Now that’s more like it… but not quite. Lakers lead by 30 in the 2nd quarter and only win by 3 points in the end? Alright, I have to give it to them despite losing a lead that big. This is the Hornets they’re playing after all.

Kobe has an all-around game with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists – that’s almost a triple double. I hope Kobe notices that if only he’ll have stats like this every night, they’ll win 90 percent of their games. Alright, here comes the Kobe lecture. Kobe has to understand that he is a playmaker, not necessarily a scorer. OK, that’s it. No additional lectures.

Anyways, if the Lakers win all their remaining games (vs San Antonio and Sacramento), and the Hornets lose 1 game, Los Angeles has the no. 1 seed. With the Phoenix loss to Houston today, it seems the Suns are not climbing from the no. 6 seed (unless Houston loses its last 3 games, which is highly unlikely). If L.A. maintains its no. 3 seed, they’ll be facing a very, very dangerous Phoenix squad. I can already hear Shaq’s growl.

So, the best chances of the Lakers to succeed in the West playoffs is to draw seed numbers 1 or 2. But then again, seed no. 2 potentially will have to face the winner of the 3 vs. 6 seeds, and that would mean either Spurs or Suns. The Lakers will want to avoid those 2 animals until the West finals.

I guess seed no. 1 is the best option for the Lakers for this playoffs. I will pray that L.A. wins its last 2 games and New Orleans lose at least 1. Please pray with me, OK?