Wake up folks. The Lakers play early today and Lamar's coming back to town. Oh what was that? He's no longer a Mav? That was a waste. Only Lamar Odom could be the reigning 6th Man of the Year and somehow manage to make two teams worse. As it stands, the Lakers should be meeting Dallas in the first round, and so far, the Lakers are 3-0 against the Mavs this season. LO barely registered in any of the games, and the only impact he had on this season was in your local supermarkets checkout aisles.

So, we went through a whole lockout supposedly drawn out in part because the owners wanted to limit the power players had. Yet, Lamar Odom can be paid to leave the defending champs because he wasn't feeling the situation. Great job, NBA. Players still run things I guess.

As Kobe sits out another game, other Lakers are stepping up and giving us real hopes that they have as good a shot at the title as any team in the NBA. With Metta World Peace playing like Ron Artest, it's possible that the Lakers have the best starting five in the NBA. Of course, I'm a homer so I'm biased, but I'm not crazy. These guys can play. The only questions are Kobe's health and is the bench good enough?

Have a round with any mention of:

• Lamar's and Mark Cuban's shouting match
• Kobe's walking boot
• Bynum's flagrant foul on J.J. Barea
• Sweep
• Goudelock playing

I want 8-0. Let's go...