Kareem

With the Utah Jazz winning on Friday night in Portland, the Lakers fell to ninth place in the Western Conference standings. Both teams have a 37-36 record, but the Jazz hold the tiebreaker advantage by virtue of winning the head-to-head season series, 2-1. The Lakers and Jazz won't meet again over the final nine games of the regular season. After a stretch of improved play, injuries have again set the Lakers back.  Kobe Bryant has a bone spur in his foot. He recently missed two games with a severely sprained ankle.

Over the weekend, Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led a processional on a one-mile walk outside of the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Abdul-Jabbar's Final Four Dome Dribble Fueled by Powerade was part of his campaign to encourage fun, healthy and active lifestyles. The 65-year-old six-time NBA champion is also participating as a contestant on "Splash," a diving competition show on ABC. Abdul-Jabbar recently told Jimmy Kimmel on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" that he's aspiring to "show everybody that at my age you can live a healthy lifestyle and learn new things.

I can only express my disgust at NBA Commissioner David Stern for his selection of Kareem to the All-Star game. What a shame that young point guard stars like Keven Johnson and Fat Lever had to miss the show (because) a sentimental commissioner picked someone so clearly past his prime. Kareem showed a lot of class in admitting he was not deserving of the All-Star game. Too bad the NBA couldn't have shown equally good judgment and selected someone who was. ROBERT SANDMAN Berkeley

AT&T has released a bonus video featuring Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird and Bill Russell. The four NBA champions and Hall of Famers shot a couple of spots for AT&T's " It's not complicated " campaign, and in the new outtakes video Johnson struggles repeatedly with his lines as Russell tells him, "Take your time. No turnovers today. " Russell, who has as many championships as Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar combined gets a respectful, "Yes, sir" from Johnson.

On the Kareem-o-Meter, which measures the effectiveness of Mr. Abdul-Jabbar as a Laker center from game to game, the readings range from "In Your Face, Young-'Un" down to "I Shoulda Stood in Bed." Most games this year, including playoff games, neither the needle on the meter nor Kareem himself has done much jumping. You know how that gadfly Wilt Chamberlain is fond of saying "I could out-rebound Kareem in my sleep"? That's an exaggeration, of course, but there have been games when a sleeping Wilt could have tied Kareem on the rebound chart.

The Lakers need the Utah Jazz to lose at least one game to have a chance of catching up in the standings; otherwise, the season could end on April 17. Pau Gasol admitted that it's been a difficult year -- both for him personally and for the Lakers. "The past [few] years have been difficult," Gasol said to Mark Willard and Mychal Thompson on ESPN 710 . "The lack sometimes of security and certainty do play a role, but again there's nothing I can do about it. I understand the situation of the team, of the personnel and why that happens.

Scott Ostler, the great logician, says that NBA All-Star selection should be based on merit (defined as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's "10,000" skyhooks and five NBA championships). I surrender to no one in my appreciation of Kareem, but I submit that the sole criterion for selection to this season's All-Star team should be this season's performance. Career performance and achievement as the prime considerations? Come on, in that case, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain should have suited up and gone out to Houston to play Sunday.

Metta World Peace will come off the bench for the Lakers Tuesday night as they host the New Orleans Hornets, just 12 days after undergoing knee surgery to repair torn cartilage. The Lakers probably need to win the rest of their games to surpass the Utah Jazz for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference. "We're in a tough spot," said World Peace, who is rushing back from injury weeks ahead of schedule. "It's a good spot, but it's a tough spot. " While the team's original timeline was at least six weeks, he had other ideas.

I think it's about time that Magic Johnson is recognized for his total ability in all facets of the game of basketball. He is the leader, playmaker, innovator, the spark that lights the fire. You'll remember that the Lakers were dying when he joined them. In Magic's first game as a Laker, Kareem threw in a last-second winning basket. Magic dashed over to him and, in all of his college-boy exuberance, threw his arms around his neck. There was first a look of surprise and then a big smile on Kareem's face.

Shaquille O'Neal has always prodded Dwight Howard , if not overtly criticized him. Why? The Big Aristotle provided a Big Reveal before returning to Los Angeles to have his Lakers jersey retired Tuesday at halftime against Dallas. "I love Dwight and I see his potential. Hopefully when I say these things he gets mad," O'Neal said in an interview. "Just think about it. At the dunk contest, he dunked on that thing when it was 15 feet. Remember that? OK, so why can't you back people down [in the post]

The Lakers need the Utah Jazz to lose at least one game to have a chance of catching up in the standings; otherwise, the season could end on April 17. Pau Gasol admitted that it's been a difficult year -- both for him personally and for the Lakers. "The past [few] years have been difficult," Gasol said to Mark Willard and Mychal Thompson on ESPN 710 . "The lack sometimes of security and certainty do play a role, but again there's nothing I can do about it. I understand the situation of the team, of the personnel and why that happens.

Metta World Peace will come off the bench for the Lakers Tuesday night as they host the New Orleans Hornets, just 12 days after undergoing knee surgery to repair torn cartilage. The Lakers probably need to win the rest of their games to surpass the Utah Jazz for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference. "We're in a tough spot," said World Peace, who is rushing back from injury weeks ahead of schedule. "It's a good spot, but it's a tough spot. " While the team's original timeline was at least six weeks, he had other ideas.

Bathed in the neon glow of the Palm Tree L.A. lounge, Jay Park downs a shot of soju and keeps his eyes on the flat-screen. Steve Nash is pushing the ball up court while Kobe Bryant lurks at the three-point line. Dwight Howard bumps for position near the hoop. The Lakers may still be on the bubble for a playoff spot and that other L.A. squad is suddenly the sexy team in town, but here in the punchy loud Koreatown bar, it's all about purple and gold. For years, the Lakers claimed a steady fan base in the sprawling Korean American community, but this season the intensity has been amplified - with games now broadcast in Korean, a first in the NBA. Time Warner Cable, which invested nearly $3 billion for regional TV rights to Lakers games for the next two decades, hired four Korean Americans as play-by-play announcers and color commentators, adding a fifth person just days ago. For Park and others, it has brought a new intimacy to the action.

Shaquille O'Neal has always prodded Dwight Howard , if not overtly criticized him. Why? The Big Aristotle provided a Big Reveal before returning to Los Angeles to have his Lakers jersey retired Tuesday at halftime against Dallas. "I love Dwight and I see his potential. Hopefully when I say these things he gets mad," O'Neal said in an interview. "Just think about it. At the dunk contest, he dunked on that thing when it was 15 feet. Remember that? OK, so why can't you back people down [in the post]

If Shaquille O'Neal needed a nickname on his first day as a Laker, it could have been the Big Worrywart. As dominant as he was, the best big man in the NBA recognized he represented just a fraction of the Lakers centers who had come before him. George Mikan won six titles while becoming Mr. Basketball. Wilt Chamberlain won two titles (one as a Laker) and scored 100 points in a game. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won six titles (five as a Laker) and was the league's all-time leading scorer.

The Lakers (38-36) have fallen to ninth in the West, still close to catching the Utah Jazz (38-36) but with little-to-no margin for error over the final eight games of the regular season. Injuries have been the biggest issue along the way as to "why" -- but "how" can be seen in the statistics. The Lakers score an average of 102.4 points a game, sixth in the league. They shoot a respectable percentage from the field at 45.8% (10th overall) and 35.8% from three-point range (14th)

With Steve Nash hampered by a strained hamstring, the Lakers will need veteran point guard Steve Blake to help keep the team afloat through the final eight games. Nash hopes to play but on Saturday he didn't get through two minutes  before he asked Coach Mike D'Antoni to take him out. Blake missed much of the season with an abdominal tear, which required surgery. He's played in 37 games, averaging 6.1 points and 3.8 assists. When Blake has his jumper working, like he did in the recent victory over the Sacramento Kings when he made five three-pointers, the Lakers are harder to contain.

There's no mistaking who is the head honcho on the Lakers. "I got a question earlier about whose team this is," Kobe Bryant said. "It's my team. " Even after the Lakers acquired Dwight Howard, who is considered the best center in the league, and Steve Nash, a future hall of fame point guard, Bryant is clearly at the top of the pecking order. The fact that Bryant can make such a bold statement without anyone so much as batting an eye is a testament to the respect that he commands.

With Steve Nash hampered by a strained hamstring, the Lakers will need veteran point guard Steve Blake to help keep the team afloat through the final eight games. Nash hopes to play but on Saturday he didn't get through two minutes  before he asked Coach Mike D'Antoni to take him out. Blake missed much of the season with an abdominal tear, which required surgery. He's played in 37 games, averaging 6.1 points and 3.8 assists. When Blake has his jumper working, like he did in the recent victory over the Sacramento Kings when he made five three-pointers, the Lakers are harder to contain.

Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash will play Saturday against the Sacramento Kings, Coach Mike D'Antoni said after the Lakers' morning shoot-around. Nash left in the third quarter of the Lakers' loss Thursday to Milwaukee because of a sore hamstring and what he called a hip spasm. Bryant has been dealing with a sprained left ankle and, more recently, a bone spur in his left foot. The Lakers (37-36) are tied with Utah for eighth place in the Western Conference, though they are technically ninth because the Jazz has already won the head-to-head tiebreaker.