It’s usually Kobe Bryant who comes out saving the team from a loss, but the Laker bench did the job tonight by picking up the pieces Kobe couldn’t carry in a big Martin Luther King Day victory against their 2009 NBA Finals opponent the Orlando Magic 98-92 in front of a capacity Staples Center crowd. The win is huge because it’s the final home game for the Lakers in the month of January as they embark on an 8-game road schedule in 12 nights starting in Cleveland.

Lamar Odom said it best during his interview with KCAL-9’s John Ireland right before he headed for the locker room. He said that the Lakers’ struggles are all in their heads. Their inability to focus for long periods of time is the major reason why they’ve been hobbling for months now.

The Lakers (28-7) were supposed to be the landlords of Staples Center, but they played every bit of the tenant roll tonight against their cross-hall rivals the Los Angeles Clippers (16-18) in a 102-91 upset. The Clips snapped a 9-game losing streak to the purple and gold and have won their third straight at home since the 2006-07 season. The Lakers failed to win their 5th game in a row and drops their road record to 8-4.

I don’t know what speech Phil Jackson gave his bench after that first quarter timeout, but he has to give it to them again because the darn thing worked. And I mean worked! Jordan Farmar led the “bench mob” with a career-high 24 points, and the bench scores a season-high 66 points en route to an old-fashioned shellacking of the second best team in the West the Dallas Mavericks (23-11) by 35 points 131-96.

If this game is the first of a back-to-back, I’d hate to see what will happen tomorrow. The suddenly erratic Lakers (24-6) drops their second of their last three games to the smaller Phoenix Suns (20-12) 118-103 in a game that eerily resembles their performance in another road loss against the Jazz.

During yesterday’s practice, Kobe Bryant iterated that tonight’s matchup with the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder (13-14) will be a tough game for the reason that it is a home game. He was right. The Thunder were pretty much in control of the game in the first half leading by 5 after the first quarter and 7 going into halftime 61-54. But the Lakers (23-4) rallied in the third outscoring Oklahoma City by 13 points leading to their league-high 5th win a row in front of a bewildered Staples Center crowd.

After last night’s dismantling of the Lakers by the Houston Rockets, Kobe Bryant was revealed to have a groin injury suffered during their win against the New Orleans Hornets exactly a week prior to last night’s game. Kobe pulled his groin muscle when he pushed his foot forward to lunge at stealing the ball from Chris Paul. This wasn’t the first time Kobe has injured himself attempting to make a defensive play. If you can remember, Kobe injured his shooting hand when he tried to slap the ball away from Jason Kidd almost two years ago.

This was supposed to be a tough game for the Lakers (7-1). But instead it turned out to be a walk in the park destroying the Phoenix Suns (8-2) 121-102 and extending their winning streak to 6. They also knocked off the Suns from the top spot in the Pacific Division.

Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum double-teamed the Suns combining for 55 points and outscoring the entire starting lineup for Phoenix.

Kareem has leukemia.  Not the bombshell that Magic’s announcement that he was HIV positive was years before but startling nonetheless.  The center known  during his playing days as “Cap” is battling chronic myeloid leukemia.  Thankfully, his prognosis is good.

Kobe is at the top of his game.  He is arguably the best player in the game today and at 31 not showing signs of slowing down.  The self-anointed “Black Mamba” leads the league in points and is second in steals.  In addition to being basketball’s present he is keenly aware of its past.

It’s Kobe’s connection to and appreciation of the past that will have me in front of the TV tonight to watch his Lakers take on the Suns.  Sure, it’s a battle of two of the top teams in the league early into the season; but that doesn’t pique my interest.  The game will showcase the aforementioned leading scorer and a two time League MVP in Steve Nash… yawn.  No, I will be watching the game tonight for one reason and one reason only, the skyhook.

The Lakers of the 80’s were amazing to watch.  The rebound would come to one of the Laker’s forward who would quickly find Magic and the race was on.  Sometimes, the fastbreak wasn’t there however and instead of enjoying one of Magic’s look-here, pass there assists we got to wait for the inevitable.  The break stalled and in time Kareem came into view.  He would position himself just left or right of the basket, it didn’t really matter which side, and wait for the entry pass.  The crowd knew what was coming, Chick Hearn knew what was coming, heck even the defender knew what was coming but there was nothing he could do to stop it.  Chick said it best, “They give it to Kareem. He’ll swing left, shoot right. He swings left, shoots right … the 12-foot skyhook is good!”

We were so spoiled as Laker fans back then.  If Magic didn’t awe us, Kareem did.  Have you ever tried a skyhook?  It’s not easy.  The shot is mostly powered by the wrist.  It’s not a hook shot that uses the momentum of your arm swinging to power the ball to the rim; the skyhook is wrist powered.  Try to throw a basketball at the rim from twelve feet away with just your wrist.  Now, do it while your arm is stretched high over your head.  Finally, do it with Bill Walton, Artis Gilmore or the 7 foot 250 pound person of your choice trying to stop you!  Not easy but Kareem made it look effortless.

Now, before I go on and on about the wonder of days gone by I want to reiterate my love for the game today.  Specifically, my admiration for today’s best player.  Kobe has hinted that he might throw some love Kareem’s way by tossing up his version of the skyhook tonight.  “I stole it from him when I was a kid,” Bryant said when discussing Abdul-Jabbar’s illness and referring to tonight’s game against the Suns. “I’ve used it in games a couple times. I might use it the next game, just because.”

I’m counting on it.

In addition to the competitiveness we haven’t seen on the court since MJ, the knack for getting that last shot to go more often than not and his willingness to always grow as a player, I love Kobe’s appreciation for those that came before him.  I was in Chicago one night when Michael Jordan went off for 50 plus against the Blazers.  He was amazing to watch.  Kobe seems to share MJ’s passion to win that drives him to dominate in November against the Warriors as well in Game 7 of the Finals.  ESPN recently asked its SportsNation who they would rather see take the last shot in an NBA Game.  The options were Kobe and three others.  SportsNation said Kobe in a landslide.  Duh.  All that aside however, if he swings left and shoots right tonight as he said he might Kobe will have climbed a level higher in the iconic-classy-player category.  One area he has left MJ way behind in.

Will he or won’t he?  Man, I wish I knew.  But the possibility of it happening is whats driving me to the couch tonight.  He might because he respects all that Kareem did for the game and the Lakers.  He might not if the game is tight and the opportunity doesn’t present itself.  Of course, word that Kareem has officially trademarked “skyhook” may dissuade him. OK, probably not.  Either way if he does do it I’ll be watching and my respect for number 24 will move up.

Too bad Chick won’t be there to call it.

- Jose Salviati

The Lakers are 6-1, just half a game from the top spot in the Pacific Division, and own the longest winning streak in the NBA right now at 5. But this early success doesn’t tell the entire story. There are still a few lingering problems that I think the Lakers must resolve this season but none as big as the current state of Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, and Luke Walton.

Former Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar told in an interview with L.A. Times that he was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia called Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia, which is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow that produces cancerous blood cells, last December.

First, it was Kobe and Shaq. Then Kobe and Pau. Now, it’s Kobe and Ron. The two of the most competitive superstars in the NBA that are often seen trading trash talks and getting in each other’s faces on the court during last season’s Western Conference Semi-Finals have joined forces with formidable results.

No twin towers? No problem!

The Lakers (5-1) took care of the Memphis Grizzlies (1-5) as if both Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum were in the game banging bodies with Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. Instead, it was DJ Mbenga and Josh Powell taking turns in the middle for the Lakers and did a terrific job filling in for their starting 7-foot duo. But that isn’t the story of the night.

They say years can change a man. That’s exactly what happened to Ron Artest. A changed man. He’s like a war veteran who has seen enough violence and bloodshed in his tour of duty that he no longer see things the way he used to and has put forth a peaceful existence.

An ugly game for the Lakers (4-1) becomes the latest nail-biting classic between the purple and gold and the Houston Rockets (3-2). Everybody knew what kind of dangers lie in front of the Lakers heading into this game. Yet they just about did everything they were not supposed to do but still came out the victors in overtime in their second game of a back-to-back.