Photo by Kevork Djansezian | Getty Images

Fresh off of being named Western Conference player of the week, Lakers center Andrew Bynum, joined The Dan Patrick Show to discuss Kobe Bryant’s role as a pseudo assistant coach on the bench, his relationship with Mike Brown compared to Phil Jackson and the Lakers chances of making it to the NBA Finals. Here are a few highlights from the interview:

How much fun are you having right now?

I’m having a lot of fun. It’s been amazing. Defensively ive really been stepping it up. Offensively im struggling a little bit with my shot…My team is playing amazing. Pau Gasol has been huge…Matt Barnes and Ron (Metta) stepping up. And obviously the addition of Sessions has been huge for us because we were getting a lot of activity in the fast break at that point guard position now so we look pretty good.”

How good of a team are the Lakers right now?

I think, especially when Kobe gets back, we keep playing hard, and we’re definitely a contender. And we’re going to be a team that other teams definitely don’t want to play.”

How’s Kobe as an assistant coach?

He’s doing a great job actually. He’s been supporting us and showing us things that we need to hear. Just directing, where to take advantage of mismatches…he’s been keeping everybody under control.”

Do you compare yourself to Orlando Magic center, Dwight Howard?

I think we always get compared. Obviously we’re both centers, east and west coast. Number one and two in the game, however you guys want to decide who is, that’s up to you guys [the media]. Obviously Dwight has done what he’s done for a longtime now and he’s only going to get better. So im aware that we’re compared but at the end of the day I don’t let that affect me or how I play the game.”

How much did trade rumors motivate you?

I don’t let that affect me. Ive been a part of every trade rumor since ive been drafted, starting with Jason Kidd, Bosh, everybody. I always have my nose to the grind and try to get better. I’m just going to keep on taking it one day at a time and try to add things to my game and get better.”

On his relationship with Mike Brown vs. Phil Jackson

I think right now it’s different in the way of communication. I talk much more with Brown than I ever had with PJ [Phil Jackson]. I never really got to be a big part of the team while PJ was here, well last year when he was here I was a pretty big part of the team but prior to that I didn’t really get an opportunity to grow because we had a great bench and I was making mistakes and LO [Lamar Odom] would come in and whoever was playing better between the two of us would get the run that night…I enjoy both coaches, I love both coaches. And Im just looking forward to continuing with Mike Brown.”

Do you expect to be in the finals?

Yea we definitely have a chance to get there and I’m going to do everything in my body to make it possible.”

Bynum also discusses who his favorite player is in one of his favorite sports (soccer), and also describes what it’s like playing against his all-time favorite player, Tim Duncan. You can here the entire interview here.

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

First-round match-up? Possibly, and who would mind it? After getting embarrassed by Dallas in last season’s playoffs, the Lakers exacted (albeit less major in magnitude) some form of revenge in this regular season series sweep of the Mavericks. Don’t think for a minute that second round a year ago has dropped from the Lakers’ minds. Kobe Bryant never forgets, and neither do these Lakers. Despite playing without Bryant for the fifth game in a row, the Lakers have made their captain proud. It wasn’t a blowout today. It was, in fact, a difficult game to get through, but they got through it and it showed that this team has more fight than many naysayers would like to give them credit for.

Co-captain Pau Gasol, through three quarters, was just 3-8 from the field. Each time Andrew Bynum held the ball, he was wrapped tightly like a burrito by a tortilla that was the suffocating Dallas defense. Delonte West, who didn’t play in the first two contests between both teams, torched them in the first half and the Dallas threeball, despite ranking 21st in the league, continuously broke every run the Lakers attempted to make.

The home team didn’t look close to being awake in the first quarter, falling behind by as much as 10 points and shooting just 9-25 from the field. Dallas, feeling it at the onset, had a 27-point quarter on 52% shooting. The Lakers, however, picked it up in the second quarter. Despite allowing Dallas to shoot 58%, they stayed close by getting to the free throw line and converting 9-11.

After letting Dallas shoot as well as they did in the first half (55%), the Lakers tightened up their defense, with Bynum contesting every shot, regardless of who was shooting. When a blue uniform rose up for a shot, so too did Bynum’s long arms. And choosing to stop West’s first-half success was Metta World Peace.

The final quarter was a humdinger, if you will. After Ramon Sessions hit back-to-back shots late in the fourth, so too did Jason Terry. With the game tied at 98 points apiece, a last second (literally with 1.5 seconds left in regulation) shot by Nowitzki missed and the game was sent into overtime.

Outscored 14-10 in the final five minutes of the game, the Mavericks were sent home with a third loss in a row to the Lakers.

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Photo by Stephen Dunn | Getty Images

It’s April 14, 2012 and the (38-22) Los Angeles Lakers are set to battle the (34-26) Dallas Mavericks. Friday’s win against the Denver Nuggets secured a playoff spot for the Lakers, their 59^th playoff berth in 64 seasons. The Lakers are 3-1 with Kobe Bryant sidelined, including three straight.

The combination of Andrew Bynum & Pau Gasol inside and Matt Barnes & Metta World Peace on the perimeter led the Lakers to the win over the Nuggets. The Lakers have six games remaining in the regular season, four with a record above .500.

The Lakers are currently leading the Pacific Division, in sole possession of the 3^rd seed in the Western Conference Playoffs, the L.A. Clippers are right on their heals, one game behind them, in the Pacific Division.

The Dallas Mavericks hold the sixth seed in the Playoffs. If the playoffs started today, these teams would meet, again (as the 3-6 match up) with the Lakers having the home court advantage, again. The Lakers lead the season series against the Mavericks 3-0, after taking the season series last year 2-1.

Photo courtesy of Stephen Dunn, Getty Images

It’s been like clockwork for these Lakers this season. They get an impressive win, and then follow it up with a stinker. After besting the Dallas Mavericks in their first meeting since getting eliminated from last year’s playoffs, they were clobbered by the Heat in Miami. A huge win the following week against the Clippers, was followed by a loss to a short-handed Bucks team in Milwaukee. After a gritty, hard-fought victory in Boston, they lost in a poor effort in New York against the Knicks. After defeating Miami at Staples during a Sunday afternoon game, they dropped two in a row against the super-sub-.500 Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards. Last week, the Lakers took the season series away from the Clippers and then lost their season series to both the Houston Rockets, who are seventh in the West and the Phoenix Suns, who are still fighting to make a playoff berth. After that thumping they gave the second seed San Antonio Spurs, a letdown tonight would have been disappointing, but it wouldn’t have been surprising. Fortunately for us, no letdown was in sight.

With the post-season just six games away, now is as good a time as any to break those bad habits and adopt new ones, especially if they involve winning. After an inspiring win in San Antonio, the Lakers met the Denver Nuggets tonight and continued their mission to finish off the regular season on the right foot going into the playoffs. Absent for tonight’s game was Coach Mike Brown, who had to head home before tip-off to take care of a family matter, but in his stead was assistant coach, John Keuster.

After the first quarter, it looked like the Lakers had picked up where they left off a couple of days ago, getting what they wanted on offense (52% from the field with Andrew Bynum’s 10 points leading the way), because of what they were doing on defense (allowing Denver to convert just 35% of their shots). They outscored the Nuggets 30-19 before Denver finally woke up.

For the final three quarters, the Lakers’ lead oscillated from double to single digits, until it reached a single point late in the game. With Mr. Fourth Quarter, Kobe Bryant, sitting on the bench in his suit for the fourth game in a row, the Lakers’ guardian angel for the night came to the rescue in the form of Matt Barnes. Andrew Bynum may have led the game with his 30 points, and Metta World Peace kept them in the game in the first half, but the final quarter belonged to Barnes’ nine points on 4-5 from the field.

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Voice of the Nation hosts, David Brickley, Jason Riley and Kevin Figgers discuss the Lakers top story-lines of the 2011-12 NBA Season.

Rundown

• Kobe Bryant Playing Too Many Minutes?

Question of the Show: Kobe: Too Many Minutes or Simply Getting Older? (Comment Below)

Videographer: Ryan King

Editor: Colin Beatt

Photo courtesy of Chris Graythen, Getty Images

That injured shin has prevented Kobe Bryant from putting on his uniform and playing, but it hasn’t stopped him from getting on his feet and cheering on his teammates, which he did a lot tonight and who could blame him?

For the third game in a row, the Lakers had to play without one of their captains, but in his place stepped up a slew of other leaders who did some mighty fine leading. Against the San Antonio Spurs, who are heralded for their success because they play as a team, aren’t distracted by the need for attention and are guided by a no-nonsense coach, the Lakers showed they are more than Kobe’s team and more than the drama they sometimes create.

Spurs coach, Greg Popovich received a combination of praise and raised eyebrows this week for resting Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli. Actually, he didn’t just sit them out. They didn’t even travel with the team to Utah, a game they lost before tonight against the Lakers. With a significant lead in the standings, the Spurs could apparently afford to rest their stars in preparation for this evening’s contest, but based on how the San Antonio Big Three performed, it might’ve been better to keep them playing to avoid the rust. Duncan was the only Spur who took more than four shots and made 50% of his attempts. Parker and Ginobli combined for just 13 points of 5-20 from the field.

The Lakers, on the other hand, have run their starters ragged this season and they’ve shown fatigue and laziness that have resulted in lost leads and lost (completely winnable) games. Tonight, however, they were all in. The game started with each team starting 0-4 , and both shot under 40% from the field. The Lakers’ efforts on the glass, however, kept them ahead throughout, even despite the few lead changes.

After the first half, the Lakers led by just five points, but had outrebounded the Spurs 37-18, led by Andrew Bynum’s 19 rebounds. They also kept the Spurs off the offensive glass, preventing a single second chance point. After two quarters, three Lakers were in double figure points to lead the game.

In the third quarter, the Lakers pulled away, led by the phenomenal play of Metta World Peace, who scored 11 of his 26 points. They were also energized by a defense that forced the Spurs into shooting just 6-20 from the field (30%). The home team couldn’t get a bucket to save their lives and couldn’t run any defense to stop the Lakers from shooting 67%.

Duncan, Parker and Ginobli all sat out the fourth quarter, the mark of Popovich’s white flag, and despite the rest of the team cutting the 26-point lead in half late in the game, the Lakers managed to keep it together to pull out the win.

Lamar Odom and the Dallas Mavericks have reached an agreement for Odom to leave the team.

The story was first broke Monday by Marc Stein of ESPN.com:

The Mavericks and Odom spent Easter Sunday working out a parting, according to sources close to the situation, that frees the struggling Odom to leave the team immediately without actually being released.

Odom also released a statement on the agreement:

“The Mavericks and I have mutually agreed that it’s in the best interest of both parties for me to step away from the team,” Odom said in a statement to ESPN.com. “I’m sorry that things didn’t work out better for both of us, but I wish the Mavs’ organization, my teammates and Dallas fans nothing but continued success in the defense of their championship.”

Since Odom will be placed on the inactive list he is not available to be picked up by another team. Even if he was officially released from the team he would not be available to sign with another team. Since the March 23rd trade deadline has already passed.

Odom never fit in with Dallas as he averaged just 6.6 points on 35 percent shooting.