Laker Nation

Somewhere Andrew Bynum is chuckling and slapping his surgically repaired knees, while Laker fans are wishing Stern had blocked the Nash deal.

The put-back winning shot against the Suns in Game 5 is barely celebrated, if not forgotten. Nearly two seasons removed, we hardly remember the former Ron Artest locking up with Paul Pierce prior to tip-off, symbolizing how the Lakers would no longer wilt under NBA Finals' lights against the Celtics again. With every brick he put up in last seasons playoffs, the kisses directed at the Staples Center crowd after sealing a Game 7 victory seem to blow further and further away.

The last labor-stoppage was followed by a Lakers basketball odyssey. They've been here before. As if it were a cruel joke, the Lakers find themselves facing yet another reduced season after dreams of a championship one dissolved in disappointment.

Phil Jackson called the Lakers' current 4-game road odyssey a "make-or-break" trip, and they start it off in grand fashion defeating the San Antonio Spurs 99-83. G-Small breaks down the trip, a more influential Andrew Bynum, and the Lakers possible playoff seeding.

In August of 1965, a civil unrest erupted when a California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer arrested Marquette Frye in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. In April of 1992, four Los Angeles Police Department officers were acquitted after videotape showed them beating motorist Rodney King. Thousands rioted soon afterwords for almost a week tallying property damage of almost $1 Billion. [...]

Ron Artest’s naked backside. Unfortunately, that will be the only lasting memory I take from this game, as the Lakers were defeated by the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday 109-92.

It was the summer of 2003, and Michael Jordan re-re-retired. After being ousted in the 2nd round, the Lakers added Karl Malone and Gary Payton, moves that everyone involved with and fans of the NBA thought would bring the title back to the city of Los Angeles.

It is time for Kobe Bean Bryant to get his Kyra Sedgwick on. It's time to be The Closer.

The Lakers & Jazz have been singing sweet chin music to each other for over 20 years

Shaq might have gotten some chuckles with his rap over the summer, but Kobe and the Lakers are the ones doing the laughing.