SECTIONS

The regular season is nearly done, two more stops until the end of the line. The Lakers face the Oklahoma City Thunder, having lost in their two previous match-ups.  Today will be one of those early Sunday games which isn’t always optimal. The Lakers prefer waking when the sun is warm in the sky, a nice brunch, maybe poached eggs with artichoke bottoms and brioche. 

There’s not much use dwelling on Friday’s game - Andrew Bynum got two rebounds after collecting 30 in his previous visit to AT&T territory. The Spurs spaced the floor and hit lots of open jumpers. The key to the game was that telescoping fireball that Manu hurled through the chute to Matt Bonner. The Lakers just kind of wandered around after that, talking at the floor.

Derek Fisher pays another visit to Staples in a Thunder uniform. He’s had a hell of a year. He helped save the Buss’s family fortune and they dumped his measly contract for Jordan Hill’s measly contract. This supposedly had something to do with saving money which I haven’t quite yet figured out, plus the idea that he might have had a problem with Ramon Sessions coming in.

This last theory is actually semi-understandable because we all remember how Fish threw fits when Tye Lue, Derek Harper, Ron Harper, Brian Shaw, Mike Penberthy, Lindsey Hunter, Mitch Richmond, J.R. Rider, Gary Payton, Shammond Williams, Janero Pargo, Tierre Brown, Jordan Farmer, Sasha Vujacic, Coby Karl and Steve Blake arrived. I’m probably forgetting some guys.

And then there’s the matter of Billy Hunter and his favorite pigeon Mo Evans trying to fit Fisher for a cement cornerstone. That’s just union business though. My favorite part was Evans giving a lengthy interview about wanting to keep things internal, and getting back to basketball.

Friday night was also the return of Kobe. He didn’t play into the hero narrative, preferring to let the team concept roll. Kind of like how it rolled when he was sitting in a suit. And later, he calmly explained that adjustments would be made. That’s code for “I’m gonna torch Harden’s nasty beard on Sunday.”

The carousel clicks, doorway by doorway. The trick is just to win more than you’re losing. That’s all. You just need to win a game. This team’s been markedly better lately but they still have inexplicable lapses. Like a guy who can get 30 rebounds and then get two against the same team. Like a gun that misfires sometimes. Bryant still leads the league in scoring at 27.89 ppg. Kevin Durant is just a fraction behind, at 27.79 ppg. Kobe said yesterday, “I’m not really tripping about it.”

***

Post double-overtime win update: For anything bad I've ever said about the Jordan Hill trade, forgive me for I have sinned. This post should be buried some dark night, where no one will find it.