With the Los Angeles Lakers’ season underway, the quest continues for NBA Championship number 17.

Led by Kobe Bryant, could this shortened 66-game season be the one that brings the trophy back to it’s proper home in Los Angeles?

Lakers’ fans at home and across the country can enjoy each and every game this season through various television broadcasts.

Check with your service provider for station listings in your area.

Note: All start times Pacific

January

Sun 1, Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets, 5 p.m. (KCAL, NBA League Pass)

Tue 3, Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers, 7:30 p.m. (FS West, NBA League Pass)

Thu 5, Los Angeles Lakers at Portland Trail Blazers, 7:30 p.m. (KCAL, TNT)

Fri 6, Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers, 7:30 p.m. (FS West, NBA League Pass)

Sun 8, Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Lakers, 6:30 p.m. (FS West, NBA League Pass)

Tue 10, Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Lakers, 7:30 p.m. (FS West, NBA League Pass)

Wed 11, Los Angeles Lakers at Utah Jazz, 6 p.m. (KCAL, NBA League Pass)

Fri 13, Cleveland Cavaliers at Los Angeles Lakers, 7:30 p.m. (FS West, NBA League Pass)

Sat 14, Los Angeles Lakers at Los Angeles Clippers, 7:30 p.m. (KCAL, NBA League Pass)

Mon 16, Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Lakers, 7:30 p.m. (TNT)

Thu 19, Los Angeles Lakers at Miami Heat, 5 p.m. (TNT)

Fri 20, Los Angeles Lakers at Orlando Magic, 5 p.m. (KCAL, ESPN)

Sun 22, Indiana Pacers at Los Angeles Lakers, 6:30 p.m. (FS West, NBA League Pass)

Wed 25, Los Angeles Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers, 7:30 p.m. (FS West, NBATV)

Sat 28, Los Angeles Lakers at Milwaukee Bucks, 5:30 p.m. (KCAL, NBA League Pass)

Sun 29, Los Angeles Lakers at Minnesota Timberwolves, 4 p.m. (KCAL, NBA League Pass)

Tue 31, Charlotte Bobcats at Los Angeles Lakers, 7:30 p.m. (FS West, NBA League Pass)

Sources:

All data provided by NBA.com

Paul Rados is a Cleveland based freelance sportswriter and Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook. For a complete look at his freelance work please visit his Blog.

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What do you guys think about this.

Who says four is better than five? Andrew Bynum and the Los Angeles Lakers do.

Heading into the season, Bynum was facing a five-game suspension after violently venting on Dallas Mavericks point guard J.J. Barea during the 2011 NBA Playoffs. Bynum leveled Barea in frustration, was immediately ejected from the game and responded by giving the crowd a strip tease as he walked off of the court.

Shortly after the game ended and the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs, the NBA and commissioner David Stern handed Bynum a five-game suspension that was to be served at the beginning of the 2011-2012 regular season.

Although the Lakers were preparing for five games without their inconsistently dominant center, they received an early Christmas present on Friday, Dec. 23, courtesy of the NBA offices.

Citing the shortened NBA season, the league has decided to reduce Bynum’s suspension to four games as the regular season continues to draw closer. With only 66 games with which to prove that they are worthy of another trip to the playoffs, the Lakers will need every game they can get out of Bynum.

Due to his suspension, Bynum will miss the Lakers’ Christmas Day opening game against the Chicago Bulls as well as their matchups against the Sacrament Kings and Utah Jazz the next two days. Apart from their back-to-back-to-back, the only other game Bynum will now miss is the Lakers’ Dec. 29 showdown with the New York Knicks. Considering that those games include matchups against centers Joakim Noah, DeMarcus Cousins and Tyson Chandler, the Lakers couldn’t have Bynum back soon enough.

The first game he will be able to participate in is when the Lakers host the Denver Nuggets on New Year’s Eve.

While Bynum is serving his suspension, the Lakers will count on fellow big man Pau Gasol to take possession of the center role while recently-acquired players Josh McRoberts and Troy Murphy temporarily share the power forward duties.

The Lakers will need Bynum back in the mix as soon as possible if they hope to develop some sort of chemistry among this rebuilt roster. If he can maintain the energy that he displayed during the Lakers’ second preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers (26 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks), head coach Mike Brown will have plenty of uses for him when he returns to the lineup.

What do you know? Sometimes less is better.

Gil Alcaraz IV is a Los Angeles native who was born into a family of diehard Lakers fans. For more Lakers coverage, follow him on Twitter.

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There were five Los Angeles Lakers hopefuls who got an early Christmas present today in the form of a severance check.

In a release via Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, the team announced Thursday that they have waived training camp bodies Zach Andrews, Chris Daniels, Gerald Green, Elijah Millsap and Malcolm Thomas.

Although you probably haven’t heard most of those names and only saw one of them in action during the Lakers’ two preseason games, all five have been working hard throughout training camp in hopes of earning a spot on the roster. Unfortunately for this group of youngsters, there time is up as members of the Lakers’ squad.

Andrews, a 6-8 power forward, spent the last year with the Lakers’ D-League affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders, before joining the purple and gold this preseason. After playing abroad in Spain, Bosnia, Turkey and Japan, he averaged 11.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game during his short stint with the D-Fenders.

Daniels, the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NBA Developmental League Draft, spent the last few years playing abroad in Korea. During his short stay with the D-League Erie BayHawks, Daniels averaged 16.2 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.

Green, a four-year NBA veteran and the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion, was originally drafted by the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 2005 NBA Draft. Although he was expected to come in as the replacement for Shannon Brown, his short appearance in the Lakers’ second preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers wasn’t enough to impress the coaches into giving him a job.

Millsap, the younger brother of Utah Jazz power forward Paul Millsap, was originally drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder after entering the 2010 NBA Draft as an early-entry candidate. He started his D-League career with the Tulsa 66ers before he was traded to the D-Fenders, where he averaged 23.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 3.5 steals as a do-it-all guard.

Thomas, a rookie out of San Diego State, ended his time as an Aztec as the school’s second leading shot blocker. During his collegiate career, he averaged 11.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.02 blocks. He was sent down to the D-Fenders for one game during training camp, but was immediately pulled back up prior to the Lakers’ first preseason game.

With the Lakers showing these five players the door, the team’s roster has been whittled down to the maximum 15 players, including rookies Darius Morris and Andrew Goudelock. Considering that opening day for the regular season is only three days away, don’t expect to see much more roster movement over the next week or so.

Gil Alcaraz IV is a Los Angeles native who was born into a family of diehard Lakers fans. For more Lakers coverage, follow him on Twitter @GilAlcarazIV.

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When the Los Angeles Lakers donated Lamar Odom to the defending champions and the Nets emerged as the frontrunners to acquire Dwight Howard, I wondered:

Are the curtains being brought down on the Kobe Bryant era in L.A.?

In spite of the fact that Byrant had publicly lobbied for both his former teammate Brian Shaw to receive the head coaching job and for keeping the championship nucleus together, the Lakers hired head coach Mike Brown without consulting the Mamba and attempted to blow up the team, twice.

Then, Los Angeles shipped a gift-wrapped Sixth Man of the Year to the Dallas Mavericks, and we all knew Kobe would be furious.

To put Kobe Bryant’s frustration into perspective, he actually joked recently that he’d like to be traded to the Miami Heat and said of the Lakers: “I think we’re terrible … we’re going to be worse [than last year].”

Jokes aside, almost every comment out of Kobe lately is negative. His remarks range from sarcastic to fatalistic and his friend and ESPN insider Stephen A. Smith appeared on SportsCenter and predicted that “Kobe Bryant will demand a trade, and I am not budging from that. He’s livid. I’ve known Kobe too long. He is ticked off.”

Smith added that: “It’s not just because [the Clippers] got Chris Paul, which is a guy that he expected to have. It’s because Jim Buss seems to be doing the inexplicable. … It makes no sense. It’s one thing for the team not to have improved [after losing to the Mavericks], it’s another thing entirely for them to regress. If you know anything about Kobe, that is the last thing that he wants to do.”

Now, it should be noted that in a recent interview with Yahoo’s Marc Spears, Kobe dismissed this notion. When asked if he wanted to stay a Laker, Kobe said: “Of course. No question. Why not? I’ve been here for 16 years. I’m going to up and leave now? … I’ve been with this organization. I like being here. I like playing for the purple and gold. This is where I want to finish up.”

That said, I agree with Stephen A.’s prediction, anyway. I remember back during the Shaq years and even a few years after, Kobe always maintained that he wanted to retire a Laker. Saying that—and even genuinely believing it—didn’t stop a disgruntled Kobe from demanding a trade in 2007, however.

Now, with Pau offended by recent events, Bynum saying he doesn’t really care where he plays and Kobe habitually usurped and disregarded by the Lakers’ front office, I see this situation unfolding similarly.

Unless Los Angeles can trade for Dwight Howard or make other significant moves that make the team a legitimate contender, expect Kobe to demand a trade as soon as he starts feeling helpless again.

More from the Yahoo! Contributor Network:

Top 5 Reasons Dwight Howard will join the Los Angeles Lakers

Why Dwyane Wade is better than Kobe Bryant

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It has certainly been a rollercoaster week for fans of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Chris Paul deal brought a combination of excitement mixed with nervousness after finding out that getting CP3 would cost two talented big men. Then, mixed emotions turned to a unified sense of rage at NBA commissioner David Stern when he killed the trade for reasons that still have not been fully explained. Now, an appeal is moot because Lamar Odom has been moved to the Dallas Mavericks. What could possibly happen next?

Not a great deal

Personally, I didn’t think the Chris Paul deal was necessarily a huge win for the Lakers, so David Stern may have done them a favor. Would Paul and Kobe Bryant have instantly formed the best backcourt in the NBA? Probably. Would their styles have complimented each other and would Kobe routinely defer to the younger Paul? Uncertain. Would the Lakers suddenly be very thin up front? Absolutely. Chris Paul is an amazing talent, and it is a guard’s league. However, giving up Odom and Pau Gasol was not necessarily a good move. Odom can be maddeningly inconsistent, but he is also an incredible talent and he does a lot of things that do not necessarily make the highlight reel. In addition, one bad playoff series does not change the fact that Pau Gasol is a versatile big man that would have been difficult to replace.

Not a great deal, Part II

The deal that sent Lamar Odom to Dallas is a bit of a head-scratcher. This deal has the feel of something that was done in order to set up something else, but if Dwight Howard does not appear, was it worth it? Again, Odom could drive people crazy at times, but recent words from Kobe Bryant show that his teammates appreciated him. I have a feeling that this deal might come back to hurt the Lakers in the future unless it leads to an even better transaction.

Something else in the works?

Is Dwight Howard coming to the Lakers? After all the drama in the NBA office, it is really hard to gauge what might happen. As mentioned, David Stern appears to have killed the Chris Paul deal just because he didn’t like it on a philosophical level. Would he also kill a deal for Dwight Howard? Of course, there is always the possibility that Lakers management is thinking about a rebuild rather than a reload. That is something that many Lakers fans do not want to even consider.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/7341952/los-angeles-lakers-lamar-odom-dealt-dallas-mavericks-asking-trade

The author grew up in Seattle and now lives in Los Angeles, where he waits patiently for the Sonics to return to the Pacific Northwest. In the meantime, he roots for the Clippers to become a winning franchise, and perhaps even the most popular team in their own city.

More from this contributor:

The Best Baseball Catch I Ever Saw In Person

Worst #1 NBA Draft Picks of All Time

The Top 5 Changes Needed in Major League Baseball

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There is the quick update of the day.

What are your opinions.

Turns out, the Los Angeles Lakers weren’t just blowing smoke.

L.A. got a whole lot better with Thursday’s news that the team was about to acquire point guard Chris Paul in a three-team deal that also involved the New Orleans Hornets and the Houston Rockets.

Early word is that Pau Gasol is headed to Houston, and Lamar Odom is bound for New Orleans, with other players and/or considerations expected to be involved in the deal once it’s finalized and announced.

Sources said on Thursday that those other players included the Rockets’ Luis Scola, Kevin Martin and Goran Dragic all going to New Orleans, along with a 2012 first-round pick.

But the Big Three, if you will, are Paul, Gasol and Odom, and on the surface, it looks like the big winner is Los Angeles.

The return of showtime?

With Paul running the point, and Kobe Bryant doing what Kobe Bryant does, the Lakers look more formidable than they have in years. And that’s saying a lot for a team that has won two of the past three NBA championships, and reached the finals three of the past four seasons.

I like Gasol’s game a lot, but if you watched him closely last season, he seemed to disappear for long stretches at a time. I know a lot of Lakers fans were ready for him to move on, but even if you didn’t want to see him go, it’s tough to not be excited about getting Paul in return.

And the Lakers might not be done yet. Paul’s name wasn’t the only one on L.A.’s wish list. The team is known to covet Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, and even with Thursday’s deal for Paul, the Lakers were still trying to pull off something that would net them Howard.

Bryant, Paul and Howard? On the same team?

Watch out NBA.

Source:

Chris Paul to Lakers

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That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

Apparently, the wait is over. New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul has found a new home.

Arguably the best point guard in the NBA, Paul will be headed to California to play with the Los Angeles Lakers in what can only be considered a blockbuster deal of epic proportions.

In a three-way trade between the Hornets, Lakers and Houston Rockets, Paul has landed in Los Angeles to not only help the Lakers battle for another NBA Championship in 2012, but also to prepare for a future without Kobe Bryant.

Although the Lakers got their point guard who will create a dynamic duo alongside Bryant, it came at a rather steep price.

In the trade for Paul, the Lakers will be parting ways with power forwards Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Gasol will head to Houston to join the Rockets and Odom, the 2010-2011 Sixth Man of the Year, will take his talents to New Orleans. Along with Odom, the Hornets will also receive shooting guard Kevin Martin, small forward Luis Scola and point guard Goran Dragic from the Rockets.

The question for the Lakers now becomes whether or not to pursue the remaining piece to the puzzle: Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard.

The Lakers managed to avoid trading away center Andrew Bynum in acquiring Paul, which is easily the best trade piece that the Magic could ask for in return for Howard. The Magic, however, don’t appear ready to admit defeat just yet with talking Howard into staying in Orlando. If the Lakers want to have a real shot at winning another NBA Championship, they’re going to have to find a way to pry Howard from the Magic’s grasp.

To make the most out of this trade, the Lakers are going to have to get the deal for Howard done. With Gasol and Odom packing their bags and Bynum’s chronic inconsistency, the Lakers will be in desperate need of someone like Howard who can dominant the paint game in and game out.

At this point, it’s not a done deal. There are still “i’s” to dot and “t’s” to cross, which means that there’s still time for this trade to fall apart. The potential for the Lakers to receive more than just Paul as a way of making the deal work out better financially for all parties still exists as well. Rumors have been flying around that the Lakers could also receive Hornets power forward Emeka Okafor, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

More information will be available as the situation unfolds. Stay tuned as the Lakers’ shift into the Mike Brown era continues in rather dramatic fashion.

Gil Alcaraz IV is a Los Angeles native who was born into a family of diehard Lakers fans. For more Lakers coverage, follow him on Twitter @GilAlcarazIV.

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If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

The Los Angeles Lakers needed an upgrade in the three-point shooting department. How does a career 43.7 percent from beyond the arch sound?

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Lakers have reached a handshake deal to sign former Philadelphia 76ers small forward Jason Kapono(notes). Although teams technically won’t be allowed to sign players to new contracts until Friday, the NBA couldn’t have honestly expected teams to not agree to terms prior to the official end to the NBA Lockout.

The Lakers invited Kapono to the team facilities for a workout on Monday. Obviously his performance was impressive enough for them to reward him with one of their coveted roster spots.

Although Kapono’s one-year deal with the Lakers can’t officially be signed until 2 pm. EST on Friday, the two parties have come to an agreement that will have the three-point sharpshooter wearing purple and gold for at least the next half a year.

With Kapono on the roster, the Lakers will have the three-point ace that they desperately needed throughout the 2010-2011 NBA season. At season’s end, the Lakers were in the bottom half of the league in three-point percentage. Despite their impressive offensive talents, their lack of outside shooting was a huge crutch that kept them from being anything more than an above average playoff team.

Now headed back to LA to join the Lakers, Kapono should feel right at home. After growing up in the Los Angeles area, Kapono attended Artesia High School before spending his college hoops days as a UCLA Bruin. Down in Westwood with the Bruins, he made a name for himself as an outside scorer who could strike fear in a defense when he got hot.

The Lakers will be Kapono’s sixth NBA team since he entered the league in 2003 as a second-round pick for the Cleveland Cavaliers. On Friday, he will sign the contract for the NBA veteran’s minimum, which is worth approximately $1 million.

Kapono may not upgrade much else, but at least the Lakers have secured their long-ball threat for the upcoming season.

Gil Alcaraz IV is a Los Angeles native who was born into a family of diehard Lakers fans. For more Lakers coverage, follow him on Twitter @GilAlcarazIV.

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