Lakers and Suns
 

That's going to be a fun game to watch. The Suns and Lakers have a fun rivalry going and the new trade will only make it more intense. I'm interested to see how Phoenix plays with Kazaam.

I know the NBA is making a comeback when I DVR a non-Jazz game.

That's how I feel as well. The West is going to be an absolute dogfight with literally 6 teams who have a legit shot to win a title, and 10 teams all vying for the playoffs.

LA, Phoenix, San Antonio, Dallas, Utah and Houston all could win the thing. Portland, Denver, Golden State and New Orleans could beat any of those teams in the first round as well. It should be an exciting race to the end of the year.

The league is ecstatic.

The Shaq-Kobe feud was losing steam, what with the Heat sucking and the Lakers being just okay.

Now they're playing each other again, and are both on teams that could go far in the playoffs.

I'll be DVR'ing it, too.

meh....I'll be at the BYU/Utah game tonight instead.

The Shaq/Kobe thing has been a dead issue here for a bit.

The true fever in LA is the possibility of a Lakers/Celtics finals again. People are getting WAY ahead of themselves, imo.

Tonight's game should be awesome, although not a true matchup since LA doesnt even have Bynum and Ariza.

I expect Shaq to have his way against Pau......but Pau will just pass to the cutter.

My prediction, Shaq finishes with a double double (16 points and 10 rebounds) and the Suns win at home. I hope I am wrong.

The Lakers team if healthy is very good. But, what happens if Bynum takes longer to recover? What happens if Kobe gets hit on the finger again? The Lakers are a bump away from being an average west conf team. Now, next year, the Lakers look awesome. This year, I would be nervous about the health of the team.

The Suns are in trouble. I have a feeling that a Suns team trying to defend Deron Williams or Chris Paul or Tony Parker on any kind of pick and roll with Shaq may see a new record for a PG on field goals made.

I am hopeful for the lakers THIS season, but more amped for them next season.

Local word on Loose Cannons is that Ariza is 8 weeks out, so likely wont even play until second round of playoffs, if at all.

Bynum is a bit ahead of schedule. He is actually rehabbing with The Logo. They hope to get Bynum some PT during one of the final few regular season games.

Even if we get both back, i am not sure they will be back in game shape in time. Every round of the WC playoffs is going to be brutal this year.

I think the Lakers can do it this year, but you're right DDD, next year is our year. This is a good team and they're fun to watch. Should be a good game tonight. So far it's not disappointing.

How do you allow Kobe to dribble right down the center of the lane and dunk with 4 seconds left? That dunk was nasty.

It's the NBA.

NBA = no defense

WOW. win or lose tonight, this has been an awesome game. 3 mins left.....lets go lakers.

I am sensing a return of swagger that I have not seen in the Lakers since....well, the days of the 3peat.

This team is for real. This year.

And what happens when Bynum comes back?

Yowza!

I think Shaq looked a great deal better than many thought he would look as well.

The Suns trade is going to make them very dangerous. I think the Lakers can beat them because of their incredible depth, but I am not sure that the Spurs even with....Kurt Thomas!!!! can beat the Suns, nor the Mavs and everyone else, except maybe the Jazz.

Playoffs are a long way off, but man there are going to be some incredible playoff series out West.

The Lakers are legit. This team without Bynum can go on a run. With Bynum, the Bynum pre-injury, they can win it.

The Suns are a farce. 5-12 against playoff teams. They have no defense. They traded their two best defensive players.

I still think San Antonio has to be the favorite by virtue that they are the defending champs. The Lakers are right there. And right now I have to say the Jazz are right there behind them as much as that kills me to admit. With all the hype around the Gasol, Shaq, and Kidd trades the Jazz have flown under the radar with one of the best additions this season in Korver. Deron Williams is the best point guard in the league in my opinion. But 1-10 in the west are good teams.

This should be a great finish to the end of the season and the western conference playoffs should be amazing.

I was surprised. The second Shaq took off his warmups, you could see that it was more "in-shape Shaq" than "fat shaq," which bodes well for Phx.

His impact on Amare was immediately noticeable. With Shaq patrolling under the basket, Amare doesnt have to pretend to be a center.

I was a bit concerned about Pau in the first half. Maybe it was big game jitters or a desire to do too much, as he picked up silly fouls and was not finishing. Once he settled down, he looked great. He turned and shot over Shaq's head from 10-12 feet a few times.

Kudos to Mitch. He was a whipping boy, but deserves all the props now.

Problem Gasolved!

You shoulda been watching Celtics - Warriors!

Pau was big. Odom was big. I can't even imagine this team with Bynum back in the fold. To be honest, Bynum going down was probably the best thing for the Lakers and worst thing for the rest of the league. I don't know that Kupchak goes after Gasol if Bynum never got hurt.

Mitch does deserve all the props. What I love about the trade the most is that it just caught everyone off guard. I mean they pulled this thing off without any leaks and it pissed off a ton of people. And it forced the Suns and Mavs to make risky moves. I'm not sure if either of those teams are better because of the trades. They may be better, but their window of opportunity certainly shrank.

I enjoyed seeing Raja bell get bonked on his head. He played horrible yesterday.

Careful, Triple D.

Don't want you getting too excited over a meaningless regular season game.

Best part of the night. Kobe killed him and then Shaq delivered the knockout blow. That was a huge ass knot on his head when he was walking to the locker room.

Lakers are now a legit title contender, something they clearly were not when the season began. Last night's game was not meaningless at all.

I agree that had the Lakers not made the moves they had made, then last night's game would have very little importance on the NBA landscape.