Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are fighting to make the playoffs this season. Amidst all the drama and whatever Dwight Howard is doing or not doing, the LA Lakers are making their critics rethink if the playoffs are a possibility. The Chicago Bulls are actually helping the Lakers make the postseason a reality. On Friday, the Bulls beat the Utah Jazz 89-88, which tied the Lakers and Utah with a record of 32-31. But, on Sunday, the Bulls made it a little more interesting for the 8th spot in the West by losing to the Lakers, 81-90. Now, the LA sits in the 8th spot alone. So, LA fans, say “thank you”.

Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, and Kobe Bean Bryant were all clicking at the same time and the Bulls could not keep up. Taj Gibson, Kirk Hinrich, and Richard Hamilton (remember him?) are all still out for various injuries. Joakim Noah led the Bulls with 18 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 blocks. But, Noah’s great stat line  was no match against Dwight’s 16 points, 21 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Why? Because Dwight, clearly, had more offensive help from his teammates than Joakim. The Bulls bench did not contribute much, but 10 points from Jimmy Butler and Nazr Mohammed.

Luckily, the Bulls don’t have a game until Wednesday. They certainly need the rest and to regroup. Chicago will face the Sacramento Kings on the west coast at 10pm ET/9pm CT/7pm PT.

Derrick Rose told reporters that his hamstrings are on fire after a workout. Not sure what that means, but clearly he isn’t ready to return even though doctors have cleared him. An injury of that caliber is physical AND mental. Only Rose will truly know when he’s ready. Hopefully, the media hoopla will cease on pressuring him to return.

Far be it from me to tell Jim Buss, the son of the Lakers’ owner, how to run a basketball team, but I think he’s a bit confused right now, either that or doing a mediocre job of evading questions.

According to Bill Plaschke of the LA Times:

“Buss said that chances were ‘very good’ that they would start next season with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum all still on the team.”

This is something Lakers’ fans should be very afraid of. Anyone with eyes was able to see at the end of last season, and possibly the previous season, that the team needs to be blown up. Pau Gasol isn’t a bad player, but he’s lost in the current system they are running. There needs to be changes in the roster.

But Buss is making it sound as though they won’t be doing much of anything. The Lakers don’t have a lot of money to play with when it comes to getting new players, so we expected them to get creative, not complacent. Hopefully, this is his way of keeping their plans a secret, as they always do, and not really what the Lakers are looking to do.