Game day once again, the second of the first round series against the Spurs, once again in San Antonio. The first game showed a few things – that the Lakers possessed some defensive will, that Kobe’s instant offense was sorely missed and that Steve Nash in his first game back was not in particularly good shape. In some obvious ways, the game presented the ghosts of the Lakers’ past, present and future. The team is old and injured and many of the players who wear the uniform now won’t be wearing it in years to come. It doesn’t mean there isn’t a pathway to a steal on the road, however narrow. Can the Lakers find an effective way to redistribute Kobe’s minutes and responsibilities? Can Steve Blake thrive alongside Nash? Just how far can Gasol and Howard take the team?

Dave McMenamin from ESPN Los Angeles details Lakers adjustments going into game two – more ball movement to compliment the inside-out game.

Mike Trudell for the Lakers Blog, reporting on Tuesday’s practice.

Mike Bresnahan for the LATimes writes that the Lakers need more offense, instantly.

Drew Garrison for Silver Screen and Roll on the Spurs’ gamble and payoff in game one.

Ben Rosales for Silver Screen and Roll takes on the matter of offense in a Beast or Burden post.

The Kamenetzky brothers’ latest podcast covers a lot of ground, including Devin Ebanks’ burial.

In case you missed this one, Phillip Barnett stopped by to talk with Matthew Tynan at 48 Minuted of Hell on the eve of the Lakers/Spurs series.

Fran Blinebury for Hang Time Blog writes about a hobbled Steve Nash.

Arielle Moyal for Lakers Nation on Steve Nash and other Lakers news and rumors.

Adrian Wojnarowski for Yahoo Sports reports on Mike Brown’s return to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Substitute for generic Kobe Bryant social media article: Kobe tweeted. Then he didn’t.

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It’s not unheard of for an 8^th seed to beat the top team in either the eastern or western divisions. The Nuggets did it against the SuperSonics in ’94, the Knicks defeated the Heat in ’99, the Warriors beat the Mavericks in ’07. Grizzlies took down the Spurs in 2011 and the 76ers upset the Bulls just last season. As for the real pot of gold, New York might have had a real shot when they made it to the finals in ’99 against San Antonio, were it not for Patrick Ewing’s torn Achilles.

The Lakers survived a horrendous season through increased determination, just barely outlasting their own diminishing stockpile of live bodies, inching agonizingly closer to a playoff berth but not guaranteed one until the very last day of the regular season. Our eyes and sense of logic informs us that a miracle upset like the ones listed above, simply isn’t in the cards. Still, tonight represents one of those rare, true tipping points, where one game can turn a series. Win this one and head back to Staples Center and a three-game home stand.

So here we are. The last game of the regular season. How to adequately sum up all that has led us here? It’s too hard, too unwieldy. It has been an epic sprawl. The season brought unforeseeable adjustments to say the very least, a myriad of lineups and minimal shared minutes. An unceasing chain of stops and starts, end-games and more end-games. Yet for unthinkable injuries and even greater loss, there have been signs of life. You can’t ignore a record of six and one in the month of April. Or a wonderfully ugly win against the Spurs on Sunday. The Los Angeles Lakers have been scrabbling up through some hard dirt lately. Tonight determines if they move forward into the first round or into a summer of even harder questions.

Ramona Shelburne for ESPN charts Kobe’s road to recovery with his trainer, Tim Grover.

Drew Garrison at Silver Screen and Roll speaks with a highly-regarded foot and ankle surgeon about Kobe’s injury and recovery prognosis.

Dave McMenamin from ESPN writes about Andrew Goudelock’s return from the D-League.

Brian Kamenetzky from the Land O’Lakers looks at variables results for tonight’s game against Houston.

Eric Pincus for the LATimes reports that Steve Nash will miss the regular season finale with nerve, hip and hamstring issues.

Daniel Buerge at Lakers Nation brings Jordan Hill’s encouraging news.

The Spurs, just signed Tracy McGrady for their playoff run. J. Gomez for Pounding the Rock, takes a look at his place on the team.

The other possible first-round match would be OKC of course. Sekou Smith for Hang Time Blog looks at the challenges facing the number one seed.

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For those who aren’t fans of the Lakers, this notion of hardship in the land of plenty can be difficult to appreciate. Talk about a rough season when your own team has never even sniffed the finals. The Lakers have been there plenty, never have to worry about their media market, are flush with a payroll reaching into the stratosphere and were handed a roster of All-Stars before heading for the ditch.

So what? Fans aren’t apt to choose their teams off a new menu each season. We form lasting attachments, sometimes geographically and often for no particular reason whatsoever. We find ourselves inordinately wed to an organization and the bond isn’t defined by logic – we spend huge chunks of time watching, questioning, analyzing, bemoaning and sometimes rejoicing.

Dwight Howard arrived fresh off back surgery. Steve Nash broke his leg and currently suffers from a malady known as old and hurt. Steve Blake returned after abdominal surgery and is filling in for Methuselah. Pau Gasol ruptured a part of his foot I can’t even spell. Metta World Peace was supposed to rehab for six weeks after knee surgery but came back after ten days.Jordan Hill’s recouping from hip surgery, Antawn Jamison messed up his shooting hand and Kobe Bryant blew out his Achilles after jamming his knee while playing on bone spurs and a sprained ankle. Some thought that would be the end of it.

One more game to shut up the critics and then on to the playoffs and a whole new discussion.

We’re truly in the end-game now. Three frames left in the regular season, tonight’s match against the Golden State Warriors being one. The Lakers will be without Steve Nash again, the Warriors will be without Andrew Bogut who sprained his surgically-repaired left ankle against OKC last night. This post is late getting out and there will be a preview coming up so let’s just go straight to the links – some choice reading on tap today:

JM. Poulard who writes for both Warriors World and Forum Blue and Gold, offers a great 3-on-3 with the Lakers side being repped by Darius and Rey.

Dave McMenamin at ESPNLA reports that Jordan Hill has been cleared to ramp up workouts with a possible return if the Lakers go deep into the playoffs.

Ben Rosales at Silver Screen and Roll offers another great Beast or Burden post, looking at the recent play of the current big three.

Andy Kamenetzky at the Land O’Lakers embeds a Bee Gees video into his latest post/podkast thereby covering all the bases including Kobe and Pau.

Ben Bolch for the LATimes takes a close look at Kobe Bryant, defying age and logic as the finish line nears.

Eric Pincus for the LATimes has the preview for tonight’s game against the Golden State Warriors.

Brett Pollakoff for ProBasketballTalk has a great podcast on the Lakers, Warriors, Jazz and Bulls.

Serena Winters for Lakers Nation has tonight’s shoot around report.

Marc J. Spears for Yahoo writes about the Lakers and the playoff possibilities including a memorable line from OKC guard Kevin Martin, “They would be the scariest eighth seed team in history.”

Adrian Wojnarowski for Yahoo reports on talks between Rutgers and Lakers assistant Eddie Jordan. It’s hard to imagine a better choice.

And finally, Thomas Gollanopoulos at Grantland writes about a rap career that didn’t pan out for Kobe Bryant. It’s easy to laugh about the idea, but this is an intriguing in-depth piece – well worth the read.

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The Lakers are currently a game ahead of Utah but the Jazz hold the tie-breaker and are playing a very winnable match tonight – hosting the Timberwolves. The Lakers will stay in town after tonight’s Warriors’ face-off, welcoming the Spurs on Sunday and Houston on Wednesday for the final game of the regular season.  The Jazz on the other hand will travel to play the T-Wolves again on Monday and close out their regular season in Memphis on Wednesday. This is it. Take your protein pills and put your helmet on.

Last night’s game had it all, some good, some not. It was solid in spots and completely rudderless in others and in the end, there were even moments of brilliance. Kobe caught fire in the fourth quarter, Pau found his assertiveness and in the end, a victory over New Orleans on a night when Utah lost to Oklahoma City. This was a much needed win. The Lakers are up in Portland tonight – the second half of a two-game back-to-back plus the fact that they’re 6 & 25 in the Rose Garden is just a bit worrisome.

Sam Amick for USA Today on a resurgent Pau Gasol.

Brian Kamenetzky at the Land O’Lakers has a podkast and transcript, the zen of Pau.

Drew Garrison at Silver Screen and Roll writes about last night’s two-man give and go with Kobe and Pau.

Mike Bresnahan at the L.A. Times looks towards the challenges posed by tonight’s game. Also Mike plus Eric Pincus from the Times on Metta’s fast return.

Mark Medina for Inside the Lakers writes about the load Kobe’s carrying, trying to will the team into the playoffs.

Anybody who knows me knows that Craig Sager and Phil Jackson are two of my favorite fictional characters. Here, Aaron McGuire from Gothic Ginobili does it up right.

Dave McMenamin at ESPN has an injury update for Steve Nash and Jordan Hill.

This just had to be included – Eric Freeman from Ball Don’t Lie supplies video from MWP’s ‘too sexy for my cat’ speech last night.

Ross Gasmer from Lakers Nation has some Mike D’Antoni quotes from last night.

One of the things I miss most about Phil Jackson is the two-finger whistle. There were times when his bemused refusal to call a time out could frustrate and in all honesty, he seemed to lose his team’s dedication at the end of his last run. Still, he had the ability to focus and organize his teams. There’s something to be said for system basketball. The Lakers increasingly strayed from classic triple-post principles in the later-model Phil lineups but they still operated out of certain fundamental concepts. The injury factor has been joined at the hip with a lack of framework this season and while there are reasons offered, it doesn’t change the fact that a central tenet of coaching is unity. Tonight, the Lakers bring their chances to the Rose Garden – four games to go, four games for the right to continue playing.