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:

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.

Hornets 118, Lakers 104

The Lakers, fresh off of two convincing victories, fan's hearts hand, returned to style of play that strikes resemblance to a time when things weren't so great in la la land. That time happened to be the first three quarters of opening night, and just about the majority of the last two seasons.

The Lakers home loss tonight against New Orleans brought fans back down to earth from that two-day acid trip that the midday radio hosts had them strung up on. "The Lakers are BACK." "This team is for real." "Kobe is happy."

Sounds a lot like me the other day, eh?

Anyhow, The Lakers still posted four in double figures: Kobe, Ronny Turiaf, Jordan Farmar, and Vladdy, but nothing really out of the ordinary jumped out at me this game.

The real story was on the other side of the ball.

Chris Paul broke a team record with assists, dishing out 21... yeah, 21 FREAKING ASSISTS.

Peja Stojakovic also broke a team record; three-pointers netted in a game, with 10.

Regardless of what really went on in this game, the hardcore Laker fans are going to say that the Hornets played unusually well. Considering the win brings their record to 4-0, we may have to eradicate the "unusual"; the Hornets look hot.

Around the league:

Speaking of hot, the team that ESPN the Magazine projected to finish 14 out of 15 in the west is undefeated. That's right, in case you missed it, the Clippers embarrassed the Bulls by a score of 97-91 tonight. An embarrassment by only 6 points? YEAH. We're talking about the Elton Brand-less Shawn Livingston-less Clippers going up against an Eastern Conference top five team at home.

Tally?

Clippers 3-0

Bulls 0-4

As cute as it is to see the Clippers on top of the Pacific Division standings, you just have to think that this can't last much longer.