From Drew Garrison, Silver Screen & Roll: The puzzle of playing Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol has been a daunting one for the Los Angeles Lakers, both offensively and defensively. While it’s clear that Gasol does not have the foot speed to defend many power forwards, he still has the ability to play as a “stretch” four in the sense that he is still considered a threat from the mid-range and his ability to read the defense and make the right pass is top-notch. The thing is, this puzzle was figured out long ago. When Steve Nash came back from his fibula injury in December the Lakers were running HORNS sets and they were working like a charm. As they pulled further and further from December, they seemed to drift just as far away from running the versatile set.

From Ben Bolch, LA Times: 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 Lakerscenters 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. What had O’Neal done, besides help the Orlando Magic go poof in a four-game sweep during the 1995 Finals? “It was something I was terrified of,” O’Neal said of the Lakers’ legacy of centers. “We made it to the Finals that one year. That was good, but it wasn’t as good as them yet. Because in my mind I’m like, ‘Wilt’s got two [titles], Kareem’s got six and I have none.’”

From Jabari Davis, Lakers Nation: Earlier this season, I wrote what some would consider to be a ‘scathing’ article about Shaquille O’Neal’s seeminglypersonal issues with newly-acquired superstar big man, Dwight Howard. As I stated in the previous article, honest assessments and criticisms are entirely fair and precisely what we tune in to TNT’s Inside The NBA for. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be what was taking place at the time, and I was immediately concerned with how things would play out during O’Neal’s eventual jersey retirement ceremony.

From Kurt Helin, Pro Basketball Talk: When Kobe Bryant got ring number five, he couldn’t hide his glee at having more rings than his rival Shaquille O’Neal — he talked about it in his press conference minutes after the game ended. Now, on the day the Lakers will retire Shaquille O’Neal’s jersey, Kobe told Marc Spears of Yahoo that he likes to remind the big man who has more hardware.“I always remind him every time I see him,” Bryant, who’s won five championships with the Lakers, told Yahoo! Sports. “I saw him after the All-Star Game and said, ‘How you doing, ‘Four’ ?’ He said, ‘Oh, you [expletive].’ [Our relationship is] really good now. We have such a mutual respect for each other.”

From Dave McMenamin, ESPN LA: When the Los Angeles Lakers welcomed Dwight Howard to the practice facility for the first time this summer, general manager Mitch Kupchak pointed out the window of his office to the retired jerseys over the court and said he wanted Howard to be recognized there someday. Another “Superman” will already be up there if that happens for Howard. The Lakers are retiring Shaquille O’Neal’s No. 34 during their game against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday. While Howard and O’Neal have publicly traded barbs in the past, including Howard saying O’Neal was “done” and “it’s time to move on” after O’Neal had criticized him at the beginning of training camp this season, Howard had nothing but praise for O’Neal on this occasion.

From Zach Harper, CBS Sports: Only three players in NBA history have scored more points than Kobe Bryant. Other than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Michael Jordan, Bryant has outscored thousands and thousands of players who have laced up sneakers and put on a jersey in the NBA. We know Kobe is going to pass Michael Jordan’s career total. But if he’s going to approach Karl Malone’s career total and take a stab at becoming the all-time leading scorer in the NBA by passing Kareem, he’s going to have to play beyond his current contract that is up in the summer of 2014. And Kobe’s decision on playing beyond his current contract, when he’ll be 36 years old and 18 seasons deep into his NBA career, is something that he’ll be prepared to make this summer.

From Ben R, Silver Screen & Roll: Don’t lie: you all thought that the Lakers were done after the first quarter. Their offensive flow wasn’t bad, but they couldn’t stop theKings in any aspect whatsoever on defense, an unsurprising development considering that the Lakers’ best perimeter defender in Metta World Peace was absent. The Kings, usually a doormat in the conference, had the league’s best offense since the All-Star break, and the Lakers were in no position to do much to deter that attack. Without MWP, the Lakers have precisely one plus defender in Dwight Howard and a defensive lineup typified by apathy (Kobe Bryant), a lack of size (Jodie Meeks), and limited mobility (Pau Gasol). And even Dwight, after showing that he had been on an upward trend in his recovery from back surgery, was not yet at the dominant level he displayed in Orlando to avert…whoops.

From Kevin Ding, OC Register: This bone spur in Kobe Bryant’s left foot? He has had it for years. Years. He has played through it for years without publicizing it and the challenges it has prompted him to overcome. Think about that the next time anyone says Bryant’s toughness, focus or drive for greatness is overdramatized. Whether Bryant now chooses to detail the specifics of the bone spur, it’s incredibly appropriate that on his latest historic night – passing Wilt Chamberlain for No. 4 on the NBA all-time scoring list Saturday in Sacramento – he played all but 22.6 seconds of the game just two days after the bone spur prompted a wheelchair to be requested for him to leave Milwaukee’s Bradley Center. (He didn’t use it.) Bryant could still have offseason surgery to remove the spur, but bear in mind this is the guy who never did have surgery on that mangled right pinky finger in 2008 or that arthritic right index finger in 2010. He figures out a way around it and goes to the ends of the earth to analyze the best course of treatment with the least time on the court lost – so he can maximize his job performance (and championship odds). This is all a roundabout way to get to the Lakers’ next man of the hour: Shaquille O’Neal, who will be rightly honored Tuesday night at Staples Center with the retirement of his No. 34 Lakers jersey.

From Dave McMenamin, ESPN LA: Move over Big Dipper. Make way for the Black Mamba. Kobe Bryant moved into fourth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list in the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Sacramento Kings, passing Wilt Chamberlain. Bryant’s pull-up jumper from the foul line with 7:55 remaining in the second quarter gave Bryant 31,421 points for his career, edging past Chamberlain’s 31,419 total. ”What a journey,” Bryant said after scoring 19 points and handing out 14 assists, one shy of his career high, in the Lakers’ 103-98 win over the Kings. “It’s been a very, very long journey. I’m certainly extremely appreciative of all the support and the Laker faithful, the ‘Laker Nation,’ from being a 17-year-old kid to a 34-year-old man and all the support they’ve given me throughout my career.”

From Mike Bresnahan, LA Times: Lakers fans were well aware that Steve Nash missed a ton of time when the season began. And Pau Gasol was sidelined by a variety of injuries. And more recently, Metta World Peace wouldn’t be back until the Western Conference semifinals, as if the Lakers — or their followers — were thinking that far ahead. But Coach Mike D’Antoni often points out the least-analyzed injury of the Lakers’ season — Steve Blake missing 37 games because of abdominal surgery and subsequent groin soreness. Blake just completed his best month in three seasons with the Lakers, and he’ll be counted on for more production as Nash struggles with hamstring and hip soreness.

From Mike Bresnahan, LA Times: The 1971-72 Lakers can exhale. Their 33-game winning streak is still the NBA’s longest. The current crop of Lakers took some pride in its preservation after the Miami Heat’s streak ended at 27 with a 101-97 loss Wednesday to the Chicago Bulls. Some players were even happy. ”In a big way, I am,” said Pau Gasol, who in his six seasons with the Lakers has become friends with the coach of that ’71-72 team, Bill Sharman. “I’m glad that we kept the streak. It was about time that Miami lost.” The Heat put together a string of come-from-behind victories to prolong its winning ways since a Feb. 1 loss to Indiana, but it finally ended against Chicago as Bulls fans chanted “End of streak! End of streak!”

From Kevin Ding, OC Register: For all the body parts that have failed the Lakers this season, it’s clear that when Kobe Bryant’s mind is right on offense and Dwight Howard plays out of his mind on defense, the Lakers still can win. The Lakers avoided their fourth consecutive loss by handling Minnesota, 120-117, on Wednesday night in their first full game without Metta World Peace, possibly out for the season because of a knee injury. It was still close, with Bryant getting away with a possible foul as Ricky Rubio shot a potential tying 3-pointer before the final buzzer. Bryant modified his behavior after over-shooting in the past two games and looked to get teammates involved more from a point-guard position. The offense also flowed better without World Peace’s ball-stopping urges, and World Peace’s defensive presence wasn’t missed as much without Minnesota having much wing firepower and Howard dominating at that end anyway.

From Drew Garrison, Silver Screen & Roll: The Los Angeles Lakers picked up a tight win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, final score 120-117. It wasn’t pretty, but the Lakers held on and are back to padding their playoff cushion. The Lakers dominated the paint tonight. They tallied up 48 points in the paint. Dwight Howard was active on both ends around the rim, ending the night with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while also pulling down 16 rebounds and swatting five shots. Howard also had five steals on the night. The stats were stuffed.

From Mike Bresnahan, LA Times: Uh-oh. Another sham-mockery. Coach Mike D’Antoni didn’t go ballistic after this game, but the Lakers certainly imploded during a 109-103 loss Monday night at Oracle Arena. As teams try to build momentum and magnetism heading into the playoffs, the Lakers showed neither while losing a third consecutive game. Not that they seemed especially worried about that. ”I’m terrified,” Kobe Bryant said, sarcastically, of the suddenly sagging Lakers. “Do I look terrified? Not at all.” The scoreboard was much friendlier than the actual discrepancy between the teams, the Lakers fully unable to stop the Warriors and again experiencing too many crises on offense with the exception of a late-game rally. ”Our offense was anemic,” D’Antoni said.

From Kevin Ding, OC Register:  The Lakers’ hope was that Pau Gasol’s return from injury would help them develop a consistently solid second unit. The Lakers figured to have enough depth that fill-in starter Earl Clark wouldn’t even have regular minutes once Gasol got back to his usual level of conditioning. But the Lakers’ depth was woefully lacking Monday night at Golden State with Antawn Jamison struggling to adjust to a sprained right wrist suffered last game and then starting small forward Metta World Peace not playing the second half because of a strained left knee. Welcome back, Earl.

From Drew Garrison, Silver Screen & Roll: The Los Angeles Lakers were beaten by the Golden State Warriors Monday night, final score 109-103. Yes, it wound up as a six point deficit, but in no shape was this game ever truly “close”. The Warriors were in full control of the game as they shot heat seeking missiles at the rim through the first three quarters, only finally running out of ammo in the fourth quarter. Still, it was enough to put the Lakers away. The Lakers came out flat. Kobe Bryant was asserting his will early and missing nearly every field goal. Worse, it wasn’t just Kobe missing throughout the night, but the entire team couldn’t score. All those missed field goals? Opportunities for the Warriors to push the ball up the court and take advantage of the Lakers’ atrocious transition defense.

From Dave McMenamin, ESPN Los Angeles: Count Kobe Bryant as one Los Angeles Lakers player who was uninspired by coach Mike D’Antoni’s postgame rant last week. ”I don’t think it’s time to get emotional,” Bryant said Monday after the Lakers lost 109-103 to the Golden State Warriors, extending their losing streak to three games. “We got to just maintain our poise and just think about, [from an execution standpoint], what are we going to do. We got to look at what teams are doing against us in terms of spreading us out and rolling a big and now we collapse and now we’re late to the shooters.”  “This is about the third game in a row where that’s happened to us,” he said, “so we got to figure out defensively what we’re going to do. Not really get overly emotional, but we just got to look at what’s going on and make adjustments.”

From Ramneet Singh, Lakers Nation: The Los Angeles Lakers lost their third consecutive game last night in Oakland, while losing ground on the Utah Jazz for the eight seed in the Western Conference. The Lakers never really had a chance in the game against the Warriors as the young team dominated Los Angeles from the opening tip. Golden State enjoyed a double digit lead throughout the game and even though the Lakers made a run late, the outcome was never in doubt. The Warriors outplayed the Lakers in almost every aspect and they were much more physical than the veteran Lakers squad.

From Actuarially Sound, Silver Screen & Roll: The return of Pau Gasol Friday night solidified the Lakers rotation which, barring further injuries, will likely remain unchanged the rest of the season. Unfortunately Gasol’s return also appears to signal the relegation of Earl Clark back to the bench. After playing at least 20 minutes per game for the last few months, Clark saw the court for only 7 minutes Friday night. With Kobe Bryant playing half his minutes at the small forward position, as the Lakers try to get shooters like Jodie Meeks and Steve Blake on the court, there simply aren’t enough minutes left to split amongst five front court players. Earl Clark appears to be the odd man out.

From Ben Bolch, LA Times: Mike D’Antoni laughed before the question could be completed, fully knowing where the query was headed. Was the Lakers coach referring to Kobe Bryant when he criticized his team’s defense on Trevor Ariza and its tendency to go one-on-one Friday during an appalling loss to Washington? ”Am I talking about Kobe?” D’Antoni said Sunday, the first time he had spoken with reporters since his postgame rant. “I’m talking about Kobe, I’m talking about me, I’m talking about Dwight [Howard], I’m talking about Steve Nash, I’m talking about everybody. Now, will I say one is more guilty than another? Nah. It doesn’t really matter. It’s the Lakers’ screw-up and the Lakers are going to go forward and try to fix it.”

From Janis Carr, OC Register: An MRI on Antawn Jamison’s right wrist showed scar tissue, evidence of a previous injury, and a sprain, but nothing that suggested he shouldn’t play Monday. Jamison, who suffered the sprain in Friday’s loss to Washington, likely will wear a brace on his wrist and play at Golden State in the first of a four-game trip. “Each day, it’s been a lot better,” Jamison said after participating in non-contract drills Sunday to avoid bumping his wrist. “I’ve played through pain before, so the first two games of this road trip I might have to play with a little pain, but then I should be back to normal.” The Lakers listed Jamison as day-to-day and Coach Mike D’Antoni called him a game-time decision. “You’re always concerned,” D’Antoni said. “But if he says it’s fine. It’s fine. The biggest problem is if he reinjures it or gets hit again. It will sting for a while and there’s going to be pain and if it doesn’t hinder him, he will be OK and if not, he will have to rest it.”

From Mark Heisler, Lakers Nation:  Saddle up, Goliath, we’re wading into another bunch of angry pissants who want a piece of us. We learned the Biblical story from David’s perspective but this season, the Lakers get to walk a mile in the big guy’s sandals, heading into another hot time in the old town tonight against the resurgent Warriors in Oakland. Ho, ho, ho, what’s that in your hand, a slingshot? How cute! Thud. By now, it should be clear that the Lakers have had more problems injuries, personality clashes and the transition to Mike D’Antoni. Their injuries have largely healed. Their starting lineup is once more whole. D’Antoni has been here four months, time enough to install his offense, then re-jigger when his personnel proved incapable of playing it.

From Brett Pollakoff, Pro Basketball Talk: In the aftermath of the Lakers’ embarrassing loss at the hands of the Wizards on Friday, any remotely astute observer could tell you that there was plenty of blame to be placed squarely on the shoulders of Kobe Bryant. It’s not a bad thing in Bryant’s eyes; he’ll gladly take all of the heat anytime his team loses. In this particular case, it was well-deserved. In addition to Bryant’s lack of team defense, which has been a consistent issue all season, his going into hero-mode offensively down the stretch made it easier than it needed to be for Washington to hang on for the victory. We all saw it, and Bryant’s teammates and head coach saw it, too. Just don’t expect them to go on record as saying so.