Sorry for the late game thread, guys. I'm closing up at work and then heading home during a commercial, so I'll dispense with any commentary and let you get right to it.

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Laker newsage in brief from the day gone by:

• Pau Gasol practiced today and says he might play Thursday against Chicago. He didn't say it's likely, mind you - just possible.
• Kobe Bryant practiced today as well, "with no complications" in relation to his groinal area.
• The Lakers have contacted the agent of Tony Gaffney, whom they cut this past training camp, about the possibility of bringing him back to the team. (H/T Inside Hoops.) Gaffney is a 6'8" forward from UMass who's playing in Israel right now.

Here's your open thread - make sure you stretch out thoroughly before commenting. I don't want anyone pulling a muscle in here.

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Welcome to Ariza Bowl II.

Let's all raise a glass tonight for our old friend Trevor, who'll get his championship ring before the game. He was a distinguished soldier for us last year and will always have a place in Laker history. Aw, man... I told myself I wouldn't cry! Give me a moment here.

No such goodwill extends to the hated Luis Scola. That guy's a tool.

Open thread, ENGAGE.

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The following ingredients are included in Chicken McNuggets: autolyzed yeast extract, sodium phosphates, sodium acid pyrophosphate, dimethylpolysiloxane, self-loathing.

The following ingredients are included in the Denver Nuggets: Anthony Carter, many irritating power forwards.

Here's your open thread, kiddies. I hope you brought plenty of dipping sauce.

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Woo! What's not to like, right? Well, the site wasn't working for me tonight, so it was hard to be part of the conversation. But oh dear god, what a juggernaut the Lakers are beginning to look like!

Pau Gasol hasn't played a game, and lately, it hasn't seemed to matter. The third straight blowout in a row, but this one came against a good team — the former best team in the West. Or, uh... at least, the former best record in the West.

Kobe and Bynum revived the old inside/outside game tonight. Wait, no. Not really, because it was pretty much just an inside/inside game tonight. The two dominated in the paint. 29/4/4 on 13-21 shooting for Kobe, and 26/15/3 on 13-18 shooting for Bynum. 121-102 victory for the Lakers that was automatic since partway through the third.

This is your postgame thread.

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It's time to play the music. It's time to light the lights.

The first truly big game of the Lakers' season is here.

Welcome to the Thursday night open thread. No cover charge, and ladies chat free!

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As the saying goes, there's nothing in sports like a Game Seven.

True, we're the only ones ever to bust out that cliche for the seventh game of the NBA regular season, but that's just the kind of can-do innovation that's made Silver Screen and Roll the website all the cool kids are talking about.

Think you're cool enough to hang out in our open thread? Prove it, and maybe we'll let you sit with us at lunch tomorrow.

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Welcome to Houston, home of Enron and a tattoo parlor I once saw there called Tat Dat Azz. These days, of course, it's also home to our old friend Trevor Ariza, pictured above in an Earl Campbell throwback.

(No, sorry. That's... I guess that's just an old picture of Earl Campbell.)

The Lakers are favored by 2 1/2 points tonight, a piece of information I pass along for the gamblers out there. And if you're not a gambler, you should really think about becoming one. It's fun, profitable and legal in some places!

And did you know the USFL had a franchise called the Houston Gamblers? Ahhh, it's all coming together, isn't it? The circle of life is a beautiful thing.

This is your open thread. Let's make some sweet music together.