The Lakers had a tough weekend, first with a loss to the Hornets on Friday. They lost more than just the game, Pau Gasol going out in the first quarter with a sprained ankle. He’ll most likely be out another two weeks. Chris Paul took advantage of the center lane with the absence of Gasol and a quality point guard. Paul scored 27 points and had 17 assists. Tyson Chandler pulled 20 rebounds and scored 14 points in front of his home town. Kobe Bryant 36 points but it was far from enough.

Sunday the Lakers traveled to Houston to try and stop the Rockets streak at 21, they were unsuccessful. Both teams had a record of 45-20 and were fighting for the number one seed in the west. Once again, the point guard killed the Lakers. Rafer Alston had a career high 31 points hitting eight three pointers. The Rockets played excellent defense, particularly Shane Battier on Kobe Bryant. He forced him to take tough shots, frustrating Bryant, making him increasingly selfish.

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The Lakers (45-19) are the best in the west, but all that can change after a tough road trip they are about to face. Tonight they play the Hornets (43-20), who are coming off a big win against San Antonio. Chris Paul had 26 points and 17 assists in that victory. The Lakers often have trouble with quality point guards, it being their weakest position, and will have a tough time containing Paul. He averages 21.3 points, 11.1 assists, and 2.7 steals a game. He’ll be joined by Compton’s own Tyson Chandler, who returns to L.A. averaging 11.8 points and 12.3 rebounds.

Next they face the Houston Rockets (44-20), who now lead the southwest division, the most competitive in the league (Spurs, Hornets, Mavs). The have won 20 straight games, the 3rd longest streak of all time. The Lakers have the longest (33) and hope Houston wins their game against the Bobcats tonight so they can end the streak on Sunday. Tracy McGrady has been putting up big numbers since the absence of Yao Ming, but Phil Jackson said they will not forget about the present of point guard Rafer Alston. He has been playing well lately and may take advantage of a slower defense.

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The Lakers had another big win at Staples Center against Dallas yesterday. It marked their 42 victory, the most in the conference. The game was close the whole way and went into overtime, ending at 108-104. These two teams are among the elite in the West, and every game counts. They played as if it was like a playoff game, Kobe Bryant scoring 52, a season high for him and all players in the league. Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points and pulled 13 rebounds, but he and the newly acquired Jason Kidd, though given an opportunity, could not close it out. Kidd had 16 points, 11 assists, and 4 steals.

Pau Gasol contributed 17 points and 14 rebounds for L.A. The Mavericks Erick Dampier had 16 points, shooting 100%, and pulled 17 rebounds. Dallas had a well rounded game, but the Laker defense was the key. Bryant said after the game, “We didn’t give them any good looks, and I think eventually that wears a team down. We really got it done on the defensive end.”

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Ever wonder what’s worth watching live on TV anymore? With thousands of channels there is only a handful of things worth watching. Here is your list of new shows, exciting TV debut’s and basketball games that you should be sure not to miss!

What to Watch Live

A Raisin in the Sun (Monday, ABC, 8 PM)

Sean Combs stars in this TV movie based Lorraine Hansley’s Broadway play. The movie features much of the same cast as 2004’s Broadway revival, two of whom, Phylicia Rashad and Audra McDonald, won Tonys for their performances. The success of the revival (it was the 2nd highest grossing Broadway play in history) and Combs’ star power led to ABC green-lighting director Kenny Leon’s project to make a movie out of the play. Watch to see if Combs’ acting holds up to his other talents and the excellent reviews he received on Broadway.

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It was All-Star Weekend in New Orleans and there were very memorable moments for the NBA. On Saturday was both the 3 point shootout and the slam dunk competition. Sunday was the All-Star game, and the festivities were kicked off with home town heroes Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis. It was a good city for the celebration, it being rich in music and food as part of the culture. Also, it was refreshing to see celebration in a city that has experienced so much devastation.

On Saturday night, UCLA’s own Jason Kapono (featured right) defended his 3 point title against the likes of Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, and Peja Stojakovic. Kobe’s injured finger kept him out of the competition. Nash choked, Dirk put up a good scored, as did Daniel Gibson, but Kapono was too much. He tied the competition record with 25 and earned his second straight victory. Charles Barkley called him, “the best shooter in the league,” before the shootout began. As he finished his last rack of basketballs Barkley exclaimed, “I told you!”

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Lakers play tonight in Charlotte. They have won 5 of 6 and continue to prevail on their 9 game road trip. Only two games remain before the All-Star break, then the Lakers can return to the Staples Center after the Grammy’s occupation. What looked like the beginning of a slump has turned into a successful road trip, regardless of how the last two games turn out, which incidentally are against two of the worst teams in the league. But the Lakers had a game yesterday in Miami, and the last back to back games they had on the road resulted in a loss to Atlanta.

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The Lakers started off Super Bowl Sunday with a game of their own, winning their second straight with no center, and giving us 30 wins before the All-Star break, always a good sign. Pau Gasol was there, but not in uniform, as the team thought it was too early for him to play. They stomped the Washington Wizards 103-91, Kobe Bryant leading all scorers with 30, and taking his team 2-1 on this, their longest road trip since 1960.

Before the trip began, there was worry what such a schedule would do to a handicapped team like the Lakers, especially after losing a heartbreaking first game in Detroit. But since the news of the Spanish acquisition, the team seems even hungrier, every role player chipping in to make the Lakers look like one of the deepest teams in the NBA.

The Laker bench includes Jordan Farmar, Vladamir Radmanovic, and Sasha Vujacic, giving us legitimate three point threats, all of them shooting over 40%. Not to mention Andrew Bynum when he returns in several weeks to back up Gasol. These are all players that can, and have been scoring in double figures regularly.

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Two of the Pac-10’s elite squads go up against each other tonight as Arizona takes on UCLA. Pauley Pavilion should be rocking as it seems we’ll finally get a game that hearkens back to the classic UCLA vs. Arizona match-ups of the mid-nineties. This Arizona team may be playing the best best basketball of anyone in the Pac after 4 straight conference victories.

Kevin Love has been dominating everyone, but Jordan Hill is the most improved player in the Conference and should provide him with a great challenge. The Wildcats have two of the nations top perimeter players in Chase Budinger (a SoCal native) and Jerryd Bayless. Bayless has been one of the best Freshman in the country thus far, but has gained little notoriety compared with the O.J. Mayo’s and Derrick Rose’s.

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The Lakers began a 15 day road trip last night at the Palace against the Detroit Pistons. In a tough loss, Kobe Bryant played all but 45 seconds of the game scoring 39 points and 10 rebounds. Compton’s own Tayshaun Prince led Detroit scorers with 22, including a three pointer with 4 seconds left, giving his team the 90-89 win. Bryant had little help with the offense, but had 11 of the Lakers 22 turnovers. Vladamir Radmonovic had five.

The Lakers have been having a hard time since the loss of Andrew Bynum. They have lost five of their last seven games, and face eight teams on the road before coming home to face Atlanta February 19^th after All-Star weekend. But they have enough to make it through this road trip without dropping too many losses. Only 3 of the 8 teams they are soon to face have winning records. And after barely losing in Detroit, to one of the best teams in the east, with a poor performance, they should be pleased about how they rate in the league. [ Read The Full Story -> ]

You know the old saying “if it wasn’t for bad luck he wouldn’t have any luck at all?” The 2007-2008 version of the Clippers demand a revision. Maybe something like ‘if it weren’t for bad luck the Clippers wouldn’t be half as entertaining’. It’s high comedy at this point. Embrace it. Since the Clippers can only win games when yip yap Sam scores over 20 points, don’t expect many more victories. If the Clippers were a romantic comedy, they would play the part of the schlubby best friend who hates himself, eats too much, and has an unhealthy obsession with comic books who can never quite pull it together. He’s good for a laugh though. The same goes for the Clippers, except we don’t necessarily celebrate their minor humiliations.

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