Man... so much running through my mind at the moment that I don't know what to say.  I do know that I cannot sum it up as accurately or as succinctly as a certain Suns fan from Australia that I know...

Here's how he closed his piece on Kobe, and Kobe's injury:

Kobe proved to me - to everyone - that he's willing to literally destroy his body to get his team to the playoffs. He has apparently (yet to be confirmed by MRI) torn his achilles tendon completely - as in, there is no longer a connection between his calf muscle and his heel - and as his final act, stepped to the free throw line and made both free throws to give the Lakers a two point lead. With a completely torn achilles tendon. It has taken me until now to believe it, but that moment was Kobe Bryant epitomised.

It seems only fitting that Kobe is brought down in much the same way as the mythological hero his injured tendon was named after, because throughout his career Kobe has seemed as untouchable, as unbeatable as Achilles was in myth. For the sake of good basketball, we can only hope the arrow to Kobe's heel is not the fatal blow it was to Achilles - we're not ready for a post-Bryant NBA, much the same as I suspect the man himself is not ready for a post-NBA Bryant.

Love him, hate him or merely dislike him, all I ask is that you open your eyes, ignore your biases and give Kobe Bryant the respect that he truly deserves.

It's a worthy read, and I'd hope that a lot of Kobe's detractors end up in the same place.  Kudos, Mike.

12 games to go.  LA are in 8th, 2 games ahead of Utah and Dallas in 9th/10th.  3 games behind Houston for 7th.  The smoke's beginning to clear away now, and it looks like predictions of the Lakers making the playoffs will be on the mark.  Hell... it's not like picking contenders for the Kentucky Derby - it's a pretty good bet now that the Lakers will make it.

Still, the road home's not easy.  Difficult games litter the last 12.  Hosting Memphis, Dallas the Dubs and Houston... and trips to GSW (today), LAC (har-har), San Antonio and Portland.  That's 8 out of 12 difficult games, and no games on the schedule could be counted as "gimmes".  However, Utah have a tough stretch home too, and of late they've been playing truly abysmal basketball.  Dallas too have a hard road home. 7 of their games remaining are against playoff-bound teams, and only 2 games are relatively soft.  Portland?  Well... mathematically they're still in it.  But with 9 games vs very tough playoff-bound opponents, and the only non-playoff teams they face are Dallas and Utah - two teams who will be most eager to do battle.  Fuhgeddabowdit.

I don't think that the Lakers can catch Houston.  Nor do I think they should want to should the standings up top remain the same.  Redolent of a few years ago (Memphis vs San Antonio), #1 San Antonio are a much better option for LA than Oklahoma.  Granted, a lot will have to go right for LA to have a chance against either... but I fancy the chances vs the Spurs far more than I do vs OKC.  Simply a better match-up for the Lakers than the fast-paced Thunder.

Not a done thing yet... but given the way this season began, I'm happy where the Lakers find themselves now.  Cannot believe that too... happy for the team just to make the playoffs?  I guess this is what a Houston Rockets fan feels like!

SOL REPUBLIC gave me a set of their Master Tracks headphones to 'test-drive'... and I have to say, I'm most impressed.  I have a pair of Dead Mau5, and they're good... but they don't come close to the textured sound the Master Tracks deliver.  The ear cushioning, the pivot system, the size of the speakers... all are simply fantastic.

I love 'em.

And I think that you will too.  To win your very own set of SOL REPUBLIC Master Tracks, simply write down in the comment section who your all-time favourite Laker is.  I'll choose one lucky winner to take home a pair of SOL REPUBLIC Master Tracks.

What could be easier than that?

Ok, forget asking for a moment why the Lakers get themselves into situations like this... and ask: has Kobe Bryant ever been any better?

This... was sick.

Puts a bit of an exclamation mark on the game... Who?  Kobe?  OLD???

Oh yeah... .500 baby! (never thought that's something I'd get excited about... but here we are)

Well... in Japan it's February 7th, 2013.  So officially it's Steve Nash's birthday here.  Also... my birthday.  For me, he's one of the most famous people to share this date (well... along with Sir Thomas More, Charles Dickens and Buster Crabbe), and for him to end up at the Lakers is kinda nice.

So, "O tanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu Steve-san!!!"

It's getting damn difficult to predict which LA team will turn up on a nightly basis.  Will it be the Lakers that looked fantastic within a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder?  Or will it be the Lakers that showed up for a loss vs the somewhat depleted Toronto Raptors...

Hell, last week in the game vs the Phoenix Suns, both teams showed up - with LA looking completely dominant for most of the game, only have to have the "vs-Raptors" team show up for the last 14 minutes.  Unfortunately, those Lakers prevailed, and thus... so did the Suns.   

Even a much-vaunted (and rightly so) re-invention by Kobe Bryant hasn't been enough to completely stem the tide.  Black Mamba's incredible 56 assists in 5 games is a dramatic change from his usual 4-5 dimes per.  And it's come with the result of everyone being more involved... and thus more vested in the game's outcome.  Unfortunately, even that hasn't been enough.  During the win over Minnesota, LA still managed to squander a large lead and ended up winning by a somewhat-less-than-expected 11 points.

So... next game continues the Grammy road-trip, and in Detroit.  A Pistons team that's recently been fueled by their own set of dominant bigs - Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond really starting to assert themselves - and the recent addition of Gasol's countryman Jose Calderon.  Play to capabilities (and should Dwight be available), then this could be a cakewalk for LA.  Play to what we've seen from them all season... and it could get ugly.  Very ugly.

What are the odds the good team show up?  I dunno.  You tell me.

Ok.  I get it.  Yes, where the LA Lakers currently find themselves (an unbelievable 4 games below .500, an unimaginable 3 games out of 8th position, in 12th within the Western Conference) sucks.  Yes, for the vast majority of the time thus far this season, that verbiage (sucks) could be used to describe the Lakers... a team with a starting roster that is beyond even fantasy teams.

But at what point is enough, actually enough?  At what point as a fan do I give up on this season?  A team with Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Metta World Peace and Steve Nash on the roster?  Even looking ahead to the Superbowl - what are the odds you can accurately pick which teams will be in there, and what the result will be?  Easier than predicting that this team would perform like this, that's for sure.

Clearly, Dwight's not quite yet "Dwight".  And Pau's been very un-Pau-like... but a large part of that has to fall on the inability of Mike D'Antoni to effectively work Gasol into his system.  Yes, part of it is on Pau.  He has oft come across as mentally... fragile.  Perhaps "emotionally fragile" is a bit closer to the mark.  Someone recently pointed out to me that there are some similarities with what's being asked of Gasol to the way he plays with Spain (with brother Marc Gasol and Reyes dominating the low post)... and that's a good point.  But ... in that team he's "THE Guy". There's no question there, and the difference in attitude, demeanor and play is palpable. And I think it's mental - 4th wheel isn't sitting well for him. And that's a great pity (the entire situation).

Kobe recently commented that he thought that the Lakers were simply "an old team".  I don't think "age" has had anything to do with it whatsoever, and I don't think Kobe thinks that either.  What he said was more highlighting to the "young bucks" on the team that they need to do more.  The old guys?  

• Oldest player: Nash has been pretty good post breaking his leg (and before too). Even if I wish he'd shoot more.
• Third oldest player: Kobe's been having a great year.
• Another "old" guy: MWP's been having his best season as a Laker.

All of the other points people list (coaching, system, injuries): none of them have much to do with age, and matter o' fact - the "old guys" (sans Gasol) have been playing better than those younger than them.

Yet the results have been undeniable, and LA seems to be in danger of wasting a halcyon year from Kobe, a great year from Ron-ron.

It's a quandary... I just wish they'd give me something to believe in.

Well done Kobe Bryant!

Only the fifth player to score 30,000 points - and the fastest ever to do so.

Some thoughts on LA at the moment...

- Dwight Howard's still not quite 'Dwight'. He's far better than he was at the start of the season, but he's still not 'there' (wherever that destination is).
- He (Dwight) needs to shut-up. You can talk about "wanting a ring", but hit your goddamn FTs and hit 50+% from the field more often than not please. Hell, 50% from the charity stripe would be a blessing. With LA performing the way they are, this won't help much.  Talk about it once you're part of the solution.
- I'm ok with Kobe Bryant shooting. Guy's hitting a very high percentage of shots from far further out than the bigs... but I'm not ok with Kobe taking quick shots from outside in the dying seconds of a game when the Lakers are down by 2. Look inside.
- Obviously, LA hurt for the absence of Steve Nash. Tho' I am honestly not buying the hand-wringing about his back-up (is he even?) Steve Blake being out. It's resulted in both Darius Morris and Chris Duhon getting some run. Now, neither are game winners, but both have been better than 'ok'. Morris is still too young, and Duhon too old... but they've been ok. Problem is, with one of those guys starting, and with Pau Gasol out so Antawn Jamison starting (vs Houston), the bench (not a strong point to begin with) is further decimated.
- I am beginning to think that perhaps Gasol might need to go. It's VERY difficult for me to say that, as he's been an absolute rock for LA... but having a player like Jamison (not necessarily Jamison himself!) would be a far better fit. I expected D'Antoni to be able to find a way to fit Gasol in, and Gasol to be able to find a way to fit... but it's not happening. Having more a stretch forward who's comfortable away from the basket might be a necessity.
- D'Antoni's vaunted offensive mind. Not saying it doesn't exist, but just that I haven't seen it yet.
- I do expect some stability when Nash returns. I expect D'Antoni (to an extent) to basically get outta the way at times and let Steve run things. I would not be surprised to see a significant improvement when Nash's back. Nash/Gasol back in the line-up bolsters the starting 5 hugely, and will make the bench a whole lot better.

There are no panic buttons being pressed as yet, but given the Lakers booted Mike Brown out after his start, stuff needs to start to change. Back on track, and soon please.