Lamar Odom is out again, at best, in Phil Jackson's words, for two to three weeks. The performance he had against Sacramento shows the kinds of things he can do for a basketball team (26 points, thirteen boards, six dimes), and with Luke Walton still out, Odom will be sorely missed. Kwame Brown is back, and that's good, because the size of the team had really taken a hit in his absence (especially when combined with Odom and Walton), but he fills a different void.

All of this has really amped up the Scottie Pippen speculation. Given the Lakers' precarious situation currently (the West is too good not to pounce on this kind of weakness), I honestly don't think anything could hurt. If he's not effective, it's only fifteen minutes a night that he's offering; basically, Maurice Evans (who's now also hurt) time. With all the injuries, I'd certainly like to see what a formerly great defensive stopper and pretty good offensive player could do rather than hope for the best with an at-best mediocre Aaron McKie.