters and leave LA. Jodie Meeks, who was one of Howard’s closes friends on the team this season, was asked about whether Howard had talked to him about the decision.

“I know he loves this city. I know he loves this team,” Meeks said before ultimately clarifying that he was not sure exactly what the Lakers center would do.

Howard will have his exit interview on Tuesday, but he hinted that he would take a couple weeks before commenting on his future in Southern California. “I think I’ve earned that,” Howard said after Sunday’s loss to San Antonio.

Along with Howard, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Mitch Kupchak, and Mike D’Antoni highlight the power-packed interview schedule for Tuesday.

After Tuesday, the Lakers should slowly melt into the sunset for the remainder of the playoffs.

For the few Laker fans who held out hope for a postseason win, that hope walked into the locker room at halftime after a 14-point second quarter Sunday.

The Lakers were down 52-34 at the intermission. The San Antonio Spurs were slaughtering LA in Game 4 and the sweep was on.

Then, only about two minutes into the second half, Dwight Howard earned his second technical foul and promptly exited the game and the season.

That may be the last time he appears in a Lakers jersey, and considering the way he went out, some fans were reminded of Andrew Bynum’s exit against Dallas.

The big difference: Howard kept his jersey on. Whether that means he will be back in a Lakers jersey come October remains to be seen.

“It was a like a nightmare. It’s like a bad dream, and you couldn’t wake up out of it. That’s what it felt like,” Howard said about his first season in Los Angeles.

About the time Howard was ejected, Kobe Bryant crutched his way to a seat behind the Lakers bench. The crowd rose and applauded at a point when the Lakers were down 58-37 with 8:20 remaining in the third quarter with their “best” healthy player ejected moments ago.

Bryant would even make his way into a timeout huddle, but his support on the sidelines was most poignant with 3:08 remaining in the season and the Lakers trailing by 23 points. That was the moment Pau Gasol walked to the sidelines for the last time this season, and Bryant hugged his tall and lanky friend.

The crowd rose to acknowledge their Spanish sweetheart, and although nothing is certain, it appeared to be a warm heartfelt goodbye from Lakers fans. The Lakers faithful acknowledged Gasol’s time in Los Angeles more than his just this injury-plagued season.

“I am very appreciative and thankful for our fans, for the support that they showed, and their loyalty, and their appreciation that they have for me,” Gasol said about the ovation. “That was nice.”

The Lakers 2012-13 season is over, and exit interviews for all the players are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. And the team ended the season just as they started it: injured and losing.

On Sunday, the Staples Center will likely get one final look at the 2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers, and the team on the floor and available to play on the bench offers a harsh reminder of a disappointing season that most Lakers fans would rather forget.

Metta World Peace was the most recent Lakers starter to be nixed from an injury ravaged lineup. Mike D’Antoni confirmed that Jodie Meek, Steve Nash, and World Peace would not be available for Game 4. Steve Blake and Kobe Bryant were already cemented on that list of Lakers out indefinitely.

The Lakers coach confirmed that Earl Clark would start and that Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris would retain their starting positions from Game 3. Incredibly, the Lakers are scheduled to start three different lineups in four games against the Spurs this series. Even more incredibly, all three of those lineups were never once featured in the regular season. These changes are not strategy; they are desperation.

In Game 1, the Lakers started Nash, Blake, World Peace, Pau Gasol, and Dwight Howard. That lineup had never once started together in the regular season. Game 2, that same lineup repeated, but both Blake and Nash were unable to finish the game, and both were unavailable when the series shifted to Los Angeles.

In Game 3, Andrew Goudelock, who had only joined the team for the final three games of the season, and Darius Morris, a rarely used substitute, were starting in the back court. However, the front three of World Peace, Gasol, and Howard were holding strong. World Peace’s knee was drained of fluid on game day, and he was pulled at halftime.

With World Peace ruled out of Game 4, the Lakers are starting Clark at small forward with Morris and Goudelock in the back court. Conceivably, this may be the only time these three ever start together, and they have the gargantuan task of attempting to avoid history.

If the Lakers lose on Sunday, this will be the first time the Lakers have been swept in the first round since the NBA expanded to a 16 team playoffs, and unfortunately, that is not a big “if.”

When Friday night’s Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs game tipped off at Staples Center, the Lakers had more people dressed in suits than players sitting on the bench. Along with five assistants, Jodie Meeks, Steve Blake, and Steve Nash were dressed in suits. Kobe Bryant was somewhere in the locker room receiving treatment, and only six Lakers reserves were available to play.

The Spurs did not show mercy and led by as many as 18 points in the first half.

Metta World Peace had fluid drained from his knee earlier in the morning, and before the game, he revealed that he probably would not be playing if the team was already depleted beyond anyone’s wildest expectations. However, World Peace suited up and went for it. His effort was valiant, but even his incredible mental strength could not overcome the physical reality of his injury.

World Peace did not play the entire second half, and Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni revealed that it was a coach’s call. If that was not enough, Andrew Goudelock suffered some cramping late in the third quarter and had to leave the game, too.

Goudelock would recover to play the entire fourth quarter, and the NBA D-League Most Valuable Player was a bright spark for the Lakers. He poured in 12 points on 5-6 shooting in the second quarter and finished with 20 points on the night.

Ultimately, the Lakers were simply outmatched by a better team with better quality. The Spurs scored 120 points on the night. Even with an extra quarter, this Lakers team would have a difficult time hitting that mark.

As a reminder, Kobe Bryant is out with an Achilles injury, Steve Blake is out with a hamstring injury, Jodie Meeks is out with a sprained ankle, and Steve Nash is out with a hamstring injury. Adding World Peace to that list may not be official immediately, but it appears likely World Peace is next to be listed as unavailable.

With Jordan Hill just returning from injury, Pau Gasol not at 100 percent, and Dwight Howard fighting through a torn labrum and recovering from back surgery, the Lakers look more like members of a MASH unit than a basketball team.

However, the San Antonio Spurs were not sympathetic to the Lakers' shorthanded status, and that lack of sympathy will not change between Friday and Sunday.

Game 4 is on Sunday at Staples Center at 4 pm PT.

At Lakers morning shootaround, Steve Nash walked out of the training room to talk to the media and set some reasonable expectations.

“Doubtful,” Nash said. His limp had subsided, but making it back in time for Game 3 was a race the Lakers point guard appeared to be losing. He would be a game-time decision according to Mike D’Antoni, and Jodie Meeks fell into the same category as Nash, but Meeks was even more doubtful than the 39-year-old.

Honestly speaking, Nash did not appear optimistic about playing on Friday night.

So, Andrew Goudelock is most likely to feature from the start. Darius Morris has already been guaranteed the shooting guard position, so the Lakers’ starting lineup looks like Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, Metta World Peace, and two kids.

As an added note, World Peace had 20 ccs of liquid drained from his knee ahead of Friday’s game. The liquid was not related to World Peace’s recent surgery, but it just reiterates how unhealthy the Lakers have been this season.

If that reminder was not enough, Kobe Bryant was on crutches at the practice facility during morning shootaround. He was receiving treatment from the Lakers training staff, and D’Antoni floated the idea that No. 24 would be sitting on the Lakers bench during the game. However, whether Nash joins him on that bench would not be confirmed until game time.

Aside from Morris and Goudelock, the Lakers other choice at the guard position is Chris Duhon. Duhon, however, has been more of a veteran in the locker room than an asset on the court. Duhon still draws slightly more respect from NBA officials than Morris and Goudelock, but his last appearance resulted in three turnovers in four minutes.

If Goudelock wants to play heavy minutes and have an impact, he needs to hide from Tony Parker on the defensive end to avoid whistles. However, he should use his offensive assets and attack Parker on that end of the court. Actively playing on only one end of the court may seem counter-intuitive, but if Goudelock cannot stay on the floor, the Lakers don’t have anyone who can play on either end.

“We’re ready to go. We have confidence in each other,” Howard said at the end of morning shootaround. “We still believe that we can win this series and win the title.”

Alright, Los Angeles, we won’t sugar coat it. The Lakers are down 2-0 in a best of seven playoffs series. In order to win, they need to win four out of five games against a pretty doggone good San Antonio Spurs team.

The Lakers were already without Kobe Bryant, the Black Mamba, due to a torn Achilles. In Kobe’s absence, Steve Blake had stepped up production and assumed the nickname “the Blake Mamba.”

After Game 2, Blake is out indefinitely too.

The Lakers’ backup shooting guard was Jodie Meeks. He’s doubtful with a sprained ankle suffered in Game 1, which forced him to miss Game 2. Steve Nash, who only came back from a hamstring injury for Game 1, tweaked his hamstring and is also doubtful.

For anyone keeping count, there is a strong possibility the Lakers will rotate three guards for Game 3 against the Spurs, and those three guards are Chris Duhon, Darius Morris, and Andrew Goudelock.

Goudelock was name the NBA D-League Most Valuable Player on April 25, so there is that. However, this is not the D-League, and Friday night is not just the NBA; it’s the playoffs.

Excuses aside, the Lakers are back at home, and Dwight Howard is hoping the referees stop calling cheap offensive fouls on him. 

“I thought the flopping rule was going to be put in this year, but I guess that’s for next season,” Howard subtly accused the Spurs of flopping. 

Beyond whistles, the Lakers need more from their inside advantage. Pau Gasol has been unable to find any shooting rhythm over the past four games—three of which were against San Antonio. Gasol is shooting 22-64 over that stretch which amounts to 34 percent. Excluding the season finale against Houston, Gasol is 15-47, 32 percent, against the Spurs.

The Lakers need scoring on Friday, and that responsibility falls on the lanky frame of their best offensive player: Gasol. The Spaniard was muzzled to 13 points, nine rebounds, and four assists in Wednesday’s Game 2 loss. Simply put, that is not good enough.

The Lakers enter Game 3 with a giant question mark in the backcourt, but to this point, LA has been losing this series due to an inability to dominate inside. 

For the Lakers, Game 3 is the season, and if this season is to continue for the Lakers, Howard needs to stay on the floor, and Gasol needs to score the basketball.

Down 2-0 in their first round series, the Los Angeles Lakers returned home after failing to win either game against the Spurs. The Lakers added injuries to the insults hurled at them in Game 2 in San Antonio. By the time practice finished on Thursday in El Segundo, Steve Blake was ruled out of Game 3, and optimistically listed as Steve Nash and Jodie Meeks were doubtful.

When asked about who would start in the backcourt, Mike D’Antoni said Darius Morris figured to be involved, and D'Antoni appeared hopeful Nash would be back, as well. According to the coach, Nash was more likely to play than Meeks. The 39-year-old Canadian took two epidural injections on his back and a cortisone shot to his hip on Thursday, and his status was officially listed as doubtful.

If Nash was unable to play, Chris Duhon and Andrew Goudelock were the two remaining backcourt options for the injury-plagued Lakers.

After referencing his background as a point guard, Dwight Howard was asked if he may assume the role should the Lakers have any further injuries.

“Just so Steve [Nash] won’t have to use his legs as much. Just let me bring the ball up the court. Then, once we get to half court, I can give it to him. Then, we can set up the play,” Howard jested at Thursday’s practice.

Nash was asked if he had any regrets or second-guesses about returning early from his hamstring injury. 

“No,” the point guard started out. “If I wait, the playoffs could be over. So, I felt like I had to give it a try when I was able to at least change ends of the floor.”

Nash also answered questions about age being a factor. He admitted that age was a relevant but argued that blaming age was a shortsighted view to his injuries this season.

“I think it’d be foolish not to say that [age] could play some part, but I also think it’s really myopic to think that because I’ve finally had an injury bug that it’s age,” Nash argued. “Everybody gets hurt at some point.”

Unfortunately, this point happens to be the worst possible time for the Lakers. Down 2-0 in the best of seven series, the injured Lakers host the Spurs for Game 3 on Friday night at Staples Center.

The Los Angeles Lakers may have lost more than just Game 2 on Wednesday night in San Antonio; they likely lost both Steve Nash and Steve Blake to hamstring injuries. Nash was already talking about getting another epidural in the postgame press conference, and Blake did not speak in any certain terms about taking part in Game 3 on Friday night at Staples Center.

“I just went to drive baseline and then just felt a sharp pain in my hamstring. It’s pretty painful right now,” Blake said after the game.

“Unfortunately, I tweaked [my hamstring] in the first half. And I tried to keep going,” Nash countered his fellow point guard. “It got worse as the game kept going.”

To make matters worse, Jodie Meeks, who was ultimately unable to play on Wednesday night due to a sprained ankle, was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Thursday. Generally speaking, MRIs are usually not positive signs of a player getting back on the court.

With Kobe Bryant out, if Meeks, Nash and Blake cannot go, the Lakers will effectively be without their starters and first-choice backups at both the point guard and shooting guard positions.

Without much else available, the Lakers are looking to a pair of young point guards, Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris, to come in and have an impact. Goudelock was only signed two games before the end of the season and spent the majority of this year toiling around in the NBA’s development league. Meanwhile, Darius Morris had 18 “Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision” out of the last 23 games of the season.

If Friday’s game is close at the end, Spurs superstars Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili will likely see Goudelock and Morris lined up across from them. No disrespect to Morris or Goudelock, but Parker and Ginobili would probably have the slightest of edges in those individual matchups.

At some level, fans have to feel sorry for this season’s Lakers. However, there is an entire offseason to ponder whether this team was cursed or just inexplicably unlucky with injuries.

“This is far and away the worst season for injuries I’ve been a part of, personally and collectively,” Nash summed it up after the Game 2 loss.

Injured or not, if the Lakers do not win four of the next five games, this season will end. If that happens, Los Angeles and the Lakers will be stuck watching the Clippers on television, and no Laker fan wants that to happen.

Los Angeles Lakers power forward Jordan Hill, who was activated during Game 1 against the San Antonio Spurs, was cleared to play for Wednesday night’s Game 2. Hill underwent season-ending hip surgery at the end of January, but he has worked hard on his recovery and was well ahead of schedule.

He took part in contact five-on-five practice on Friday and played full court on Saturday. After going through another couple of practice sessions on Monday and Tuesday without incident, the coaching staff has cleared Hill to play for Wednesday.

Hill will likely not play extensive minutes, but he can be a valuable contributor off the bench should Dwight Howard get into foul trouble. The 6’ 10” forward specializes in rebounding, and his energy on the offensive and defensive glass would be a welcomed presence should Howard fall into trouble with the officials.

The majority of Hill’s minutes were passed on to Earl Clark, but Clark has struggled offensively as of late. Clark is more athletic than Hill, but Hill offers more of a physical presence under the basket, which complements Pau Gasol’s long and, um, soft game.

Whether or not Hill plays is entirely up to Mike D’Antoni at this point. With Hill back and Jodie Meeks expected to play through a sprained ankle, the Lakers have a full squad available minus Kobe Bryant (torn Achilles).

Ironically, the Los Angeles Lakers regular season was best described as Kobe Bryant minus a full squad.

Since Kobe Bryant snapped his Achilles tendon, the Los Angeles Lakers have played three games and won two.

In all three games, the Lakers held their opponents to under 100 points and played physical defense that was consistently absent throughout the season. Without Bryant, the Lakers held their opposition to 38.8 percent shooting from the field—for anyone wondering, that translates to good defense. In fact, the top opponent’s field goal percentage this season was Indiana at 42.0 percent.

Unfortunately, the Lakers offense has averaged 38.1 percent shooting from the field without No. 24. That is a sharp decline from the 45.8 percent the Lakers averaged over the 82-game season. The key takeaway, however, is that the Lakers have won two out of three since a snapped Achilles transformed the 102.2 points per game Lakers into the team that is averaging a shade below 90 points per game the last three times out.

Over the three Mamba-less games, the Lakers have played the Spurs twice and split the meetings based on the logo painted on the hardwood. However, regardless of the zip code, the Lakers held the Spurs to below 38 percent shooting from the field and kept the silver and black well below 100 points both times out.

The difference in the win versus the loss was not simply turnovers. In the penultimate game of the season, LA turned the ball over 14 times versus 18 times in Sunday’s Game One loss. Although 18 turnovers are not generally a formula for success, an extra four turnovers were not the difference between the win and the loss.

The notable difference was offensive rebounds. Even with the height advantage, the Lakers were unable to dominate the offensive glass in Sunday’s loss. Whereas Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard combined for 11 offensive rebounds against the Spurs on April 14, they only combined for one offensive rebound on Sunday.

Howard, by himself, had six offensive rebounds in the late season meeting. In Sunday’s loss, the Lakers combined to pull down six offensive rebounds as a team. The Spurs negated the Lakers’ twin towers on the offensive boards, and the Spurs finished nearly even in overall rebounds.

Along with reestablishing the offensive glass, the Lakers also need to shoot better than 3-15 from long-range. With Metta World Peace going 1-5 on Sunday, the Spurs’ strategy to allow World Peace open looks in place of Steve Nash, Jodie Meeks, and Antawn Jamison worked brilliantly. The trio of Lakers sharp shooters only managed four three-point attempts in Game One, so World Peace actually attempted more shots from behind the arc than the Lakers’ best three long-distance shooters.

Cutting down turnovers, hitting a few more shots, and controlling the offensive boards are three achievable goals that should result in the Lakers walking out of San Antonio with a win in Game Two.

News began to spread Tuesday afternoon that former Lakers coach Mike Brown was nearing an agreement to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers on a five-year deal. 

This bit of news drew interest for a couple reasons.

First, Brown was coach of the Cavaliers until they decided to fire him ahead of LeBron James’ decision to take his talents to South Beach. That little tidbit may have been interesting, but it had no direct bearing on the Lakers.

Pertaining to the Lakers, Brown’s rumored five-year $25 million deal with the Cavaliers pointed to the Lakers being relieved of significant, if not all, financial liability on Brown’s buyout with Los Angeles.

As a result, the Lakers will likely now only be paying for one coach: Mike D’Antoni.

Earlier this season, D’Antoni signed a $12 milion contract for three years with the team holding an option on the fourth year. With the Lakers still owing Brown $6 million to $7 million, the Lakers suddenly have a good amount of cash on hand should they decide to make another coaching change.

Pretending there is no family drama involving Jim Buss, Jeanie Buss and Phil Jackson, the Lakers could theoretically bring back Jackson with the money that suddenly appeared via Brown’s agreement with the Cavaliers.

Keeping in mind that a significant percentage of Brown’s remaining buyout disappears and Jackson is rumored to cost about $10 million per season, the Lakers would be wise to at least consider bringing in the 11-time NBA champion and effectively paying half price for his services.

Why?

Well, first of all, re-signing Dwight Howard is the Lakers’ top priority during this off season. Although the Lakers can offer Howard a bigger and longer contract than any other team, Howard has jokingly referred to D’Antoni as “Coach Pringles” and occasionally clashed with D’Antoni’s offensive philosophy. 

Also, Jackson has publicly made comments that D’Antoni’s offensive system is not best suited for Howard, and Howard acknowledged texting Jackson back and forth during this season. Further, Howard has previously stated that he would like to play under Jackson. 

With the gamble on Steve Nash and D’Antoni reuniting not working out as expected, getting rid of D’Antoni would be a widely welcomed move in the eyes of the fan base. 

As an added bonus, Jim Buss and the Lakers can all but guarantee Howard’s return to the team if they give Jackson a one year contract. For the remainder of Howard’s long-term deal, they can bring back D’Antoni or hire any other coach that fits their long-term vision. For one year, Buss should consider biting his tongue to keep Howard in Los Angeles. 

If the Lakers truly want Howard to be the centerpiece of the Lakers’ franchise for the long-term future, axing D’Antoni and bringing in Jackson would be safe bet. Of course, Jackson has to be willing to take the job.

The Los Angeles Lakers held practice on Monday and Tuesday in San Antonio in preparation of Game Two against the Spurs on Wednesday night. Steve Nash practiced on both days, and he expected to start again on Wednesday. 

However, the 39-year-old said his hamstring is far from 100 percent. 

“I just feel fortunate I can play and try to help my team,” Nash said after Game One’s loss. “It’s not great. It’s not going to be great. But I have to worry about what I can do.”

Jodie Meeks, the one injury-free regular rotation player for the Lakers this season, did not practice on Monday or Tuesday due to a sprained ankle suffered during Game One. Coach Mike D’Antoni said he still expected Meeks to be available on Wednesday for Game Two. According to D’Antoni , Meeks told the coach that he would be ready.

For the players who did practice on Tuesday, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, and Nash were pictured talking screen-and-roll. Also, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak was in the building not looking overly concerned at the practice at the AT&T center.

After Sunday afternoon’s Game One defeat, the Lakers opted to stay in San Antonio and practice both Monday and Tuesday, so that should eliminate any excuses relating to fatigue and travel. However, for the remainder of the series, the Lakers have a difficult stretch of playing every other day.

Game Three is scheduled for Friday in Los Angeles, and Game Four is scheduled for Sunday. If necessary, the remainder of the series would be Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday of the following week. Each day between games would be reserved for travel, so the Lakers have likely had their final full length practice on Tuesday in San Antonio.

Considering the series schedule, the Lakers are on an accelerated schedule of for the remainder of the series, and the physical nature of the Lakers’ recent play combined with their injury prone history promises to test the hobbled Lakers.

Still, the Lakers offered promise with their play in Game One, and a win in Game Two would go a long way to shifting the momentum for the Lakers and setting them on a path to pull the upset.

Kobe Bryant was tweeting throughout the Lakers' loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the NBA playoffs Sunday.

That will not be happening anymore.

Along with drawing attention to his Twitter account throughout the game with tweets criticizing “Matador Defense on Parker” and instructing his guys to “Milk Pau in the post,” Bryant also drew a roll of the eyes from Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni in the post-game press conference.

“He’s a fan right now,” D’Antoni said, answering a reporter asking about Bryant’s instructional tweets during the game.

Bryant, who was clearly watching the postgame show, tweeted, “A Fan??? LOL #microphonetalk.”

On Monday, Bryant confirmed he would not be offering a repeat performance on Twitter during Game 2 Wednesday night. He stated on his Twitter account, “I see my tweeting during the game is being talked about as much as the game itself. Not my intention.”

After that, Bryant confirmed he was choosing not to take attention away from the team during the second game of the playoff series. “Focus should be on the team,” Bryant tweeted.

However, Bryant did offer a slightly comedic mental image of how he would be spending Game 2: “I will be watching from the crib again in a Pau [Gasol] jersery and Laker face paint.”

Even with a torn Achilles tendon, Bryant has found a way to be a part of the Lakers playoffs.

Ahead of Game 1, Bryant promised he would be in the building during the Lakers’ two upcoming home games, but he was not yet able to travel on airplanes due to swelling.

The Los Angeles Lakers lost Game 1 of the 2013 NBA Playoffs to the San Antonio Spurs, but that game provided plenty of points of optimism.

Although the instant reaction was to quickly say the Lakers missed Kobe Bryant’s scoring, which they did, the Lakers were able to control the pace of the game on the road.

The Lakers came out flat offensively, turned the ball over, and could not buy a basket from long range. Still, the Lakers were within four points deep into the third quarter before the Spurs broke the game open late.

Steve Nash actively participated in a game for the first time in three weeks, and Nash may have been rusty with his shots, but he was still able to get clear looks at the basket. If he can get those same looks on Wednesday, Nash is likely going to shoot better than 6-15 in Game 2.

Another major point of separation for the Lakers was three-point shooting. LA shot 3-15 from beyond the arc, and the Spurs’ four extra three-point makes amounted to 12 extra points. The Spurs were hardly perfect from long range, but the Lakers were noticably below standard from distance. The Spurs do deserve credit for limiting the Lakers’ two best three-point shooters, Nash and Jodie Meeks, to only three combined attempts.

Beyond a rusty Nash and missed shots, the Lakers lost the game on turnovers. 

Gasol and Howard combined for 10 of the Lakers’ 18 turnovers on Sunday. San Antonio, as a team, only had nine turnovers. Consequently, the Spurs registered 11 extra points off turnovers than the Lakers.

With all that said, the Lakers have real cause for optimism entering Game Two. 

Even on the road, the Lakers were able to control the tempo of the game and turn it into a gritty defensive contest. The Lakers were able to impose their newfound defensive style of play. It may not be pretty to watch, but it allowed them to hold the Spurs to 54 points with five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Spurs averaged 103.0 points per game this season, but the Lakers never allowed the Spurs to score more than 25 points in a quarter during Sunday’s game. If the Lakers can continue that on Wednesday, they should be in position to steal the game.

Along with the rusty Nash excuse, the Lakers travel schedule was a bit of a head scratcher. LA practiced in El Segundo on Saturday morning and took a flight on Saturday afternoon. Considering the early Sunday game, the Lakers did not leave themselves much time to get adjusted.

Ahead of Game Two, however, the Lakers will have two days to prepare without any travel, and Nash should be three days more prepared to play.

If the Lakers can control the pace, limit their turnovers, and shoot slightly better from the field, winning Game Two is a serious possibility. If that happens, the Lakers' probability of winning the series would increase tremendously.

Prior to hopping onto a flight to San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers held practice on a sunny Saturday morning in El Segundo.

Far removed from Friday’s media frenzy, only a handful of reporters met with sweat-drenched players at the Lakers practice facility.

Before the players were paid any attention, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni started the session. So, Mike, Will Steve Nash play?

“Yesterday, [he] felt good, and it looked good today. We didn’t go a whole lot. But we’ll see what his stamina is and how long he can go.” D’Antoni finished, “But he’ll go.”

Nash being back seemed like yesterday’s news, but still, that was a massive structural and rotational alteration to the Lakers makeup. If healthy, Nash can help create, shoot threes, and knock down big shots in the fourth quarter. However, he does hurt the Lakers as a one-on-one defender and slows the foot speed of a team that was constantly exploited in transition defense.

“He’s got to coach this team to win the game, and if I’m not helping and I’m not capable, he’s got to get me out,” Nash said emphatically. “There’s no time to be sentimental.”

The 39-year-old said he ran full court in practice, and he felt confident about being a positive contributor. 

Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol also addressed the media, and both spoke about game-related topics like dominating the inside, matching up against Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter, and the importance of winning Game 1 (See: Lakers Spurs Video Preview).

Another surprise was Jordan Hill also went through a full court workout with the team. Even if Hill is not available for Sunday’s game, he may well be available for Wednesday’s game if he is genuinely able to run up and down the court. Hill would provide the Lakers with a fully active roster minus Kobe Bryant.

After landing in Texas, Howard and Metta World Peace were photographed at the Alamo Dome, where the Spurs previously played for nearly a decade. The pair of physically imposing Lakers was visible ringside to watch a highly touted boxing match between Canelo Alvarez and Austin Trout.

Hopefully Howard and World Peace were taking notes because Sunday at 12:30 pm PT, the bell for Round 1 rings with the Lakers considered heavy underdogs to the San Antonio Spurs.

Friday’s Lakers practice was mayhem.

Before doors to the practice court opened, media flowed out of the press room to such as extent that the Toyota Center staff brought out chairs for reporters to sit in the hallway. Seemingly, everyone who had access to a media credential in Los Angeles was at the Lakers practice facility in El Segundo on Friday.

“Be there by noon,” the voice on the phone had said earlier in the morning.

Well, it was a half hour past noon before anyone was allowed into the practice facility. 

As the media was allowed to enter, the Lakers were scrimmaging five-on-five in the half court. Practice was full-contact, and Steve Nash was playing on the first team.

Wait, what?

Nash was back.

He was hitting floaters and moving well. Considering it was a full-contact scrimmage, the media was allowed to witness it, and Nash made it through without issue, Nash should be considered probable for Sunday’s series opener against the San Antonio Spurs. Steve Blake and Nash are the likely starters.

Nash said he still needed time to see how his hamstring and hip reacted to the practice, but he was cautiously optimistic he would be ready for Game One on Sunday.

Another surprising face in the scrimmage was Jordan Hill. Hill was not expected to play against San Antonio, but the Lakers power forward was well ahead of schedule after undergoing season-ending hip surgery in late January. If the Lakers make it past the first round, Hill would be a welcomed big body for the Lakers.

With Hill and Nash back at practice, the entire Lakers roster was visible save for Kobe Bryant.

Dwight Howard shared that he had organized a team dinner for Friday night ahead of the playoffs. While he would not reveal what he intended to say at the dinner, Howard did say that he had previously organized team dinners in Orlando under the same circumstances.

In 2009, Howard said he brought his Beijing 2008 gold medal to explain to his Magic teammates that individual stars had sacrificed themselves for the greater team effort. That season, his Magic team made it to the NBA Finals, and that message seemed just as relevant and fresh four years later.

As Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni concluded the post-practice media session, the thermometer read nearly 80 degrees in El Segundo. Seemingly, the world order had been restored.

The Lakers were in the playoffs, and it was beach weather in Southern California.

Thankfully, the Los Angeles Lakers made the playoffs, so now, it is time to get the details on how to get tickets and where to watch the games.

Game One of the series against the San Antonio Spurs is scheduled for Sunday at 12:30 pm PT on ABC. That game will be played at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. The Spurs were 35-6 at home this season, so the Lakers have their work cut out for them.

Game Two of the series, also in San Antonio, will be played on Wednesday at 6:30 pm PT on TNT.

Game Three and Game Four move the series back to Los Angeles on Friday, Apr. 26, and Sunday, Apr. 28, respectively. Game three will be on ESPN, and Game Four will be on TNT.

Tickets for games three and four will not be available for sale at the STAPLES Center box office. The only way to get tickets for the Lakers first round home playoff games is online or on the phone. Tickets will go on sale on Saturday, Apr. 20 at 10:00 am.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com and all ticketmaster outlets. Also, tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-4-NBA-Tix or 1-800-745-3000. There is a limit of four tickets per person.

If the Lakers need more than four games to put the Spurs away, Game Five of the series will be back in San Antonio on Apr. 30. Game Six will be back in Los Angeles on May 2. If by some miracle, the Spurs survive to seven games, the Lakers will travel to San Antonio for Game Seven on May 4.

Tip-off times and TV schedules have not yet been determined for games five, six, and seven.

With the season-ending injury to Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers have transformed overnight into a team committed to defense, and that shift in focus comes from their team leader: Dwight Howard.

All season long, the Los Angeles Lakers have had trouble sustaining defensive focus, and fans have suffered by not walking out of Staples Center with tacos. Fittingly, the final game of the season was fan appreciation night, and everyone in attendance received two free tacos upon exit even if the Lakers did not win and hold their opponents under 100 points.

However, fans would have walked out with two free tacos on Wednesday night even without the fan appreciation promotion, as the Lakers held the Houston Rockets to 95 points—that’s with an overtime period included. With the way the Lakers are playing, Jack In The Box should be prepared to regularly hand out free tacos if the Lakers make any sort of extended playoff run.

All season long, Howard has preached defense and pleaded for focus on that end of the floor. However, once Bryant went down, the team had no choice but to buy in defensively. With Bryant around, the Lakers would consistently fall into the trap of trying to outscore teams and seemingly fall asleep on defense.

When Bryant went out, the option to outshoot and outscore teams went out with him. What remained in the rubble of Bryant’s torn Achilles was Howard’s voice pleading for defensive focus.

On the night Kobe went down, Dwight Howard was asked if it was incumbent on him, Pau Gasol, and some of the others to pick up for Kobe’s scoring, and he responded with one word: “Defense.”

Looking around the locker room, there was no longer a genuine belief that the Lakers had enough points on the roster to simply outscore opponents, and Howard was asked if he would be able to score 30, 40, or even 50 points for the Lakers to fill the void.

Instead of talking about scoring and offense, Howard uttered the same ideas he had repeated all season long, but they carried significantly more meaning with Bryant’s voice absent. The easier response would have been to say that he needed to do a bit more offensively, but Howard decisively chose to go with the alternative.

“The offense will come, but that should not be our focus,” Howard told media while Kobe Bryant was still in the training room searching for crutches. “Our focus should be on locking our defense, trusting each other, rotating, and doing our best on the defensive end.” 

Howard reminded anyone who cared to pay attention: offense wins games, but defense wins championships.

With Bryant gone, Howard was the leader, and the focus of the team shifted overnight. The Lakers no longer had their top homerun hitter, but they had a pitcher who could throw a complete game shutout.

Without Bryant, the Lakers won two games in must-win situations, and in both games, they held their opponents to under 100 points. In Wednesday’s season finale, they held the highest scoring team in the 2012-13 season to 95 points. Normally, the Rockets averaged 106.1 points per game. Even with five extra minutes of overtime, the Lakers held the Rockets to 95 points—Tacos for everyone.

To illustrate the transformation, the Rockets averaged 113 points in the Lakers’ three previous meetings this season. Also, entering Wednesday’s game, the Rockets had scored over 100 points in seven of their last eight games. That didn’t matter on Wednesday.

Dwight Howard’s Lakers held the best scoring team in the league, and Howard confidently credited the team’s defensive focus and energy for the win afterward.

The coach of the Lakers, Mike D’Antoni, is a man widely considered to be one-dimensional, and that dimension is offense.  Ironically, D’Antoni’s playoffs success with the Lakers seemingly hinges entirely on defense. Along with the players, D’Antoni has also finally bought into what Howard is preaching—defense.

After the Los Angeles Lakers clinched the final playoffs spot by virtue of a Utah Jazz loss, they sent a statement of intent. The Lakers won 99-95 in a thrilling overtime game, and Pau Gasol recorded only his seventh career triple-double but his second in the last three games.

Prior to the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets opening tip, the Utah Jazz had been ousted from the playoffs due to a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Lakers made the playoffs, phew. Wednesday night’s game, however, was still worth a great deal to the Lakers and the Rockets.

The loser of Wednesday’s game would face the Oklahoma City Thunder in a seven-game series that would shock the basketball world if it went six or more games. The San Antonio Spurs awaited the Lakers if they were able to manage a victory, and LA had defeated the Spurs only three days earlier. By nearly all accounts, facing the Spurs was a better proposition than facing the Thunder.

However, the Lakers lacked urgency and started the game shooting under 30 percent in the first quarter. That would improve in the second quarter, but the Rockets shot a respectable 46 percent in the first half. The Lakers would go on to shoot 33 percent through the intermission and trailed 50-44 at the break.

Howard and Gasol combined for 13 points and 14 rebounds in the first half. With Gasol only managing one first-half assist, the Lakers twin towers were far from dominant in the first 24 minutes.

For the remainder of the game, the combination of Howard and Gasol combined for 20 points and 24 rebounds. Also, Gasol recorded 10 assists in the second half and overtime period to finish with 17 points, 20 rebounds, and 11 assists.

With Steve Blake leading the team in scoring and Antawn Jamison scoring 16 points off the bench, the Lakers found the necessary points required to win the game. However, considering the Lakers held the top scoring team in the league to less than 100 points, the Lakers won Wednesday’s game on the defensive-end of the floor, and the Lakers' twin towers recorded six blocks in the game.

With the Lakers now paired with the San Antonio Spurs to open the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, a steady diet of defense, Howard, and Gasol appears to be the formula for these hobbled Lakers in this rather peculiar postseason.

The Los Angeles Lakers met for shootaround on Wednesday morning in El Segundo. This was the last guaranteed shootaround of a difficult 2012-13 Lakers season, but the players were loose and appeared confident that their season would continue past Wednesday night.

Mike D’Antoni said that he planned to use Andrew Goudelock against Houston because the guard was a good three-point shooter.

“[Goudelock]’s ready to play,” D’Antoni said. “He looks good. I like what he can bring. Biggest thing is he’s fearless, and he shoots threes. Around Dwight [Howard] and Pau [Gasol]—since we’re going to play inside-out—that’s going to be huge.”

D’Antoni also said the he believed that Steve Nash was not too far removed from a return, but that was a problem for the playoffs. The biggest goal was obviously to win on Wednesday night and get into the playoffs. 

Steve Blake also talked to the media and addressed some of the problems directly related to Wednesday night’s game.

“[Jeremey Lin and James Harden] are extremely good in the open court and in transition,” Blake pointed out. “If we’re turning the ball over or taking shots in bad spacing, they’ll really attack the rim and get guys in foul trouble, and they’re good at finishing around the basket. So, we have to do our best to keep them out of transition.”

Howard, as usual, was last to speak.

“This is our last regular season game, and we’re going to give it everything we got and hope for the best,” Howard said. “We don’t have to have a motivational speech to get guys motivated. We should already be motivated.”

However, Howard did eventually give in to the media's requests for a motivational speech in the style of the movie 300. After telling Pau to put on his “big boy pants,” telling Dwight to “make his free throws” (yes, he referred to himself in the third person during the funny moment), and telling Jodie Meeks to make threes, Howard finished by emphatically screaming with the famous line: “This is Sparta!”

Wednesday, the 2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers season finale arrives at nightfall.

After 81 games, the 82nd game means everything. There is no guarantee of making the playoffs, but the Lakers didn’t sound like they were on the verge of a summer vacation at Tuesday’s practice. Instead, they displayed confidence, excitement, and positivity on winning on Wednesday and making the playoffs.

As usual, Pau Gasol was aware of every detail regarding playoff scenarios. He is a student of the modern day game even if his post moves impulsively conjure a “throwback” mental image of great big men of yesteryear. 

However, Pau is in HD, and he looks like he belongs there.

Honestly, the Lakers belong in the playoffs. Even without Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash—the latter may as well not even be mentioned with regards to helping the cause this season—the Lakers would generate more excitement in the NBA’s postseason than the Utah Jazz (this is based entirely on my residence in Los Angeles, but I stand by it).

Last game, the Spanish giant had a rough shooting night, but his presence on the boards was instrumental in achieving a necessary Lakers victory over the Spurs. Gasol had 16 rebounds against the two rather lengthy opponents in Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter. Incidentally, the Lakers win on Wednesday draws a seven game series against those same San Antonio Spurs.

Between the pair of Gasol and Dwight Howard, the Lakers tallied 33 rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds against the Spurs on Sunday. The entire Spurs team managed 10 offensive boards in Sunday’s loss. Howard is the second head of the Lakers budding two-headed monster, and Howard’s muscle is perfectly balanced by Gasol’s finesse. Most importantly, both these players appear to be returning to health and form at the optimal moment.

The hope remains that the Gasol and Howard combination can conduct the speed of games, control the boards, and contain the opposition inside the paint.

With the twin towers, flaws of transition defense remain, but the replacements for Nash and Bryant aid in that department because they are all younger and faster than the injured duo of surefire first ballot hall of famers. 

Sure, Jodie Meeks is not going to fill up a box score like Kobe Bryant, but 6’4” of 25-year-old beats 6’6” of 34-year-old in a pure foot race. Steve Blake may not be a spring chicken considering he turned 33 years old in February, but he looks like the road runner next to 39-year-old Steve Nash. 

That last statement was not meant to slight one of the greatest point guards in the history of the NBA; instead, it was intended to focus on the reality of why the Lakers may actually provide hope with what will be on the floor on Wednesday night…and probably game one of the Western Conference Playoffs (Officially attempting to slow my roll).

If the Lakers win on Wednesday, Greg Popovic and the San Antonio Spurs would be wise to proceed with caution. Even without Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, the Howard and Gasol Lakers are not dead on arrival if they enter the playoffs on a five-game winning streak. 

With the final game of the season on Wednesday night, the Lakers are relying on Dwight Howard to carry them into the postseason, so what makes the Lakers superstar big man tick?

Apparently, Howard is a massive Justin Timberlake fan.

“I like the whole thing,” Howard said about Timberlake’s newest album. His favorite tracks are “That Girl,” “Mirrors,” and “Blue Ocean Floor.”

However, Howard’s man-crush on Timberlake does not stop with music. Apparently, the Lakers center is a fan of Timberlake’s acting, singing, and dancing.

“He’s a great actor,” Howard gushed. “All his movies were really good.”

Howard said he particularly enjoy Timberlake’s performances in "Alpha Dog," "In Time," and "Friends With Benefits." Howard said he was emotionally touched by "Anytime" and was close to tears watching the flick.

Howard does have a softer side hiding behind the gregarious personality and colorful smiles. He said he cried during "The Notebook." Also, he said that one particular scene in "Pursuit of Happiness" with Will Smith got him to shed tears. 

“I’m a movie buff,” Howard proudly states. 

"Finding Nemo" is his favorite movie, and he says he would be happy to do a voice for a puffer fish in the upcoming sequel, "Finding Dory." Howard enjoys cartoons for the laughs, but he says that he has never cried watching a cartoon. 

When certain unnamed members of the media shared their emotional childhood breakdowns watching "The Lion King," Howard was genuinely in disbelief that people could cry watching animation.

“I don’t know if you could really cry off a cartoon.”

When asked if he ever cried watching cartoons as a kid, Howard said he never watched cartoons growing up because his father did not allow it. As an adult, Howard consistently claims that he does not watch television.

In terms of unique dietary habits, the Atlanta-native claimed he had a candy addiction that rivaled and possibly even surpassed Lamar Odom’s well-documented issue. However, after the All-Star break, Howard gave up candy entirely. No, that is not likely the reason he is playing better following the NBA’s exhibition game in Houston, but it probably didn’t hurt.

All in all, Howard is a fun-loving guy, who enjoys smiling and laughing, but he does take his job seriously and is routinely the last Laker at practice. 

With Kobe Bryant lost to injury, Howard is the leader of the Lakers for the remainder of the season—possibly beyond. How far they advance falls on Howard’s chiseled shoulders. All dressed up in purple and gold, this Justin Timberlake fan is ready to show LA a few things.

After Monday night, the Western conference playoff picture sharpened into focus significantly.

If they win on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Lakers will play the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. Thus, they would avoid a match up against the Oklahoma City Thunder until the Western Conference Finals, if at all.

The Phoenix Suns, who beat the Lakers twice this season, did the Lakers a massive favor by beating the Houston Rockets on Monday night. That outcome meant the Lakers not only controlled their own destiny on Wednesday night; they would automatically move up to the seventh seed with a win.

A win on Wednesday would draw the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. The Spurs are the opponents the majority of fans would choose when posed with the options of Denver, San Antonio and Oklahoma City.

After Monday night, the Lakers are no longer eligible for the sixth seed, but they can finish either seventh, eighth or ninth on the final day of the season.

If the Lakers lose and Utah wins on the final day of the regular season, the Lakers would finish ninth and miss the playoffs. That would be the worst case scenario, obviously.

If the Lakers lose and the Jazz lose, the Lakers would finish eighth and book flights for Oklahoma City to play Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and the Thunder. Although missing the playoffs remains the worst possible outcome, drawing the Thunder is widely perceived to be a bad match up for the Lakers, and most would expect an early postseason exit.

If the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Houston Rockets in the season finale, Dwight Howard and company would level their season series with Houston but would win the tie breaker based on overall conference record.

As long as the Lakers win, they draw a first round match up against the Spurs. If that happens, James Harden and the Rockets would face the daunting task of winning in Oklahoma City.

If the Lakers win on Wednesday, the game in Utah is of no consequence.

Prior to his injury, Kobe Bryant said that the way he looked at it, if the Lakers won the first four games, there was no way they would lose the fifth game. Well, the Lakers are on a four-game winning streak, and the season finale is staring the Lakers square in the face on Wednesday.

Simply put, win on Wednesday and start the playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs.

Got it? Good.

Dwight Howard led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 91-86 win over the San Antonio Spurs in their first game without Kobe Bryant. Howard made a statement on both ends of the floor with 26 points, 17 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. He was immense, and he was the undisputed leader of the Lakers for the first time ever.

During the third quarter, Howard was intentionally fouled repeatedly and forced to go to the free throw line in a close game. He struggled by only making two of his first eight free throws during the painfully boring stretch of the game when the Spurs employed the Hack-a-Howard strategy. However, he made his final two foul shots to end the quarter, and he carried that confidence into the final period.

In the fourth quarter, Howard made both his free throws and shot a perfect two for two from the field. However, Howard’s most notable contribution may have been the defensive mentality he forced upon his teammates.

With Bryant no longer around, the new undisputed leader of the team preaches, teaches, and demands defense.

On Sunday night, the Lakers held the San Antonio Spurs to 86 points on 37 percent shooting from the field. They no longer had the offensive ability to outscore teams, and Howard reminded everyone within earshot that “Offense wins games, but defense wins championships.”

“We’re gonna fight to the end,” Howard said. “Despite whatever has happened this season, we got a chance to win the next game and go to the playoffs and make history.” 

“I believe in this team,” Howard repeated several times during his postgame comments.

Yes, Howard still believes the Lakers are capable of winning a championship. The next step for the Lakers is to beat the Houston Rockets on Wednesday and qualify for the playoffs. If they are able to beat the Rockets, the Lakers will be on a five game winning streak entering the post season, and they still have a slim shot at even getting the seventh or sixth spot.

The Lakers have Monday off and return to practice on Tuesday morning.

As has become far too regularly an occurrence this season with the Lakers, Dr. Stephen Lombardo joined a doctor in performing an operation on a player.

This time, it was Dr. Neal ElAttrache who joined Dr. Lombardo operating on Kobe Bryant, and the surgery was initially deemed a success.

Alright Neal, you were the man trusted to fix our greatest warrior. You fixed the Achilles of our modern day Achilles (interesting side note: ElAttrache also performed a 90-minute procedure on the Los Angeles Dodgers Zack Greinke on the same day).

Kobe Bryant is a warrior, and Friday night was a tragic event in his story. 

Frankly, I didn’t see the play where he tore his Achilles live in person. Usually, I would be in my seat behind the basket, but this time, I watched the foul call on the big screen because I forgot my charger in the media room. Considering the 200-foot walk from the media tunnel to my seat on the opposite baseline, I reached center court about the time Kobe realized he had torn his Achilles. Keeping my eyes on him the entire time, I knew he was done, and I told Time Warner Cable’s John Laguna that he wasn’t going to be OK before I took my seat.

Bryant had uttered a four letter word that was not uncommon on the basketball court, but the expression on his face was one of helplessness and vulnerability, not anger and frustration.

When he stepped up to the free throw line, I was shocked.

I intently took mental notes on his lack of movement at the line. When the foul was taken to get him out of the game, I completely understood that the individual result of that game would be forgotten, but Bryant’s acts would not. 

For the Lakers, it was a meaningful game for the playoff chase, but I knew the events of the game would be pushed to the back pages. Normally, I would head to coach Mike D’Antoni’s press conference, but this time, I waited in line to get into the locker room and find out the prognosis.

John Black, Lakers spokesman, came by and paused in front of me and another beat reporter as we waited in line. 

"Kobe Bryant has a probable torn Achilles," Black said. "He will have an MRI on Saturday." 

I’ll never forget where I was when Kobe Bryant realized he tore his Achilles: center court at Staples Center. Even more, I’ll never forget the courage he had to inch his way to the free throw line and make two critical free throws to level a must-win game.

Calling him a warrior does not adequately express how Bryant fought for Los Angeles and the Lakers even when he was unable to walk, but with the Lakers playing the Golden State Warriors that night, it was difficult not to subconsciously make that connection.

The Lakers had trailed by nine points only four minutes earlier, but Bryant’s heroic free throws capped off eight straight Laker points from the Mamba. Likely, it will not be the last time Bryant plays on an NBA court, but if it was, that was one heck of a way to go out. 

The Lakers took a foul, and Vino struggled to get down the tunnel—take notes here, Paul Pierce. There was no wheel chair or stretcher, and even Robert Sacre’s perceived assistance wasn’t entirely embraced by the hobbled hero. 

The Lakers announced that Kobe would be out for a minimum of six to nine months. When he eventually returns, no one knows whether he will resemble the same player -- especially Bryant.

The Los Angeles Lakers met for practice on Saturday after a crazy Friday night that included a nail-biting victory over the Golden State Warriors and their franchise player Kobe Bryant rupturing his Achilles tendon.

Whether anyone slept on Friday night is debatable, and Bryant confirmed he was awake as late as 3:30 a.m. PT by venting his medicated thoughts on Facebook. The injury expected to keep the lifelong Laker out for about six to nine months, assuming no major setbacks. 

The pace at which Bryant went from hero carrying the team into the playoffs to a martyr fast-tracked to sainthood was less than 24 hours. Bryant’s 34 points on Friday night were erased by the images of the newest social media guru undergoing an MRI and getting prepped for surgery. 

Practice started with Gary Vitti, the Lakers head athletic trainer for nearly three decades, clarifying that blaming the coach and saying the 34-year-old was driven to the injury was misguided. Vitti essentially said it was bad luck, and that predicting injuries like Bryant's is impossible to do.

"Obviously, when something like this happens, everybody wants to know why," Vitti started out. "And there’s not always a reason why. If you look at our season, it’s been a nightmare.

"We had a player come in with a surgery -- which was Dwight Howard. Then, we had Steve Nash break his leg. Then, we had Steve Blake have an abdominal surgery. Then, we had Jordan Hill with a hip surgery. Then, we had Metta (World Peace) with a knee surgery. We also had Dwight with a labrum in his shoulder. Antawn Jamison will have surgery after the season is over on his wrist."

"It’s bad luck," Vitti concluded. "Lots of guys rupture their Achilles tendons and don’t play 48 minutes, so to make that correlation, I don’t think is fair."

General manager Mitch Kupchak echoed Vitti’s sentiments, and the organization was not in the business of blaming head coach Mike D’Antoni for playing Bryant heavy minutes. 

When asked about Bryant being ready for game one of next season, Kupchak said, "I think that’s a goal. I think that’s a realistic goal for him based on what he was talking about this morning."

For the next two games, the minds of the Laker team will be on the playoffs, but the hearts of anyone who follows the team will be aching for another moment of magic from the man who calls himself "mamba."

Get well soon, Kobe.

After suffering a possible tear to his Achilles, Kobe Bryant took to his official Facebook page at 3:36 am PT.

“This is such BS!” Bryant started out sharing his frustrations. “All the training and sacrifice just flew out the window with one step that I've done millions of times! The frustration is unbearable. The anger is rage. Why the hell did this happen ?!? Makes no damn sense. Now I'm supposed to come back from this and be the same player Or better at 35?!? How in the world am I supposed to do that??”

Self-doubt, understandably, came out as he shared his thoughts via cell phone. “Do I have the consistent will to overcome this thing? Maybe I should break out the rocking chair and reminisce on the career that was. Maybe this is how my book ends. Maybe Father Time has defeated me...Then again maybe not!”

Considering Bryant’s competitive nature, he would likely come back from an injury just to prove his own self-doubt wrong.

“It's 3:30am, my foot feels like dead weight, my head is spinning from the pain meds and I'm wide awake,” the life-long Los Angeles Lakers legend provided insight into where he was coming from. “Forgive my Venting but what's the purpose of social media if I won't bring it to you Real No Image?? Feels good to vent, let it out. To feel as if THIS is the WORST thing EVER! Because After ALL the venting, a real perspective sets in. There are far greater issues/challenges in the world then a torn achilles. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, find the silver lining and get to work with the same belief, same drive and same conviction as ever.”

If Bryant wants examples of recovery from injury, he has plenty in his own locker room. Dwight Howard has serious back surgery and inched his way back step-by-step. Steve Nash broke his leg this season.

“One day, the beginning of a new career journey will commence. Today is NOT that day,” Bryant promised and sought some positive motivation.

"’If you see me in a fight with a bear, prey for the bear’". Ive always loved that quote. Thats ’mamba mentality’ we don't quit, we don't cower, we don't run. We endure and conquer.”

“I know it's a long post but I'm Facebook Venting LOL. Maybe now I can actually get some sleep and be excited for surgery tomorrow,” Bryant wrote, but officially, only an MRI was scheduled for Saturday. “First step of a new challenge.”

“Guess I will be Coach Vino the rest of this season,” Bryant began to calm down. “I have faith in my teammates. They will come thru.”

“Thank you for all your prayers and support. Much Love Always.”

“Mamba Out,” but don't bet on that being forever.

The Los Angeles Lakers came into Friday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors needing a win to stay in pole position for the playoffs. They got a win, but Friday night was a massive Lakers loss. Kobe Bryant left the game with a little over three minutes to go with a probable torn Achilles, and his season is expected to be over.

After the game, there was no doubt as to what had happened. While waiting to enter the Lakers locker room, John Black, Los Angeles Lakers spokesman, informed Triple Threat that Bryant had a probable torn Achilles and an MRI would be performed on Saturday to confirm the injury.

Bryant conjured enough courage to pick up crutches and make his way over to his locker in order to talk to the media. The frustration and sadness was visible on his face. One eye bloodshot, Bryant was asked if this was the greatest disappointment of his career.

“By far,” Bryant said and labored through talk about how the team had fought through incredible adversity to control its own destiny.

After making promises of breaking down film and helping coach the team from the sidelines, Bryant disappeared. He completely ridiculed the reporter who questioned if this would be the last time he played, so expect Bryant back on the court.

When Bryant’s presence had evaporated, Pau Gasol emerged distraught. Gasol had led his team to victory after Bryant went down, tallied a triple-double, but looked about as mentally defeated as anyone had ever seen him. 

“He had the courage and the strength to come out and talk to [the media]. I don’t know if I could have done it,” Gasol said. “That’s very remarkable.”

Dwight Howard was next to give his eulogy.

“It’s just sad for Kobe,” Howard started out. “We’ve just been faced with injuries all year. And it sucks. When somebody gets healthy, somebody else goes down. It’s tough.”

On Saturday, Bryant will have an MRI to confirm what he already knows, and the Lakers will hold practice to prepare for the San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers can still make the playoffs with two wins in their final two games, but they just lost their best player and their season.

With the Golden State Warriors coming to Staples Center on Friday night, Dwight Howard gets his first look at David Lee following some controversial and pointed comments from the Los Angeles Lakers’ center. Howard felt Lee took a cheap shot at him when the Lakers lost in Oakland, and Howard was not shy about hinting at retaliation.

“He got away with a shot,” Howard said after that game. “I will remember this game. I will remember that shot. He said he wasn't trying to do it. You can look at the play and see it for yourself. I will take care of it later.”

When asked about Lee after Friday’s morning shootaround, Howard said, “Listen, I’m not going to do anything stupid to mess our team up. So, don’t go out there looking and expecting me to go MMA on David Lee. There’s no need for that.”

Howard was saying all the right things, and he appeared to have a grasp of the grander picture for the Lakers. Also, his comments would likely put any extracurricular transgressions under a microscope and could result in punishment that Lakers cannot afford at this point.

“My teammates need me on the floor and they need me for the playoffs, so I’m not going to do anything stupid to mess myself up or mess David Lee up,” Howard continued. “The right way to go about it is just play ball.”

With the current debate in Los Angeles centering on Zach Greinke suffering a broken collarbone due to a brawl that erupted in retaliation of a hit batter, Laker fans will be happy to hear that Howard appears prepared to take the high road and focus on more than a personal vendetta against Lee. 

After all, the Lakers need Howard in order to make the playoffs, and they need him if they get in.

Three games remain in the 2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers regular season. If they do not win all three games, only three games may remain in the entire season. It is crunch time in Laker land, and the one constant inside the Lakers locker room has been the expectation that a championship is still possible.

Kobe Bryant talked about trying to make the playoffs and hitting the reset button once the Lakers are in. For anyone keeping track, that would amount to the 50th time the Lakers have reset the season. In any case, the team is playing significantly better recently due primarily to the reemergence of Pau Gasol.

Bryant has consistently elevated his play this season, but without Gasol whole, the Lakers lacked that special bit of quality for most of the season. Now, with Gasol averaging 18 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists over his past five games, the Lakers are building momentum at a crucial moment.

With Dwight Howard muscling down low, the Lakers also have the physical presence necessary to compete in the playoffs—if they get in, that is. With three games to go, the Lakers have three tough opponents coming to visit.

On Friday night, the Lakers take on the Golden State Warriors; on Sunday, the Lakers host the San Antonio Spurs; and on Wednesday, the Lakers finish the season against the Houston Rockets.

Three games remain, and the Lakers likely need three wins in order to make the postseason. Outside of playing well themselves, the Lakers have plenty of reasons they should win all three games. First, the Warriors are on the second night of a back-to-back. Second, the Spurs will likely rest some or all of their stars. Third, the Rockets already clinched a playoffs spot, so they are not playing for anything in the season finale.

The Lakers can and should make the playoffs, but this team has been anything but predictable this season.

Before boarding a plane to Portland, Kobe Bryant explained how he paces himself through games. Against the Hornets, Bryant was able to hold off on attacking and entering Mamba strike mode until the fourth quarter. That game he scored 23 points in the final period. Against Portland was a different story.

"It really all depends on my team mates, honestly," Bryant started out to explain how he paces the game. "If they’re knocking down shots and the game’s in good balance, I can [sit back]. If we’re not and we’re brickin’, the game’s getting away from us, then I got to go a little earlier than I would like to, which expends a great deal of energy for me."

In Portland, the Lakers fell behind early, and this game was too important to wait for the team to get it together. Bryant scored 39 of his 47 points in the first three quarters in Wednesday night’s win. Then, he looked to Pau Gasol to finish the game, and the two-time champion came through for the team down the stretch.

"It’s something that we’ve done all along with Phil [Jackson], and it’s something that he’s done in Chicago with Michael [Jordan]," Bryant continued (explicit language). "You try to pace the game as much as possible. This way, your go-to guy has energy saved up in the fourth quarter.  And it’s really as simple as that."

Safe to say, playing 36 minutes on the second night of a back-to-back and carrying the team offensively through three quarters, Bryant needed Gasol to be the go-to guy on Wednesday night. 

The night before, Bryant smiled wryly and foreshadowed, "I know what he brings to the table. He’s 2010 Pau, for sure."

With three games to go, they look like the 2010 Lakers with one massive wrinkle: Dwight Howard. He provides emphatic blocks and thunderous throw-downs. They may be far from perfect, but the last two games, the Lakers have resembled the team most envisioned when this roster was put together last summer.

"I’m not worried about the summer," Bryant said. "What I’m trying to do is get us in the postseason where we start the [expletive] over. You know, you play that really bad video game where you’re just sucking it up and you just want to hit that reset button? Yea, get to the playoffs, hit the reset button and start over."

Bryant wrapped up, "We’ve been playing pretty well, but the start of the season was atrocious for us."

The Los Angeles Lakers went into Portland Wednesday night and played a near-perfect fourth quarter to walk away with a 113-106 victory. Kobe Bryant had a memorable 47 points in 48 minutes, but the fourth quarter was Pau Gasol time.

Gasol, who was benched for the fourth quarter earlier this season, arguably overshadowed Bryant down the stretch. The Spaniard shot 5-6 for 11 points and passed off three assists in a vital final 12 minutes.

Entering the fourth quarter, the Blazers were up 90-88. Kobe had 39 points, three blocks, six rebounds, and three steals in 36 minutes. He kept the Lakers in the game and cancelled out Damian Lillard’s 34 points and eight rebounds.

Then, the fourth quarter came around.

Normally, the final 12 minutes are Mamba time. However, the Mamba had played all 36 minutes and carried the team offensively for three quarters, so he looked to Gasol to step up.

“He’s 2010 Pau,” Bryant said following Tuesday’s game, and Pau proved how correct Bryant was in that assessment on Wednesday night.

By his unbelievably high standards, Bryant had a quiet fourth quarter: eight points on 1-4 shooting, three assists, two rebounds, and one block shot. Almost by Bryant’s design, Gasol carried the Lakers to victory late in the game.

To start the fourth, Kobe recorded all three of his assists in the quarter with passes to Pau for easy layups. That was no accident, and Pau’s growing confidence resulted in a couple mid-range jump shots along the way.

With his shot falling, Gasol exploited the defense’s added focus on him by looking for his teammates. All three of Gasol’s assists came in the final six minutes of the game, and Gasol was responsible for both of Howard’s fourth quarter buckets—both alley oops.

As much as the first three quarters were incredible to watch one of the greatest scorers in NBA history go to work, the fourth quarter was where the Lakers played championship-level basketball. The defense picked up, and the Lakers held the Blazers to only 16 points on 6-23 shooting. Offensively, Bryant involved Gasol early, and Gasol involved Howard late. Between those big three, the Lakers scored 23 of their 25 fourth quarter points.

Nash or not, the Lakers have a big three that appears playoff ready. With three games to go, the Lakers’ big three has three home games against thee playoff teams to make the postseason.

Following the Lakers 104-96 victory over the New Orleans Hornets Tuesday, Metta World Peace talked to Triple Threat about his injury and described an internal monologue that took place between his complicated brain and his surgically repaired knee.

During the first quarter, Triple Threat noticed World Peace was flexing his knee and stretching it after he made his first 3-pointer. World Peace did not come off the floor, and he did not look to the sidelines. Instead, moments after doing his knee stretches, World Peace caught a pass from Kobe Bryant and attempted a 3-point shot.

After the game, Triple Threat asked World Peace if he felt any pain during the game and to explain those stretches.

Per usual, World Peace offered a response that only he had the capacity to deliver.

“My knee was talking to me,” World Peace told Triple Threat. “My knee said, ‘Don’t worry about me’ because I was worried about my knee. I said, ‘Knee, you alright?’ and my knee said, ‘Don’t worry about me, I’m alright.’ We talk.”

When asked what he said back to his knee, World Peace responded, “I said, ‘It don’t feel that good. It feels kind of sore right now.’ My knee said, ‘Stop acting like a little wuss and play.’ So, then, I started to play.”

This conversation occurred in the first quarter against the Hornets, and World Peace would go on to play in the second half as well. He said he never talked to the training staff or any of the coaches about the soreness, but he was receiving around-the-clock treatment.

World Peace underwent knee surgery on Mar 28, and his miraculous recovery has earned him several superhuman nicknames in the Lakers locker room. Kobe Bryant calls World Peace “Logan” or “Wolverine,” after the comic book hero gifted with superhuman powers of healing.

Earl Clark referred to World Peace as “Superman.” Dwight Howard, who previously claimed the “Superman” nickname, had no problem with World Peace adopting that name. However, Howard said he preferred “Weapon X” to describe World Peace.

World Peace played 15 minutes against the Hornets, and his minutes are expected to steadily increase on Wednesday night in Portland. Mike D’Antoni has consistently stated that World Peace will return to the starting lineup as soon as possible. 

On Tuesday, World Peace was +12 in the plus-minus statistic—the highest of any player on either team.

The Los Angeles Lakers won a must-win game against the New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday night at Staples Center with Kobe Bryant playing as only Kobe Bryant can, and Metta World Peace making a heroic comeback.

After getting in a slight fender bender earlier in the day, Earl Clark was told to start for the 34th time this season. Since Pau Gasol returned from a foot injury, Clark has been relegated to bench duties.

Only 3:03 into the first quarter, Clark picked up his second foul, and Metta World Peace entered the game to a roar from the sold out Staples Center crowd. For the next 7:46 of game time, World Peace provided energy, defense, and toughness.

When he made a 3-pointer, the crowd went wild.

With World Peace on the floor, the Lakers opened up a five-point lead in the first quarter.

World Peace would not play the entire second quarter, and the Lakers went into the halftime break trailing 50-45.

As much as Gasol was the Lakers’ biggest matchup advantage for the Lakers throughout the night, World Peace’s attitude sparked the Lakers in the second half. After Clark picked up his fourth foul less than a minute into the third quarter, World Peace stripped down and entered the contest.

The Lakers trailed by six when World Peace entered the game this time around. World Peace embodied the fighting spirit of the Lakers by earning a double technical and not backing down to the challenge of Xavier Henry. 

Yup, he was back.

The Hornets were not going to let the Lakers walk away with an easy win, but the Lakers would be fighting all the way to until the final buzzer sounded on the game and on the season. World Peace did not undergo knee surgery and return to the floor in less than two weeks simply to play.

He returned to help the team win.

When World Peace left the floor in the third quarter, the Lakers were up by two points. Never mind that he only had four points and one rebound through three quarters. His presence contributed to the Lakers’ spirit.

In the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant came out guns blazing. Hitting his first three shots including back-to-back 3-pointers, the crowd began to chant “Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!”

Bryant had only played 29 of a possible 36 minutes through three quarters, so he was fresher than he had been for any of the past four games. Of course, he was ready to go for the final quarter. He started out by making his first three shots and had 10-fourth quarter points less than four minutes into the final period.

He would finish with 23 points in the fourth quarter. The Hornets only scored 26 in the deciding quarter. 

With Utah losing earlier in the night, the Lakers are back in the eighth spot and are guaranteed a trip to the playoffs if they win their last four games.

Less than two weeks after undergoing the first knee surgery of his career, Metta World Peace will be back on the floor with the playoffs on the line when the Lakers take on the Hornets at Staples Center Tuesday evening.

“Metta’s playing," Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni announced at Tuesday’s morning shootaround. “He won’t start, but he’ll play.”

D’Antoni said that World Peace would help the Lakers in terms of reducing minutes for some key players—namely Kobe Bryant.

“He’ll give us some good minutes in the sense of we’ll be able to rest Kobe and rest some other guys,” the Lakers coach said on Tuesday morning.

D’Antoni appeared not entirely certain on World Peace’s level of involvement, but he threw out “20 minutes” to set expectations. 

“I think coming off the bench a couple games and then we’ll get him back to regular,” D’Antoni continued.

Similar to the approach the D’Antoni took with Gasol, the Lakers coach is not wavering on his need to get World Peace back into the starting lineup. Both Gasol and World Peace were asked to come off the bench earlier in the season when health was not an issue, but the coach is resolute in his desire to have both Gasol and World Peace starting at this point in the season and in the postseason--if the Lakers get there.

With only five games remaining, the Lakers need help from other teams to make the playoffs. The goal inside the locker room is to win the last five games, and World Peace’s return may go a long way to aiding that cause. Still, the coach was not entirely blind to the miracle recovery of World Peace.

“You always worry about someone coming back and not knowing what that incurs, but we got to get him back, looking forward to it. I’m sure he’s ready to roll.”

When asked about his thoughts on the recovery, D’Antoni said his initial reaction was to “chuckle.”

“That’s not normal,” D’Antoni said about World Peace’s recovery. “I don’t think you can explain it. He’s done it before in his career. He’s either a quick healer or pain does not bother him.”

Over the past four games, Kobe Bryant has played more than 47 minutes of a possible 48 minutes on three occasions. Sure, the Lakers need their best player to give his all at this crucial point in the season, but who exactly is making the decision on whether Bryant plays or sits: the player or the coach?

After Sunday’s loss, Pau Gasol said, “We know how competitive [Bryant] is and how much he wants to play. So, then it’s up to the coach to say ‘no, you’re not going to play 47 (minutes). You’re going to play 38 (minutes).’ Or ‘yes, I’m going to let you play whatever you want.’”

So, what does the coach think?

Lakers reporter Mike Trudell asked Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni ahead of the Friday’s game against the Grizzlies, “If (Bryant) tells you he’s staying in, is there a point when you say ‘no, you’re going to sit for a couple minutes?’”

“No, I doubt it,” D’Antoni responded. “I trust him, and he knows.”

Although Bryant playing nearly 48 minutes may be a necessity with the season nine days from expiration, there is a fine line between Bryant controlling his own playing time and Bryant being instructed to play maximum minutes during the Lakers’ playoffs chase.

Players are meant to play, and coaches are meant to tell them when and how to play. Sure, this is a living Lakers legend, but he is still a player.

Bryant has taken control over when he will play. Often this season, he has hijacked the offense and refused to play defense, too. Sometimes it has worked, but the Lakers’ strategy of allowing Bryant off a leash currently has them struggling for the eighth and final playoff spot—hardly impressive by anyone’s standards.

From day one on the job, D’Antoni molded an environment where Bryant maintained complete control over his own play.

During D’Antoni’s debut on Nov. 20, Bryant quickly picked up two early fouls. Less than six minutes into his tenure, D’Antoni sent in Chris Duhon to replace Bryant, but Bryant refused to leave the game.

After some confusion, Darius Morris came out of the game to avoid a delay of game warning. Bryant stayed on the floor. Less than six minutes on the Lakers sidelines, D’Antoni received notice that Bryant would stay on the floor whenever he wanted to.

The coach didn’t respond.

At that point in time, a quick timeout to tell Bryant to listen to instructions and grab a seat would have gone a long way to D’Antoni having control at this point in the season. Unfortunately, that never happened.

“If he says he feels great and his legs aren’t bothering him, then, I’ve got to take his word for it,” D’Antoni said about Bryant’s fitness following Sunday’s loss to the Clippers. “But he said he feels great.”

So, D’Antoni must now rely on the one of the greatest competitors in the history of sports volunteering to leave games with the playoffs on the line. If Kobe plays the first three quarters, does anyone truly believe he will ask to come out of the game in the fourth quarter due to fatigue?

The greater issue for the Lakers is that Bryant’s ability to control his playing time appears likely to continue for the remainder of this season, into the postseason (if the Lakers make it), and into next year (if D’Antoni remains coach).

“Kobe’s our best bet going forward to win games,” D’Antoni said. “He said he’s going to retire after next year, so we’re going to get our money’s worth for two years.”

OK, but will the Lakers get their money’s worth out of D’Antoni?

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Metta World Peace shocked the media at Monday’s Los Angeles Lakers practice by playing two-on-two and saying he was good to go. According to Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni, World Peace was at 80-90 percent to play on Tuesday against the New Orleans Hornets.

Considering World Peace underwent knee surgery on Mar. 28 and was expected to miss a minimum of six weeks, everyone is shocked by World Peace’s return, save for World Peace. He could be back playing for the Lakers less than two weeks following surgery. That is remarkable, and the freak recovery was not lost on World Peace’s teammates.

“I call him Logan,” Kobe Bryant said. “He’s wolverine.”

Whereas World Peace is a medical miracle, Steve Nash continues to show his age. The 39-year-old point guard did not practice on Monday and was again doubtful for Tuesday’s home game. Considering the Lakers play a back-to-back in Portland on Wednesday, Nash is likely out of that game too.

Nash may be better off avoiding the game in Portland as it will likely conjure up haunting memories. Nash broke his leg on Halloween night when the Lakers last played in Portland. If Nash continues to miss games, Bryant will likely continue to log long minutes controlling the Lakers’ offense.

With regard to World Peace’s return, the Lakers will need to be cautious about over-using him on the back-to-back, but even if he is ruled out on Tuesday, he appears to be in line to return on Wednesday.

“It's unbelievable,” D’Antoni said at Monday’s practice. “Any modern medicine you have to throw everything out the window.”

For a team that has been battling injuries and bad news all season long, the Lakers have received a miracle recovery. However, the Lakers are still half a game back of Utah and currently not in control of their own destiny with regards to making the playoffs.

Only five games remain in the Lakers 2012-13 regular season, and the Lakers’ post-season qualificiation remains in doubt. That level of urgency is likely a contributing factor into World Peace’s startlingly quick return.