Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe Bryant has 24 points on a night that starts with a hug between Phil Jackson and Shaquille O'Neal.

Shaquille O'Neal gave Phil Jackson a sweaty hug 90 minutes before tip-off, a fitting image in a bizarre couple of days that ended the best possible way for the Lakers.

He tells his former coach that recent comments were taken out of context.

Phil Jackson stood in a dim hallway amid a semi-circle of reporters, talking about how difficult it is to box out Shaquille O'Neal , when the topic of discussion emerged from a nearby practice court, pushed his way through the media pack and gave Jackson a sweaty embrace.

O'Neal on Kobe Bryant: 'He's playing excellent ball. I can't say anything bad about him now.'

Shaquille O'Neal sat in his locker, his eyes wide, his ears open for all the questions directed toward him about the Lakers.

It's the Lakers' first look at the new-and-improved, Chauncey-gives-them-direction Nuggets. Should be fun.

A little ear candy to help y'all kill time before the game against the Nuggets tonight. Our buddy Eric Neel from ESPN.com drops by and we dissect all things supposedly "soft," whether you're talking the Laker roster, Pau Gasol or Brian during his pickup games at the rec. Plus, Kobe slips to #2 on an ESPN MVP "watch" list! Oh, the humanity... and comically premature coverage! Give it a listen and see what you think. And let BK know if you think he was "soft" or just unwilling to be a total moron at the gym. AK

But don't take that as an invite to drinking (although we at Lakers Blog certainly won't stop anyone from partaking, should the interest be there). Instead, the bar in question is the one Suns coach Terry Porter claimed the Lakers represent in a "measuring stick" metaphorical sense. And with that in mind, a 105-92 Lakers win- a victory not even as close as that sizable margin would indicate- equals Porter's squad going belly up. For that matter, so did the "story lines" heading into the contest. Before the tip, the focus seemed to swirl around matters of star power. Shaq's...

PHOENIX - This wasn't about Kobe Bryant. It wasn't about Shaquille O'Neal either. And it certainly wasn't about Phil Jackson. No, the Lakers' 105-92 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night at the US Airways Center was all about depth and defense and entering a foreign arena and finding the right combinations to secure another impressive victory.

PHOENIX - This wasn't about Kobe Bryant. It wasn't about Shaquille O'Neal either. And it certainly wasn't about Phil Jackson.

PHOENIX - The door to the Phoenix Suns' practice court swung open and the Big Sweaty emerged Thursday night, walking across the hallway, embracing his former coach and whispering something sweet in his ear.

Ding column: And so it goes … and maybe it will go for two or three more years, which is Jackson's estimate for how much longer O'Neal can be a “force” in the NBA.

Subplots are everywhere as Lakers take on Phoenix.

Tumultuous duo has kept things interesting for 12 years. Click "More Photos" to see the slide show.

Kobe Bryant scored 24 points and Vladimir Radmanovic made all five of his 3-pointers to lead the Los Angeles Lakers past the Phoenix Suns, 105-92 on Thursday night.

The Lakers are proud to announce November’s Student of the Month winners, Brenda Piña, Jenesis Lopez and Nicholas Nikoian and Teacher of the Month winners, Winnie Petersen, Martin Bray and Glen Kamida. This month’s winners demonstrate an outstanding commi

At last night’s game versus the Chicago Bulls, The Lakers organization, Lakers Girls and Lakers fans all pitched in to raise money for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. The money will be used to provide shelter, meals, health and mental health

Records: Lakers 9-1 (1st in West) Nuggets 8-4 (2nd in West) Offensive ratings: Lakers 109.3 (4th in League) Nuggets 103.5 (20th in League) Defensive ratings: Lakers 95.3 (1st in League) Nuggets 100.6 (5th in League) Projected Starting Lineups: Lakers: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Vladimir Radmanovic, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum Nuggets : Chauncey [...]

Records: Lakers 8-1 Suns 8-4 Offensive ratings: Lakers 108.9 Suns 108.7 Defensive ratings: Lakers 94.8 Suns 105.7 Projected Starting Lineups: Lakers: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Vladimir Radmanovic, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum Suns : Steve Nash, Raja Bell, Matt Barnes, Amare Stoudemire, Shaq Daddy Note to the mainstream media covering the game tonight: [...]

I think we all expected a more exciting and competitive game tonight. Then again, when you’re as good as we are wins like this shouldn’t be all that surprising, right? We closed the first quarter strongly after Phoenix got it going and from there on out, we just kept delivering blow after blow and watched [...]

LOS ANGELES (AP)— Losing a game didn’t sit well with the Los Angeles Lakers. They took out their anger on the Chicago Bulls. Pau Gasol scored 24 of his season-high 34 points in the first half, and the Lakers rebounded from their first setback of the season with a 116-109 victory over the Bulls on Tuesday [...]

Meanwhile… Back In The Win Column It’s not just a circus trip but it’s also an aim of the Bulls tonight to make the game a circus. The structured strong in the middle game the Lakers are geared for is something the Bulls simply can’t handle. So coming into this game the Lakers had to keep [...]

It seems like the entire world and their mother is under the impression that Memphis GM Chris Wallace just pawned off Pau Gasol to the Lakers for Kwame Brown's expiring contract and nothing more last January.

Please, for the love of everything good and holy left fighting for on this earth, let's dispel this myth right now.

The name "Marc" may not trump "Pau" when "Gasol" comes up in word association games, but Marc Gasol could be far more relevant long after his older brother has retired from the game.

The Grizzlies got the rights to Little Gasol (if you can call the hulking 7'1", 265-pound Marc Gasol that) back in January, but he was viewed at largely as a throw-in.

After making a mark in the Beijing Games for the Spanish team this past summer, the 23-year old Marc Gasol has come in as a rookie in Memphis and put up 12.0 points and 7.7 boards in his first 10 games in the NBA. And this is for a guy who was a late second-round pick in 2007.

On top of that, the Grizzlies have Gasol at a dirt-cheap rookie contract. While the older Gasol is making eight figures in the prime of his career, this Gasol is young enough to align his career symmetry with fellow Memphis stars O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay.

His cheap deal also allows Wallace to be a player in free agency for the next several summers before locking up his version of the "Big Three" when the time comes.

Younger Gasol has been everything that his brother was when he came into the league - with less than half the hype and the salary. Marc is shooting 56.4 percent from the field, averaging a block per game, and put up a monster 27-point, 16-rebound game earlier this month in just his fourth contest in the NBA, a 90-79 Grizzlies win.

He even came right out of the gate firing by logging a double-double in his first game as a pro, posting 12 points and 12 boards against the competitive Houston Rockets to start of his rookie campaign.

While Mayo and Gay have combined to start forming what could be one of the most devastating 1-2 punches in the league, Gasol has complemented the two perimeter players nicely with a good low-post game and an affinity to do the dirty work.

It took his older brother several years to shed the "soft" label and become the bruiser that he is today with the Lakers, but Marc Gasol has already shown that he has the attitude and the edge to bang bodies inside and do what it takes to do his job every night.

Kwame Brown's contract is long gone, but don't you dare make the mistake of thinking of him as the key piece Wallace targeted in January. The Grizzlies GM pretty much cloned Pau, made him five years younger, and cut his salary by over 90 percent.

So why do people keep taking shots at Wallace and talk about him as if they could do his job better?

If you read and listen to the mass media that covers the league (even casually), you'd be convinced that the Grizzlies got Brown from Pau Gasol and absolutely nothing else.

You'd ignore the fact that Marc Gasol is developing just as well as his older brother did in the same city seven years ago.

You'd ignore the fact that Wallace saved a ton of cash to lay the groundwork for a dynamic young nucleus, and he will have a ton of money to throw around as well as draft picks to keep adding to this young Memphis team.

With Pau Gasol, Wallace would have just kept treading water given the older Gasol's age and massive contract. With the 23-year old Marc Gasol, who is playing for the NBA equivalent of slave wages due to his status as a second-round pick, the Grizzlies finally have a vision and a future along with a familiar name to carry them into the next phase of their franchise.

Maybe the Lakers will continue to prove that they won this trade in the end. Maybe Pau Gasol will help Kobe Bryant win that elusive fourth championship ring. And maybe Marc Gasol will continue to be known as Pau's little brother.

But until then, recognize this right now: Chris Wallace has set up the Memphis Grizzlies for an incredibly successful run in the years to come. And it's why he - and not the fans that think he only got Kwame Brown in return - is running an NBA team.

If one thing has been made clear through the first two-plus weeks of the season, it's this: the Lakers and Celtics are still the cream of the NBA's crop. Although both L.A. and Boston lost to teams that most would argue are inferior opposition last week, I doubt anyone that has been closely following the league thus far would cite those losses as justification for dropping either of them in anyone's power rankings.

However with that said, one could debate all day as to whether the Lakers or Celtics deserves to be #1. Last week I had the then-undefeated Lakers occupying the top of my rankings, followed closely by the Celtics. L.A. still has the fewest losses of any team in the league, and they also possess the largest point differential out there (+14.4). So, in the words of Terrell Owens, "the proof is in the pudding."

1. Los Angeles Lakers (7-1) - L.A.'s normally smothering defense finally allowed an opponent to top 100 points and shoot above 50 percent from the field. So much for going 82-0...

2. Boston Celtics (9-2) - The Celtics had a busy week, playing five games in seven nights, yet managed to save some energy for an overtime win in Milwaukee on the second game of a back-to-back.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers (8-2) - To say that LeBron is on a roll would be an understatement. But seriously, he's ridiculously good, and his Cavs have now won seven straight.

4. Phoenix Suns (8-3) - With Nash suspended, the Suns needed OT to beat the Kings. Then last night he came back and led Phoenix to an 18-point win over Detroit. That's the value of an elite point guard.

5. Detroit Pistons (7-3) - I was skeptical about the new-look Pistons, but they've since proven me wrong in winning three straight on the road, including the big one over the Lakers.

6. Orlando Magic (7-3) - The week started with a home loss to Portland, but ended with three straight road wins, including their first win in Dallas in 11 years.

7. New Orleans Hornets (5-4) - This might be a tad high for a team with four losses, but their two losses last week came against the Lakers and Rockets, and they did beat Portland.

8. Portland Trail Blazers (6-4) - The Blazers went a solid 3-1 on the road this week and have to be feeling good with Greg Oden in the lineup, healthy, and finding his groove.

9. Houston Rockets (6-4) - Wins over Phoenix and New Orleans outweigh the loss to the Spurs in my mind, but this team needs to show more consistency in order to rise any higher.

10. Utah Jazz (6-4) - The Jazz had a rough 1-4 road trip, but I blame most of it on the recent  injuries to Williams, Kirilenko and Harpring, as well as the absence of Okur. They'll bounce back.

11. Atlanta Hawks (6-3) - Atlanta's heartbreaking loss to the Celtics was followed up by a pair of losses to the Nets in a home-and-home. Apparently they forgot how to play defense.

12. Denver Nuggets (5-4) - I was very impressed with Denver's defense in their win in Boston on Friday, but can Billups continue to maintain the team's commitment to playing D?

13. Philadelphia 76ers (5-5) - They got spanked by the Jazz, but Philly has since won three straight, including a 25-point demolition of the Thunder. By the way, Thaddeus Young is legit.

14. Toronto Raptors (5-4) - Coach Mitchell shook up the team by starting Bargnani instead of Moon, and it worked in last night's win over the Heat. Could that be the spark they needed?

15. Chicago Bulls (5-5) - The loss to the Hawks notwithstanding, Chicago seems to be improving with each game. We'll see if they can keep it up with a long Western roadie up next.

16. New York Knicks (6-4) - The Knicks treaded water last week after beating Memphis and Oklahoma City and losing to San Antonio and Dallas. So, they don't budge in my rankings.

17. Miami Heat (5-5) - Once Miami starts beating quality teams on the road, I'll afford them some respect, but until then they are simply a mediocre team.

18. San Antonio Spurs (4-5) - With both Ginobili and Parker still unable to contribute, the Spurs have been forced to do what they do best in order to win: play great defense.

19. Indiana Pacers (4-5) - The Pacers were another example of a team going nowhere last week: they beat teams they were supposed to beat (OKC, NJ), but lost to Philly and Chicago.

20. Golden State Warriors (4-6) - Detroit needed a second-half rally to beat the Warriors, which got wins over the Wolves and Clippers, last week. S-Jax deserves to be an All-Star.

21. Milwaukee Bucks (5-6) - The Bucks couldn't contend with LeBron James, but at least they beat the Spurs and took the Celtics to overtime, all without Michael Redd.

22. Dallas Mavericks (3-7) - I was about ready to drop the Mavs into the bottom five, until Dirk's 39-point outburst led them to a win over the Knicks to snap a five-game losing streak.

23. New Jersey Nets (4-5) - The pair of wins over the Hawks were nice, but the return of Devin Harris (and his back-to-back 30-point output) was even nicer.

24. Charlotte Bobcats (3-6) - The loss of leading scorer Jason Richardson was bad news for the Bobcats, yet they still were able to beat the shorthanded Jazz without him.

25. Sacramento Kings (4-7) - The Kings lost a tight one last night to the Spurs, but they continue to fight without leading scorer Kevin Martin and top reserve Francisco Garcia.

26. Memphis Grizzlies (3-7) - Allowing 132 points to an opponent is absolutely inexcusable, even if the opponent is coached by Mike D'Antoni. Memphis has now lost four straight.

27. Washington Wizards (1-6) - The good news: the Wiz finally got a win. The bad news: they put up only 77 in a 20-point loss to Miami. Isn't this supposed to be a good offensive team?

28. Los Angeles Clippers (1-8) - They still have the league's worst point differential (-13.9), but at least the Clips can look forward to playing the Thunder in a few days.

29. Minnesota Timberwolves (1-8) - Seems like that first win occurred ages ago. The Wolves have lost eight in a row, and it won't get any easier with Philly, Boston and Detroit up next.

30. Oklahoma City Thunder (1-9) - OKC had to play five games in seven nights, and they face another tough stretch this week, ending with a home-and-home set versus New Orleans.

MVN's first original sports talk television show "Boom, Outta Here" debuts with chatter about the Jets' anonymous jab at their Thursday night opponents, backup quarterbacks taking over the NFL and NBA stars eyeing offers from Europe.

Hosts Pat McSweeney and Brandon Rosage also take a stand against giving Manny what he wants (opting, instead, for Mark Teixeira) and encourage to NHL to embrace Dallas Stars center Mike Ribeiro's taunting and showboating from Wednesday night's shootout with the Los Angeles Kings.