I guess I wasn't so hasty after all in suggesting that the Lakers might end up with a 7-2 road trip: that's precisely what they did after blowing the Wolves out last night, winning by 25 after being up by 31 going into the final quarter. When you win by that much, it's not just one thing that caused the victory, but L.A. did get a little help from the boys with the whistles: Minnesota got hit with 27 fouls compared to just 11 for the Lakers. Thanks Mark Wunderlich!

Sasha Vujacic had another double-digit scoring game, leading the bench with 15, Kobe scored 29 by hitting thirteen out of thirteen free throws, Pau shot 9 of 11, and Lamar Odom had a 10-16-10 triple-double. That's the Lamar Odom I was desperately hoping the Lakers would get after this trade went though: he's the third scoring option (fourth once Bynum comes back), he can just grab rebounds and set up his teammates. It's what he's good at, and it's what he likes doing. After the game, Odom said "I think as we continue to win, we'll start to realize what I do bring to the team. It's not about me. At the end of the day, it's about winning." (emphasis added) Translated: "I've been waiting to do this all along! You had no idea what you had in me because you tried to make me a scorer! I'm the 6'10" Jason Kidd, biotch!"

Elsewhere in the league: Manu Ginobli is unstoppable right now: he scored 46 on 15-20 shooting, including 8-11 from threes (!) to lead the Spurs to a seven point win over the defending Eastern Conference champs (hahaha!).

Why anyone ever wanted to put up with Ben Wallace when Marcus Camby was available to do exactly the same thing, I'll never know. Six points, eight boards, three dimes, four steals, four blocks last night. I love the guy, and it's not just about UMass. (That said, it wasn't enough for the win, and he couldn't contain Dwight Howard, who ripped down 24 boards, including nine offensive.)

The Pacers starters shot 10-37 against the Pistons. Stephen Jackson, playing against the Suns, had a down game, with 19 points, and still had more points than any Indiana player did (Ike Diogu led the team with 14 in 13 minutes).

I watched the first quarter of the Phoenix-Golden State game while on the treadmill. I thought it'd inspire me to run better. Instead it just made me tired. Golden State won by 2, Steve Nash had seven turnovers, and Monta Ellis scored 37 points.

Man-of-the-hour Devean George shot 0-11 in a rare start for the Mavs. I'm guessing he'll end up agreeing to the trade upon the payment of some money by either or both of the teams, so what a way to end your Dallas career, right?

Carlos Boozer racked up a triple-double for Utah, 22-11-10, with five steals thrown in for good measure. The Jazz had predictably little trouble with Seattle, beating them by 19.

Heavyweight championship: Boston and New York? Sadly, the rivalry only extends to football and baseball. In basketball, it's just unfair. New York put up a fight, losing by only eight, but a loss is a loss. Boston's next test is after the All-Star break in Denver. That could be interesting: Denver will try to impose their will on the Celtics, coming off the layoff and in their building -- I could see Boston finally dropping into double-digit losses in that game.

2007-08 Current beltholder: Boston Celtics

2007-08 Title Bout Records: