Lamar Odom

The Dallas Mavericks have waived veteran point guard Derek Fisher. Fisher, who won five championship rings playing alongside Kobe Bryant with the Lakers, joined the Mavericks in late November.  He started nine games, averaging 8.6 points and 3.6 assists while shooting 43.5% from three-point range (but just 35.4% overall). Marc Stein of ESPN.com , who first broke the story, writes that Fisher's release was at his request, something that was in the works before Fisher strained his patellar tendon.

The Lakers have missed Pau Gasol. Before he sat down with tendinitis, he wasn't playing his best basketball, but the team fell apart in his absence, winning just three of eight. "Another 7-footer in the lineup and probably the most skilled big guy in the league," said Coach Mike D'Antoni. "He's important. There's no doubt about it. " Unless Gasol wakes up Tuesday with additional soreness in his knees, he'll return to the lineup against the Charlotte Bobcats. "I can move around much, much better," said Gasol, "without pain.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - As the basketball found its way into the hands of Lamar Odom , all of his Clippers' teammates stood up from the bench and yelled, "Hit that three, 'L.O.'" And he did, knocking down a three-pointer in the fourth quarter of the Clippers' victory over Milwaukee on Saturday night that was another encouraging sign for Odom and the Clippers. Then Odom got back on defense and took a charge. "I see you, Christ the King," Grant Hill yelled from the bench, smiling, referring to Odom's high school in Queens, N.Y. And just like that, on back-to-back plays, Odom's teammates saw him display the multiple skills they had all seen before.

Sweat dripped off Lamar Odom's bald head after he finished an extra workout following the Clippers' practice Tuesday. Odom stood in a doorway leading into the players' lounge and for a few seconds pondered how he felt about facing the Mavericks on Wednesday night at Staples Center for the first time since Dallas sent him home last April before the regular season was over. "It's just another game," Odom finally said. But it wasn't just another season for Odom in Dallas. He was traded by the Lakers to the Mavericks last December, a trade that left Odom disillusioned with the Lakers, a team he had won two NBA championships with and the NBA's sixth man of the year award in 2011.

SALT LAKE CITY - Slowly, Lamar Odom is beginning to show signs of his old self. He scored a season-high seven points on three-for-five shooting and had six rebounds, four of them on offense, in the Clippers' 105-104 victory over the Utah Jazz. Odom was at his best in the fourth quarter, when he scored five of his points and had four of his rebounds. "Slowly but surely, it's coming," Odom said. "I've just got to keep taking my time. I'm getting better in practice. All I can do is keep plugging away game by game.

When Eric Bledsoe was told that he has scored more points in his first 13 games this season than he did in the 40 regular-season games in which he played in 2011-12, the 6-foot-1 guard responded sheepishly. "I didn't know that," he said. Bledsoe scored 133 points in the first 13 games. He scored 132 points last season. "I'm in attack mode," Bledsoe said. "I think I'm the 'X' factor on this team. People don't really look for me to do much, so I just come in and I bring the energy.

Kobe Bryant has emerged as the league's leading scorer at 26.9 points per game. The Lakers guard has put up the most efficient numbers of his career through nine games, shooting 53.1% from the field, 41% from three-point range and 91.8% from the line. Bryant recently overtook Houston Rockets guard James Harden, who is a close second at 26.7 points. Harden isn't nearly as accurate as Bryant, with percentages at 44.1%, 25.9% and 83.5%, respectively. Others averaging 23 points a game or more include LeBron James (24.8)

Mike D'Antoni has postponed his Lakers coaching debut, still trying to recover from recent knee surgery.  The duties will once again fall on Bernie Bickerstaff as interim head coach when the Lakers play the Houston Rockets on Sunday night at Staples Center. Bickerstaff previously coached the Seattle SuperSonics, Denver Nuggets, Washington Bullets/Wizards and Charlotte Hornets before his four-game run with the Lakers. “Yes, I'm turning the gavel over,” Bickerstaff had said after Friday's victory over the Suns, which he had thought would be his last game as interim coach.

Point guard Chris Duhon played for Coach Mike D'Antoni in New York with the Knicks.  He has firsthand experience in D'Antoni's system, which he says is far more complex than what the Lakers were able to run against the Phoenix Suns on Friday night. "What you've seen out there is nothing close to what eventually will happen," said Duhon. "It takes time. It's a timing thing. It's an offense where once everyone understands it, there's no play calls. " It's easy to think back to the Steve Nash-led Suns squad of athletes, pouring in shots from all over the floor in high volume.

The Lakers climbed into third place in the Pacific Division on Friday night with a victory over the Phoenix Suns. At 4-5 the Lakers are just 2½ games behind the Clippers and one game in back of the Golden State Warriors. Three of the Lakers' four victories have come against their division rivals (Sacramento Kings, Suns and Warriors).  The Lakers have losses to the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz and Clippers. In the Western Conference the Lakers are currently 10th but they hold the same record as the eighth-placed Denver Nuggets (along with the Houston Rockets and Blazers, all 4-5)