On January 4, I wrote a post on one of the best Lakers box scores of the season. Javaris Crittenton had 19, Andrew Bynum and D-Fish had 17, Jordan Farmar had 16, Kobe and Ronny Turiaf had 15, and Trevor Ariza had 11.

Well, tonight was probably the worst box score of the season. Not only did the Lakers get clowned by the 19-53 Grizzlies, but they did it in classic 2004-2005 season fashion. For those of you that haven't seen the headlines, Kobe scored 53 points, his 23rd 50+ game of his career. I knew something bad was brewing when Kobe scored 10 of the team's first 10 points, and Joel Meyers said something to the effect of "The Grizzlies have a one-point lead over Kobe" (please note the "something to the effect." I don't remember the exact context, nor do I care to). Kobe had next to no offensive support tonight. Sasha Vujacic was the second-leading scorer with 14 points on 4-14 from three. Jordan Farmar put up 11, and I'll let the screenshot speak for the rest of the guys. The Lakers lacked on the other side of the ball as well. Ira Newble got the DNP-CD tonight. I think that Newble's defensive skill-set just might have been a factor in the three-point loss.

If there was anything good to come from tonight's game, it would have to be Kobe's demeanor. After racking up his 14th and 15th technical fouls on Wednesday, Kobe didn't appear to have openly complained once tonight. That's the way it should be. Today, sports talk radio was saturated with talk about how he has whined more this season than others in the past. He had a pretty stand-up outing tonight; I can respect that.

In the end, stand-up outings aren't going to get wins. The Lakers are 4-4 since Gasol's injury. As noted in my post earlier today, Pau could be back for Sunday's match-up against Washington. He did an interview during the game with Patrick O'Neal and stated that his status is pending on how Saturday's practice goes.

Stat of the night: The Lakers are 16-7 in games in which Kobe scores 50+.

Grizzlies 114, Lakers 111 [Fox Sports]
Taking a look at one of the best Lakers' box scores in quite some time [VHP - 1/4/08]

With a 13 point loss to the Bobcats and Kobe's anger management issues fresh in the minds of Laker Nation, here's some potentially good news.

Today, Lakers.com posted a video documenting Andrew Bynum's rehab process.

If you don't have three minutes to blow on, basically, music video of a dude working out, here's a synopses:

"On Monday, Andrew continued to workout the knee through a series of of weight-training exercises aimed at strengthening the area where the injury occurred. The center also ran for several minutes on the team's Alter-G treadmill that simulates low gravity situations. Since the machine controls what percentage of body weight a player runs on, it is less physically demanding for an athlete returning from an injury."

The knee has had 11 weeks of healing, and from the looks of thing in the video the recovery is going smoothly.

The high point of the video was finally getting to see this $75,000 treadmill that we've been hearing about for the past few months.



Inside Andrew Bynum's Rehab [Lakers.com]

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Also, after reports of Pau Gasol's return being pushed back to Wednesday, the LA Times is reporting:

"Center Pau Gasol might return Sunday against Washington after a pain-free day with his sprained left ankle.

He did some one-on-one drills Thursday with assistant coach Kurt Rambis at the team's training facility. Some post moves still bothered him when he made quick turns, but he felt "pretty good," he said. "I'll just wait until probably Saturday to go through a full practice, see how it feels."

Latest Kobe stopper could be whistle away [LA Times]

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Finally, Kwame Brown will make his return to Staples tonight. Kwame hasn't seen minutes in the Grizzlies' last four games, but when he does, he's good for anywhere from 0 to 8 points -- 8 being his high since the trade. On the other hand, Javaris Crittenton might be factor of sorts in this game. Since the trade, J-Critt's high is 22 points and he's seen increased playing time in the past couple of games. Regardless, I'm excited to see Crittenton ball again... AND, I'm more excited to see the greeting Kwame gets IF he manages to sneak into the game.

Grizzlies at Lakers [Fox Sports]

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[edit: 7:14pm] Well, when it rains it pours. Derek Fisher has been diagnosed with a partial tendon tear in his right foot.

"If this happened during the middle of the season or something like that, he would probably rest for six to eight weeks in order to heal," Lakers spokesman John Black said. "It's a pain and inflammation thing. If he can play, he'll be on anti-inflammatory and pain medication and try to play through it."

So there we have it. Both members of the Lakers back-court are now "playing through pain."

Fisher to play through pain [LA Times]

Lakersfan19II and Hoffman already have this covered, so all I really have to say is:



"Los Angeles has acquired Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies in exchange for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton and first-round picks in 2008 and 2010, according to multiple published reports."



Report: Lakers Get Gasol From Grizzlies [Fox Sports]

[edit: 2:26pm]
It's Official.
Press Release: The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired forward Pau Gasol in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak. The Lakers will also receive the Grizzlies second round draft choice in 2010. In exchange Memphis will receive forward Kwame Brown, guard Javaris Crittenton, guard Aaron McKie (who the Lakers signed earlier today), the draft rights to Marc Gasol and first round picks in 2008 and 2010.

Gasol, a 7th year player out of Spain, is averaging 18.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.44 blocked shots per game this season. The 27 year old 7’0” forward/center has career averages of 18.8 points and 8.6 rebounds. A 2006 NBA All-Star and 2001-02 NBA Rookie of the Year, Gasol also won a gold medal with Spain at the 2006 FIBA World Championships while being named tournament MVP.

“We’re extremely pleased to be able to make this trade.” said Kupchak. “Pau is a proven player of all-star caliber in this league who can score and rebound and he’s still a young player. We feel this move strengthens our team in the short term as well as the long term.”

Lakers Acquire Gasol From Grizzlies [Lakers.com]

[edit: 5:29]
A few videos:

• Mitch Kupchak Discusses Pau Gasol Trade [Lakers Video]
• Welcome to L.A. Pau [Lakers Video]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!