30-year old power forward Pau Gasol had another solid month in February.  He played in 13 games for the Lakers this month and he averaged 36.5 minutes, 20.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 blocks per game.  Gasol has now played in 61 games (all starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 37.1 minutes, 18.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game.  I know that Kobe gets all the pub in L.A., but Pau Gasol is just as important to that team.

The Lakers won a nail biter in Oklahoma yesterday.  Pau Gasol (18 points and 11 rebounds) and Kobe Bryant (17 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal) led the way for the Lakers yesterday.  Andrew Bynum had a great game as he filled up the stat sheet with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 5 blocked shots.  Ron Artest pitched in with 10 points.  The Lakers are now 42-19 on the year.

The Lakers shot 50.6% from the floor last night while holding the Clippers to 37.8% from the floor, which explains the scoreboard in this game.  Kobe Bryant (24 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists) and Pau Gasol (22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocked shots) led the way for the Lakers in this game.  Andrew Bynum filled up the stat sheet with 16 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot in this game.  Shannon Brown pitched in with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals in 31 minutes off the bench last night.  The Lakers are now 41-19 on the year.

The Lakers had to fight deep in the night at the Rose Garden in Portland to put away the Trailblazers last night.  Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers last night with 37 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.  Ron Artest (24 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals) and Pau Gasol (18 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 blocked shot) also had solid games for the Lakers last night.  Lamar Odom filled up the stat sheet with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot.  The Lakers are now 40-19 on the year.

The Lakers had a 80-54 lead after three quarters before calling off the dogs.  The outrebounded the Hawks 54-32 and they held the Hawks to 36.6% shooting from the floor so the scoreboard doesn’t surprise me at all.  Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers last night with 20 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in only 26 minutes on the floor.  Shannon Brown (15 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist in 27 minutes) and Pau Gasol (14 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots) also had solid games for the Lakers last night.  Ron Artest (11 points) and Derek Fisher (10 points) also had solid games for the Lakers last night.  The Lakers are now 39-19 on the year.

It seems like everytime the Lakers lose, Phil Jackson’s excuse is that it’s not playoffs yet.  That is a very lame excuse as the Lakers did not look too good before the All-Star break.  The Lakers are 38-19 on the season which has them in 1st place in Pacific Division, 9.5 games over the Suns.  The Lakers are currently the #3 seed in the Western Conference and they are 8.5 games behind the Spurs and 2.5 games behind the Mavericks.  The Lakers won’t be able to flip the switch for the playoffs this season so they better get their act back together.

BIGGEST SURPRISE:  30-year old small forward Matt Barnes played really well before he was injured.  He has played in 37 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 20.8 minutes, 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  I look for Barnes to push Ron Artest for minutes as soon as he gets healthy.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:  31-year old small forward Ron Artest has been pretty awful this season for the Lakers.  He has played in 57 games (all starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 28.1 minutes, 7.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  His shooting has been way off this year too as he is only hitting 39.7% from the floor and 62% free throw line so far this year.  The Lakers would like to trade Ron Artest but I don’t see any teams willing to give them much for him.

The Lakers beat the Cavaliers 112-57 in their first meeting in L.A. earlier this year and I think it inspired the Cavs tonight.  The Lakers outrebounded the Cavs 48-38 but it didn’t matter much last night.  Pau Gasol led the way for the Lakers with a superhuman game as he finished up with 30 points, 20 rebounds and 3 assists.  Derek Fisher had his best offensive game in quite some time as he finished up with 19 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal in this game.  Kobe Bryant had a rough night as he only shot 8 of 24 from the floor while turning the ball over 7 times.  But, he still finished up with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot.  Shannon Brown pitched in with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 27 minutes off the bench.  The Lakers are now 38-19 on the year.

The Bobcats shot 51.2% from the floor and that was way too much for the Lakers to overcome last night!  Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot.  Pau Gasol had a solid game for the Lakers last night with 17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.  Ron Artest only shot 4 of 11 from the floor but he still finished up with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal.  The Lakers are now 38-18 on the year.

The Lakers only shot 39.3% from the floor last night and they were outrebounded 46-34 which did them in yesterday in Orlando.  Andrew Bynum (17 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot) and Kobe Bryant (17 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal) led the way for the Lakers yesterday.  Lamar Odom (15 points, 8 rebounds and 1 steal in 28 minutes) and Pau Gasol (11 points) also had solid games for the Lakers last night.  The Lakers are now 38-17 on the year.

The Lakers shot 53.6% from the floor in Madison Square Garden last night and it led them to a very easy win over the Knicks.  Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists.  Pau Gasol filled up the stat sheet with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot last night.  Lamar Odom (14 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 27 minutes), Andrew Bynum (12 points) and Shannon Brown (12 points) also pitched in for the Lakers last night.  The Lakers are now 38-16 on the year.