More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Don't worry guys, I was just playing it safe. I'm still good.

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[Ed. Note: We've decided to discontinue The View as a regular front page column, and are working on a plan to do more original SS&R content, editorial pieces, news, funny stuff, etc. — though we do hope Timbo will continue to give us his thoughts on anything and everything in the FanPosts. However, this means that you won't find The View in this time slot anymore, though it will hopefully be replaced with additional original content.]

Last night's game against the Bulls, as successful an outing as it was, contained more than a couple *gasp!* oh crap! moments. You know the kind: a player goes down, and depending on how injury prone they are (or whether they've got current injury issues), you hold your breath for a moment, hoping they're okay.

For the Lakers, it goes like this:

• Kobe goes down, and you scream, "Where's the foul?!?" Let's be honest, no one thinks twice about injury with that dude. He'll just treat it around the clock and play anyways.
• Pau Gasol goes down, and you think, "Silly bearded man..." Unless he's just coming back from injury, in which case, you think, "Oh crap, if he's not okay, I'm gonna hurt someone."
• Lamar Odom goes down, and you think, "LO, I will never understand you." Mainly because he probably went down because of something crazy and inexplicable that he did. It's LO, we don't pretend to understand it.
• Andrew Bynum goes down and you think, "Shitguys, Z missiles are coming!" Yeah, it's pretty much nuclear holocaust-level despair.

We had a couple of those moments last night. Fortunately, none of the worst case scenarios came to bear. Details after the jump.

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by Noah Graham - NBAE/Getty Images

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Welcome back, Pau Gasol.

Thanks for stopping by, Pau Gasol.

So glad you're back, Pau Gasol.

It's true; sometimes, this Lakers team can be so ridiculously talented that when a guy like Gasol sits out the first eleven games of the season, you can almost forget just how much you miss him. Almost.

When things don't quite seem to fit, you think to yourself that this team is far, far too talented not to be destroying everybody they meet. But things look awkward, not quite right. Something is wrong; what's the problem?

And then he comes back, and life is easy and grand and beautiful, with everything in its right place, and you remember. Not that he's good — you were never that forgetful. But you remember just how good he is, and everything he does for this team.

Thank you, Pau Gasol.

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More photos » by Noah Graham - NBAE/Getty Images

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Recaps, Post Games & Chats:
Gasol Stars Against Bulls In Return - Lakers.com BasketBlog
A happy return for Lakers' Pau Gasol -- latimes.com
Gasol has nice start - The Orange County Register
Gasol's return sparks Lakers - LA Daily News
Forum Blue And Gold " Preview & Chat: The Chicago Bulls
TLN’s Postgame Report: Lakers vs. Bulls | The Lakers Nation
Chicago Bulls vs. Los Angeles Lakers - ESPN
Gasol already in top form  | PE.com
Kobe Catches Kareem - Lakers Defeat Bulls - HoopsWorld
Behind the Box Score, where the Lakers can do this sitting down - Ball Don't Lie

Click on through for more Lakers and NBA related links after the Jump...

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More photos » by Reed Saxon - AP

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!

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That's right, folks. The Chicago Bulls have won the Pau Gasol Sweepstakes! As their prize, they get to be the first to have to plan for not only Kobe, Bynum, LO, and Ron Ron, but also the might Spaniard, Pau Gasol! Aren't they lucky?

Actually, no. While he may be a bit rusty in his first game back, he also has a history of performing well against the Bulls. In their two-game regular season series last year, Gasol led the Lakers in scoring, averaging 28.5 points per game, as well as 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in 35.5 minutes. The Lakers won both games, the final scores of which were virtually identical:  116-109 at Staples Center, and 117-109 at United Center.

Suffice it to say that while no NBA team, executive, coach, or player wishes injury on another, the Bulls wouldn't have minded if Gasol had sat out one more game.

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More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

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For the first time this season, Pau will play!  Here are your Lakers Links:

The Los Angeles Times:
Pau Gasol says he will play Thursday
All Gasol, Gasol the time | Lakers Blog
Up next for Lakers: Thursday vs. Chicago
Chicago could try to blame road woes on the circus

The Orange County Register:
Lakers about to put Pau into lineup
Pau Gasol ready to play and declares: "I’m a happy man"
Breaking down the banter between Pau and Phil
Brown, Farmar show encouraging signs

LA Daily News:
Gasol set to return for Lakers
SHELBURNE: Gasol now just one of the guys

Others:
Forum Blue And Gold " What To Expect With Gasol Back
Lakeshow Spotlight: A Tale of Two Lakers | The Lakers Nation
Kobe Closing in on Kareem at Lakers.com BasketBlog
Luke Walton Injury Interview at Lakers.com BasketBlog
New Wallpapers for Lakers Nation from J7 Designs | Lakers Nation
Passive Rose has to get aggressive :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Bulls
 (Hat tip to True Hoop)
Pondering Iverson to the Lakers - Bethlehem Shoals - The Baseline - Sporting News

Vote for the All-Star Game

Audio/Video:

LAKERS: Lakers Practice Report 11/18/09
ESPN NBA Today
710 ESPN Los Angeles
The Basketball Jones

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We've been waiting for Pau Gasol — he of recent CSI: Miami fame — to return from his "day-to-Christmas" injury for weeks now. Well, last night, in a game break interview during the Lakers rout of the Pistons, Gasol stated with quite a bit of optimism that he hopes to play against Chicago tomorrow night.

Neither Gasol nor the Lakers are making any guarantees about the exact date of his return, including whether or not he will play against Chicago. But the most encouraging part of this announcement wasn't in the details; it was in Pau's upbeat demeanor.

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You'd think that I'd give the Memphis Grizzlies a break. I mean, people who actually live in Memphis don't give a piddle in a rainstorm for them, why should anybody else care?

I just love listening to politicians spin and lie, that's all. 

Here's the way Memphis GM and Donkey Breeder Chris Wallce described the latest plot twist in the Allen Iverson soap opera:

Grizzlies, Iverson Agree to Terminate Contract

by Michael Tillery, Memphis Commercial Appeal

* * *
Iverson and the Griz mutually agreed Monday to terminate the one-year, $3.1 million contract he signed in September. Under the agreement, Iverson essentially forfeited the remainder of his salary.

Iverson will be waived, and then become an unrestricted free agent if no team claims him off waivers.

Iverson, 34, had been away from the Grizzlies for the past 10 days on a personal leave of absence. The Griz cited Iverson's personal matters as the reason for his departure.

"The Grizzlies and Allen Iverson have come to a mutual agreement that because of personal matters that forced him to leave the team on Nov. 7, Allen will step away from the game at this time, allowing him to focus on those matters," Griz general manager Chris Wallace said in a statement. "As a result, we will be ending our contractual agreement with Allen, which will allow both parties to move forward. We wish Allen the best." * * *

Ha ha! The myth of "personal matters" is being spouted to the bitter end!

More Memphis mocking after the jump...

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Recaps, Post Games & Chats:
Lakers Handle Pistons as Kobe Finds Balance - Silver Screen and Roll
Third Time’s A Charm at Lakers.com BasketBlog
Lakers almost let it get away -- latimes.com
Lakers 106, Pistons 93: Don't trust anyone over 40. Unless it's Kobe. Then trust him 100 times. | Lakers Blog
Lakers avoid third straight loss - The Orange County Register
Lakers' Bryant shows true grit in win over Detroit - LA Daily News
TLN’s Postgame Report: Lakers vs. Pistons | The Lakers Nation
Forum Blue And Gold " Preview & Chat: The Detroit Pistons
Kobe takes charge with 40 | PE.com
Game Recap: Lakers 106 – Pistons 93 | Lakers Nation
Kobe gets 40 in Lakers' 106-93 win over Pistons - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
Lakers Mow Down Motown | lakers-EDGE
NBA.com - Kobe gets 40 in Lakers' 106-93 win over Pistons

• Vote your Lakers into the All-Star Game!

Click on through for more Laker Links after the Jump...

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More photos » by Jeff Gross - Getty Images

Back to his old tricks, but with some new ones to boot.

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Lakers fans understand what I mean when I say that sometimes, watching Kobe Bryant play, it's almost as though the game in progress becomes secondary. The greatness of Kobe Bryant simply transcends the moment, and you could almost forget that there is an event taking place, the outcome of which matters quite a bit to the players, coaches, and indeed, Kobe Bryant himself. You could almost forget that anything bigger was happening than you, sitting transfixed, watching Kobe be Kobe. This was one of those nights — not quite to the extent of 81 points, or 62 in three quarters, but nonetheless.

And yet, even as Kobe Bryant finished with 40 points for the 100th time in his career — only the third player in history to reach that mark — there was a game taking place. And it just so happens that it was a game that mattered just a little bit more than your average November NBA game against middling competition. The Lakers were on their first "losing streak" of the season, having lost their last two games, and those two losses had been bad ones. Too soon to be freaking out? Yes, of course. Important to right the ship? Also, yes.

So while it would be so tempting to simply bask in the beauty of Kobe's one hundredth 40-point game, and the way in which he scored those 40 points, we're going to resist that urge and get into some other observations about this mostly encouraging game.

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On the scale of sportswriter adjectives, the Los Angeles Lakers hover somewhere between "shorthanded" and "injury-ravaged." Pau Gasol is improving but still out of commission. Kobe Bryant is playing, but with a hurt groin. Luke Walton has an aching back and is likely out until 2010.

And yet, their Tuesday night opponent, the Detroit Pistons, might be worse off still. Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, who together dropped the guillotine blade on the Shaq-era Lakers in the 2004 Finals, are both shelved with injuries, and point guard Rodney Stuckey left the Pistons' Sunday night game early with a strained something. (It was either an ankle or a calf, depending on who you ask.) Stuckey will play tonight, but Detroit still runs only eight deep.

And that's only if you count Kwame Brown.

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