Basketball

Staples Center is home to four professional sports franchises, the Lakers, Clippers, Kings and Sparks. Each team has a different set-up on the arena floor. It is up to the crew overseen by the Staples Center operations department to reconfigure the floor for each game. Several times a year they must make the changeover twice or more over one weekend in between games. Last Saturday afternoon, while fans were still heading for the exits after the Clippers' 103-100 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, 65 workers began transforming the arena for the Kings' game against the Calgary Flames that night.

This is the first in a series of posts grading the Lakers on their efforts in the 2012 NBA playoffs Player: Metta World Peace How he performed in the postseason: Averaged 11.7 points per game on 36.7% shooting in 39.3 minutes through six contests.  The Good: When he wasn't arranging fan gatherings to watch the Lakers' playoff games during his seven-game suspension, World Peace did something that he failed to do during the off-season: He stayed in shape.

A small wooden cabinet went up for auction on EBay. Inside were two locks of hair, one granite slab, one dried rosebud, one goblet, two wheat pennies, one candlestick and, allegedly, one "dibbuk," a kind of spirit popular in Yiddish folklore. The seller, a Missouri college student named Iosif Nietzke, described the container as a "haunted Jewish wine cabinet box" that had plagued several owners with rotten luck and a spate of bizarre paranormal stunts.

In one instance, Metta World Peace defended Mike Brown's coaching job after the Lakers lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games in the Western Conference semifinals. In another, he quickly poked fun at Brown."It was a drastic change. It was big getting used to, but at the same time we should still be up 3-2," World Peace said. "Mike wasn't out there guarding Kevin [Durant]. That was me. Kevin scored on me. Mike didn't throw turnovers at the end of the game.

Lamar Odom is done playing for the Dallas Mavericks. Will any other NBA team take a chance on the enigmatic 6-foot-10 forward who is less than a year removed from winning the league's sixth man of the year award? Or perhaps the better question is, should someone give him another shot? Odom was known for his inconsistency during his seven seasons with the Lakers. But, by definition, that means there were good and bad times on the court for Odom in L.A. And particularly in the last few years, there seemed to be more good than bad, with Odom appearing to pull it all together last season by being named the league's best player off the bench.

The carrot remains dangling there for Kobe Bryant to grab. With two regular-season games left, the Lakers star has a legitimate shot to grab the NBA's scoring title. He leads the league with an average of 27.89 points, while Thunder forward Kevin Durant strails with 27.79 points. A significant performance for Bryant in the Lakers' game Sunday against the Thunder would widen the gap and lead to ongoing commentary on how he's beating Father Time in his 16th NBA season. But he maintains that hardly sounds enticing.

                                        Andrew Bynum sat on the bench, and this time it had nothing to do with taking an ill-advised three-pointer. It had everything to do with not showing enough effort rebounding or playing defense. But after posting 10 points on five-of-15 shooting and eight rebounds in the Lakers' 114-106 double-overtime win Sunday over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Bynum sounded different than he has in recent weeks.

The road to Storrs runs through small towns and stretches of wooded countryside where the trees are still mostly bare. On a drizzly afternoon with few cars around, it is hard to imagine that day in 1995 when the people of Connecticut lined this route for miles on end, waving flags, cheering as their college basketball team came home with a championship trophy. Their women's college basketball team. "From the airport all the way to campus," recalled Geno Auriemma, the women's coach at the University of Connecticut.

It's the playoffs, prime time for the rough-'n'-ready NBA. Polish the brass knuckles. This is the real ultimate fighting. There is a reason they label these playoffs by rounds. All they need are ring girls. How about calling them the Muhammad Ali conference semifinals, leading to the George Foreman finals? We wonder what Dr. Naismith would think if he came back to look at his game. No more peach baskets, Doc, but lots of elbows and forearm shivers. These guys hang necks on clotheslines, not clothes.

Even before Kobe Bryant went through a full pre-game workout Wednesday prior to the Lakers-Warriors game, Lakers development coach Phil Handy saw some signs earlier this week that suggested the Lakers' star would return to the court soon. Though Bryant had only shown he could walk pain-free while nursing a sore left shin, that didn't prevent him from working out earlier this week. Handy said he worked with Bryant for an hour on Monday followed by a 45-minute workout Tuesday, mostly centered on taking shots in the low post and on the block with minimal movement and jumping.

Lakers forward Jordan Hill took a deep breath as he considered all the events that made his 2011-12 season a sudden surprise. Two months ago, few would have predicted that he'd have any shot at a future with the Lakers. They acquired Hill from Houston for Derek Fisher and a first-round draft pick, a move made mostly to reduce the Lakers' payroll. He had missed 13 games because of a sprained ligament in his right knee.

It's the playoffs, prime time for the rough-'n'-ready NBA. Polish the brass knuckles. This is the real ultimate fighting. There is a reason they label these playoffs by rounds. All they need are ring girls. How about calling them the Muhammad Ali conference semifinals, leading to the George Foreman finals? We wonder what Dr. Naismith would think if he came back to look at his game. No more peach baskets, Doc, but lots of elbows and forearm shivers. These guys hang necks on clotheslines, not clothes.

So, the Thunder want to force Kobe Bryant out of his game.Oklahoma City will double and triple team him to limit his dominance. The Thunder hopes the strategy will force him into a role as facilitator. The brash and aggressive combination of James Harden and Thabo Sefolosha try to goad the Lakers' star into needlessly throwing up shots.Oh, it works sometimes.

SAN ANTONIO -- With the Clippers and Kings having playoff games on Sunday at Staples Center, a scheduling conflict could arise. The Kings are scheduled to play the Phoenix Coyotes in Game 4 of the NHL Western Conference finals at noon and the Clippers are scheduled to play the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals at 7:30 p.m. If the Kings go past one overtime period, the start of the Clippers' game could be...

Some things to take from the Lakers' 119-90 Game 1 loss Monday to the Oklahoma City Thunder. 1. The Lakers have a lot of defensive adjustments to make on pick-and-roll coverages. Every time the Thunder ran its  offense, the Lakers showed up late on their rotations. After a few swing passes, dribble-drive penetrations or pick-and-rolls, the Lakers appeared way out of position. The reasons vary. Russell Westbrook dropped 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting because the Lakers forced him to be a jump shooter, and he made open shots.

Backers of a Little Tokyo gymnasium Saturday showcased their long-awaited site for an array of basketball, martial arts and art activities that they hope will revitalize the historic heart of Southern California's Japanese American community. Community volunteers laid out a full-sized high school basketball court over the site, a city-owned parking lot on Los Angeles Street near 2nd Street. Then they led youth athletes, first- to ninth-graders, in a basketball clinic, followed by an Okinawan karate demonstration.

In sheer emotion and rage, Lakers forward Metta World Peace swung his arms violently. He had just thrown down his third dunk of the game late in the first half, and the 18,997 fans at Staples Center erupted with joy. No one looked more elated than World Peace, who pounded his right fist on his chest. He then cocked his arm back and swung an elbow at Oklahoma City forward James Harden. Harden fell to the ground clutching his ear. Thunder forward Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka went toward World Peace, who squared up and appeared ready to defend himself.

Harold Miner pulls up in a black Cadillac Escalade, rolls down a window and extends his right hand to greet a visitor. Later, the publicity-shy former USC basketball All-American is friendly and engaging. He shows no sign of discomfort as he recalls the pain of failed expectations and explains why he has mostly strayed from the public eye since his surprisingly unremarkable NBA career short-circuited 15 years ago. Smiling and laughing easily, he appears thoroughly at ease. This is a recluse?

Things to watch when the Lakers play the Denver Nuggets Tuesday night at Staples Center. The Lakers have a 3-1 series lead. 1. The Lakers need to get off to a fast start. The opening minutes will provide a good gauge on how each team views this series. Will Denver pour everything it has on the floor to avoid elimination or will it show resignation that the Lakers will likely advance to the next round? Will the Lakers build on their 12-1 mark in closeout games since 2008 or will they use this series cushion as an excuse to slack off?

He refused to flex his muscles. He declined to blow kisses to the crowd. He said little about his game afterward. Replacing a suspended Metta World Peace as the Lakers starting small forward, Devin Ebanks hardly provided the dramatics the player formerly known as Ron Artest usually exhibits. Instead, in the Lakers' 103-88 Game 1 victory Sunday over the Denver Nuggets, Ebanks posted 12 points (on five-of-six shooting) and five rebounds off subtle play. As he gushed about Ebanks' playoff debut in just his second year in the NBA, Lakers Coach Mike Brown marveled at how the 6-9 swingman took an otherwise routine 18-foot jumper in the second quarter.