The Credits: "Misery"

Last week, I said not to expect an especially happy outcome to this trip, even if the team ended up 3-3. So far, that "prediction" is coming true. Fortunately, the Lakers play their last game of the annual Grammys road trip today, against the 9-19 Toronto Raptors. This trip has been like an Oreo--bad on the outsides, but good in the middle (I prefer the icing to the cookie). I will say that with an ice cold glass of milk, an Oreo is great all around.

Anyhoo, with all of the hand-wringing in Lakersland, there is apparently still some confidence that this team can go places and do good things.

"The Lakers will be very dangerous in the playoffs," West said in a phone interview Thursday with The Times. "They need rest between games. The way they're playing now on the road, they haven't had the kind of success they need. But they're still very capable."

"I would never, ever discount them," West said. "They're a very good team, regardless of what people might say."

Is Derek Fisher really as bad as we think? Well, duh, but Patrick Ewing is giving him something of an out.

"I almost expect Derek to have a tough time, with all the negotiating he had to be a part of,’’ Ewing told the Daily News recently. "Too much negotiating and not enough work on the court — that’s what happened to me during the lockout. Too much talking and not enough training."

Maybe he's bucking for a job with the Purple and Gold. What do you think?

Metta World Peace is not feeling Mike Brown these days. Uh oh.

So, this trip comes mercifully comes to an end today, and win or lose, the Lakers' miserable road trip will be in the history books.

L.A. Times

• Lakers play at Toronto on Sunday
• Early game could be good for Lakers fans
• Lakers' 92-85 loss to Knicks is highly Lin-plausible
• Lakers FYI: Lakers could have had Jeremy Lin

O.C. Register

• Poor starts tripping up Lakers on the road
• Lakers' options: tweak now or bleak future
• Lakers Sunday preview: at Toronto Raptors (8-17) - Lakers blog

ESPN

• Lakers at Toronto: What to Watch with Raptors Republic - ESPN Los Angeles
• PodKast: The road trip, roster issues and Kobe’s career - ESPN Los Angeles
• NBA -- Dwight Howard and more trade chatter - ESPN

FOX Sports

• Is Kobe the greatest Laker of all time? Yes he is
• Lakers to retire Shaq's No. 34 next season
• West predicts a dangerous Lakers playoff team

ProBasketballTalk

• Mike Brown compares, Kobe, LeBron: It’s about the rings
• Should NBA All-Star game have home court in balance like MLB? No.
• Winderman: The fuzzy line of NBA talk, tampering

Lakers Nation

• Lakers vs. Raptors Pre-Game Report: Lakers End Their Road Trip in Toronto
• Lakers News: Ewing Says Lockout Has Taken Toll on Fisher
• Video: Kobe Bryant Passes to Himself off Backboard Then to Pau Gasol

Other Links

• LAKERS: Lakers Gameday | 02/12/12 | Raptors
• Jerry Sloan's resignation still a surprise to Jazz - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
• Kobe obsessed with winning title No. 6 | Basketball | Sports | Toronto Sun
• Lakers, World Peace struggling to adjust to Brown and vice versa - NBA - CBSSports.com
• Metta to Lin: Get some swag - CBSSports.com
• Forum Blue And Gold " Kobe and the Lakers in the Clutch
• Cavs center Varejao out with fractured right wrist - NBA - SI.com
• 20 Second Timeout: All-Star Reserves Headlined by Championship-Winning Veterans and Five Newcomers
• 25 Black Athletes Who Changed the World | Complex
• Kobe Bryant Reaches out to Gilbert Arenas, Wants him in LA - Court Crusades : Court Crusades
• Lakers at Raptors: 10 a.m. Tip " Lakers Blog
• Metta World Peace doesn’t like that Mike Brown relies on stats that prove Metta World Peace is playing badly | ProBasketballTalk