Lakers-Utah Game 5 Count Down

The Lakers return to Los Angeles to face the Jazz for Game Five of their second round series in what figures to be the most important game of the playoffs so far for the boys in purple and gold.

The series sits at 2-2 but the Lakers have some formidable statistics on their side: only one team (Magic) has lost a game on its home court during the second round of the playoffs, and, even more favorable, Phil Jackson has never lost a playoff series in which his team has won the first game, which the Lakers did.

I'll be perched here blogging some observations at the end of each quarter. Feel free to join me for heavily biased commentary.

Kobe Jumps over an Aston Martin

... well, not really. But it's in the realm of possibility after the Black Mamba has proved himself capable of carrying the Lakers to the Pacific Division title despite a rash of injuries to Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza, Luke Walton, Vladimir Radmanovic, Derek Fisher, and of course Kobe himself.



The tightest Western Conference race in history isn't over yet and Sunday's Lakers-Spurs game will go a long way towards settling the final seedings.

If the playoffs were to start today, the Lakers would be playing the Mavericks in the first round -- a match up the Purple and Gold should look forward to. The Lakers hold a 3-1 advantage this season and all three wins have come after Jason Kidd's addition to the Dallas squad.

After the first several games of the season I had predicted a wash of a season for the Lakers but Kobe and friends have gone out and not only secured a playoff spot but also locked up the division title. That might not be as incredible as jumping over a car but it's pretty darn close.