For Lakers fans, the first quarter today was the hoops-watching equivalent of the guy who found a severed snakehead in his broccoli at TGI Friday's: unexpected, nauseating and grounds for possible legal action.

On offense, the Lakers have responded to the absence of Yao Ming by deciding to go nowhere near the rim.  I've never coached or played basketball professionally, but I'm not sure that's really the best strategy.  And Trevor Ariza was just a mess: three turnovers in seven minutes played.

On defense, L.A. has struggled to contain explosive scorer Shane Battier. Let's just move on.

Here's your second-quarter thread.