I feel like such a tool for titling this post "The Wild Wild West." The phrase has been linked to the 2008 Western Conference playoff race more times than bearable, yet still, I find it most fitting.

It's been a crazy few weeks in the west... And I would be a fool not to say the same for the next few weeks. We're coming down the stretch, and it seems like things are only going to get crazier. The Lakers currently have the #1 spot if the playoffs were to start right now. The funny thing is not that the Spurs are a half-game back, but the fact that the #5 Hornets only are only 1.5 games back. What's even funnier is that everything I wrote is almost guaranteed to be inaccurate by the time you read this.

The insanity in the west has been beaten into the ground by writers, bloggers, and analysts alike... so, why not continue the beatdown? This is likely the closest race we'll see in quite some time -- let us bask.

In my opinion, the most impressive thing to come out of it all is the Rockets' now 19-game win streak. The Rockets are hot; there's no denying it, but when will it stop? Will it ever stop?

The absence of Yao has done nothing to sway the Rockets from their fervent winning ways. With both the Lakers and the Spurs losing ground yesterday, is it only a matter of time before the Rockets to seize the west? Also, will the Suns even make the playoffs? Will the Mavs even make the playoffs?

The race for position in the Western Conference has officially erased the annual post-All Star Break lull that leaves the casual fan bored of the final weeks of the regular season. With so many open ended questions and possibilities, there's no doubt that this race will come down to the last minute... Buckle up.

All of this brings up an argument for another day - The Nets currently have the 8th spot in the east with a .413 percentage. Ah, the injustice.

In just the second good Lakers game of the season, Kobe posted 30, grabbed 8 boards, and since everyone in Los Angeles is counting, he smiled a couple of times.

Now when I say good, I don't mean that either team particularly played well, I mean it was fun to watch. The fact that I had to watch it on ESPN, however, was like pulling teeth. I know it's been said in various blogs since the beginning of time, but jeez, could ESPN's coverage of basketball be any worse? I don't want cute father-son moments between Bill and Luke Walton. I don't want to listen to a couple of guys that don't know much of anything about either team pretending like they do. And, I really don't want to sit through 60 seconds of analysis on the Ohio St. v Michigan during a time out with 29 seconds left in a two point game.

Time to explain my situation, for those of you who are not familiar with the Lakers broadcast schedule, all home games are broadcast on Fox Sports Net West, while all away games are broadcast on the terrestrial KCAL 9.

Because of school, this is my first season living outside of the Los Angeles television coverage area, and while we do have Fox Sports down here, we are without KCAL 9, and the beloved LTV pregame show. In effect, I'm lucky to get a road game on ESPN or TNT, because if not, I'm tied to the computer using NBA.com's free live audio, which is great, but it's just not the same.

Now that my diatribe is over, lets get to the game itself...

Lakers 93, Rockets 90

The Lakers jumped out to a huge lead, and held it through the half... Then the third quarter hit. Is it just me, or are the Lakers historically horrific in the third quarter?

They were outscored 22-14 in the third. Keep in mind that this was after Tracy McGrady went out with that injury on his right elbow.

Nevertheless, despite it being the second Houston v. Lakers game of the season to end in nail-biting three-pointer, the Lake Show walked out of the Toyota Center with a much needed win. Kobe's 30 points and 8 rebounds were backed by an overall solid showing from the supporting cast. D-Fish finished with 13 and Lamar Odom posted 10 and 7, despite admitting to "playing through the pain" on the Lakers postgame show on KLAC AM 570.

After the game Kobe had this to say: "It's very good for us to bounce back and come out and play our best. It wasn't pretty the last two minutes. We wanted to kick it up (in the second quarter) and I was able to get my game going. My fade-away is my secret weapon. I'm entirely optimistic all the time."

This was one of those games where you find yourself appreciating Kobe, not because you like him, but because there's no way you would have won the game without him.

On the other side of the floor, Yao put up a stylish 26 points with 13 rebounds alongside Bonzi freaking Wells who added 21 and pulled down 10.

The Lakes head home with a 4-3 record, set to take on Detroit friday night.

around the league
Chasing 0bscurity
You know the drill... if not, see the last post.

Undefeated
Boston Celtics (7-0) - next game: 11/16 vs. Miami - 4:30pm pt

Winless
Golden State Warriors (0-5) - next game: 11/16 vs. Clippers

Thoughts
Two teams succeeded from the ranks of "Chasing Obscurity" tonight. The Sonics finally got a win, beating the Heat tonight, bringing them to a spectacular record of 1-8, consequently, the loss brought the Heat to a 1-7 record. The T-Wolves beat the Queens by a score 108-103, bringing their record to 1-5.

Leg one of the over-hyped Lakers road trip through Texas resulted in a predictable loss to the now 7-1 Spurs, in a game that saw phenomenal team ball on the Spurs behalf... like that's out of the ordinary.

Basically, the main point of the night was centered on the always-entertaining Kobe on Bruce Bowen match-up. Bowen covered Kobe well, and outscored him, putting up 23, compared to Kobe's 18.

Jordan Farmar played well, putting up 16, along side Lamar Odom, who kept up the pace from his debut on Friday, putting up 12 points and grabbing 6 rebounds.

The Lakers simply got outplayed tonight, nothing much more can be said for their effort, aside from the fact that they will need to rebound big to beat Houston tomorrow.

Tomorrow night's game is the one that the Lake Show can realistically win. The Rockets are coming off of a 105-95 loss in Memphis, so there is room for the Lakers to snag a win from a team that looked pretty solid up until tonight.

around the league
Chasing Obscurity
Chasing Obscurity is a tradition that I'll be carrying over from my previous blogging adventures that spotlights the league's undefeated and winless teams until there simply are no more. Why? Because that kind of thing gets me going.

Undefeated
Boston Celtics (6-0) - next game: 11/14 vs. New Jersey - 4:00pm pt

Winless
Seattle Sonics (0-8) - next game: 11/14 @ Miami - 4:30pm pt
Minnesota Timberwolves (0-5) - next game: 11/14 vs. Sacramento - 5:00pm pt
Golden State Warriors (0-5) - next game: 11/14 vs. Detroit - 7:30pm pt

Thoughts
That Seattle v Miami game should be a real thriller. The 1-6 Heat play host to 0-8 Sonics... Look for the Heat to take advantage of the home floor in this one.

I'm not even going to attempt to talk about last Friday's Laker game. I made the hour and a half drive home for my high school's homecoming football game this weekend. Coincidentally, the game coincided with the Laker game. Basically, all I know is that they won; which they should have, going up against one of the worst teams in the league in the T-Wolves. I know that Odom made his debut with a double-double, and I know that despite dropping two games this weekend, the Clippers are still winning the battle for Los Angeles.

The Clippers two losses do, however signify that this team is not unstoppable. While they did face two tough opponents this weekend (Pistons and Cavs), there's really no excuse for a 4-0 team to get beat by anyone by 24 points (Friday: Spurs 103, Clippers 79) . Though the Clipps did play solid ball en route to a 103-95 loss to Clevaland on Sunday, it looks as if they have lost some momentum.

Momentum is something that the Lakers certainly could use going into this feared two-game road trip that has been dubbed the Texas Two-Step by the local media... I know. Let me explain.

The Texas Two-Step

1. Tuesday | Lakers @ San Antonio - 5:30 pm PT

2. Wednesday | Lakers @ Houston - 6:00 pm PT

Who would have thought? Two games in Texas in two days = The Texas Two-Step.

All jokes aside, these two games will be a pivotal point in early part of the season. Two big wins over two 6-1 teams might bridge the gap between mediocrity and contention.