Something funny happened after game four of the Western Conference Finals. After the Lakers escaped San Antonio for the three games to one series lead, for the very first time I truly believed the Lakers could actually win the NBA Championship. Despite their marvelous play throughout the regular season and postseason, the specter of Laker teams from the last three years hung over in my mind. At some point the Lakers would fold and......

Luke Walton Kissing the Black Mamba Kobe Bryant. AP/Mark J. Terrill I am a little confused right now. I don’t know whether to be concerned that the Lakers fell to a 20-point deficit in the third quarter of game one of the NBA Western Conference Finals against the reigning champions San Antonio Spurs. Or should I be confident that the Lakers can overcome any deficit like they did in game one to get the......

Lakers 112, Pacers 96 - The purple and gold have won six of seven and 12 of their last 15 games. Against Indiana, several players had big nights. All five starters hit double-digits in scoring, including 26 from Kobe Bryant, 23 from Andrew Bynum, and 22 from Derek Fisher. The Pacers are 0-9 against the Lakers in Staples Center. Spurs 88, Clippers 82 - Manu Ginobili returned from an injury to his left hand and......

Dodgers 5, Pirates 4 - Brad Penny was taxed for four runs in six innings, but Los Angeles cashed in with three runs in the seventh and two in the eighth to keep his record at 7-1. Andre Ethier hit the two-run shot that put the Dodgers ahead for good. Grady Little watched most of the game from the clubhouse after arguing with the ump in the fourth. He's the fifth major league manager to......

Clippers 103, Suns 99 - The sun hasn't set on the Clipper's playoff hopes yet. Los Angeles surprised Phoenix, who played their regular starters despite a lock on the #2 seed in the West. The Clippers need to beat New Orleans (a/k/a Oklahoma City) on Wednesday and root for Portland to beat Golden State. That scenario would tie them with the Warriors at .500. The teams split their season series, but the Clippers would advance......

Dodgers 9, Padres 3 - If there was ever a day the Dodgers were supposed to win, it was Sunday. The Boys in Blue delivered on Jackie Robinson Day, honoring one of our nation's heroes with five stolen bases, thirteen hits, and nine runs. On the 60th anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier, the entire Dodgers team wore #42. In fact, over 200 players and managers throughout the country donned Jackie's old number. The......

The Lakers go up against the best franchise of the last decade in San Antonio, win one of the most exciting and best-played games of their season last night — despite 2/5ths of the starting lineup watching from home — and what is the Lakers reward? A plane ride in an ice storm to face the hottest (and maybe best) team in the NBA. Welcome to the fun of the NBA in Texas these days.......

Sure, the Lakers are 19 games into their season, but so far it has been the equivalent of a lazy Sunday morning. They've barely had to leave home (only four games away from Staples Center, like only leaving the house to grab the paper), and they've faced the second easiest schedule in the league so far, like making a cup of Pete's to sip while reading said paper. The young team got to gel......

Boi From Troy is right, it's time to join the LA Clippers Bandwagon. Long-suffering Clippers fans should be psyched with Elton, Sam, Chris Kaman and the rest getting it done against the Nuggets and looking likely to make it to the next round of the playoffs after going up 2-0 impressively last night. So, here's your bandwagon starter kit: -Get your video highlights from last night's butt-whoopin'. -Show your love to Clippers fans as......

There's a weird sensation that all LA hoops fans are feeling right now. It feels like something is missing. Like something is absent in our lives. We feel cold, alone, uncomfortable, and empty. What is this sensation? The Lakers aren't in the playoffs. Yes, this is normally the time of year where we're mildly concerned with Portland or Houston, and how Shaq might match up against someone like Arvydas Sabonis. Sacramento and San Antonio......

The basketball world won't quite be the same tomorrow when Karl Malone officially announces his retirement. Malone may leave the game without the championship he so desperately sought, and without the all-time scoring record he nearly broke, but the Mailman can take soleace in retiring as the greatest power forward of all-time. Malone redefined his position after years of perfecting the pick-and-roll with John Stockton, but when he came to LA, he redefined himself.......

I've been defending Kobe Bryant for a while, but his comments on Karl Malone on XTRA were ridiculous. So what if Karl Malone hasn't practiced all season? He's Karl Malone. Hall-of-Famers--espcially ones who have sacrificed so much for the organization--get a free pass. Kobe should know that. Then again, T.J. Simers has an excellent point in today's LA Times. Karl Malone's refusal to now play for the Lakers is almost childish. It was Shaq......

Anyone who thought the Lakers would just continue to roll through their West rivals without Shaq was proven wrong last night. The San Antonio Spurs were a cut above the Lakers the whole way en route to a 105-96 win. Of course, even with Shaq, the Lakers needed a Derek Fisher miracle to beat San Antonio. But LA just didn't have the horses to slow down Tim Duncan, and contain Tony Parker and Manu......