For the first time since the 2003-2004 season, the Lakers have clinched the coveted Pacific Division. With their 107-104 win over the Hornets, paired with a 90-101 Suns loss in Houston, the Lakers locked up home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Talk about progression.

After losing in the finals in 2004, the Lakes hit rock bottom in the 04-05 season, finishing fourth in the pacific and missing the playoffs. 05-06 saw a third place finish in the Pacific and 06-07 saw a second place. The last two finishes resulted in first-round losses to the Suns (no kidding). This season marks, coincidentally, the first since 03-04 that the Suns won't be finishing on top of the Pacific.

Despite blowing a 30-point lead down to one in the third, the Lakers reacted properly and got the job done in a huge statement game. The statement? That they can ball sufficiently without Bynum in the mix. As Lakersfan19II alluded to earlier, of course Bynum deserves to be celebrated, but fans are weighing too much on his return. Sure he'll be a presence if he gets back in time, but the focus needs to shift onto the current set of healthy players. Kobe and Pau's averages, and a decent showing from the rest of the guys can and should get the job done against the best of the best. Check out LF19II's post, it's a good read.

Tonight's game was probably the most influential h2h matchup in the MVP race. Rumors had it that some writers were basing the whole of their vote (stupidly) on tonight's game. Here's a look:



I know those stats don't mean much, but I needed an excuse to photoshop The Mailman into something.

All of that said, the Lakers are now a half game out of the top spot in the West. The Hornets face Sacramento tomorrow, the Cleepers on Tuesday, and Dallas on Wednesday. The Lakers host the Spurs on Sunday and the Kings on Tuesday.

Buckle up!

Also: Ariza injury update from earlier:

"Lakers forward Trevor Ariza had a CT scan this morning on his injured right foot that showed that the bone has still not healed completely.

Ariza continues to rehab with the Lakers training staff and has been cleared to increase his work on the team’s Alter-G treadmill from 70-80% of his body weight this week to 90% next week."

People were freaking out over this on the web...

And finally: Hollywood was drooling over Kobe + family rolling out the The Home Depot Center last week to catch David Beckham in action... well, here's part two: