Then the Detroit Pistons came to town and proved to be an elixir.

After their worst start to a season in 34 years, the Lakers finally, occasionally resembled the powerhouse most expected to see this season — even without Nash, who missed his second game with a small fracture in his leg. Los Angeles took a 28-point lead in the first half and stretched it to 36 points in the third quarter before winning 108-79.

“We had to stop the bleeding, and there wasn’t a way to do it other than . . . getting a solid win,” forward Pau Gasol, who scored 14 points, said. “We’ve got a little bit of tension out of ourselves right now.”

Howard was a force inside with 28 points. Bryant had 15, 8 assists and 7 rebounds. Metta World Peach contributed 18 points.

“We needed this bad, just to change the mood and give us some of that feel-good feeling,” said reserve guard Steve Blake, who started in Nash’s place. “Losing games was tough. I guess we did a good job of staying positive, but it feels good, that’s for sure.”

Read the full story here.

All the anticipation and excitement was sucked out of the Staples Center in the first quarter, when the Lakers plodded their way while the Mavericks zoomed past them in a way similar to how the Oklahoma City Thunder did in eliminating them in the playoffs last season.

The Lakers looked old and slow, much of it because they play a half-court game in a league where speed wins. They talked patience after the 99-91 defeat, but it is a wonder how long they will go forfeiting their athleticism for a pound it low, Princeton-style pass and cut offense.

“It’s not the way we wanted it to go,” foward Pau Gasol (20 points) said. “Now we’ve just got to continue to stick with it. We know it’s not going to happen right away.”

Despite their virtually energy-deficit effort, the Lakers could have started the season with a win if they had not been an embarrassment from the foul line. As a team, they were — ready for this? — 12 for 31 on free throws. “I’ve never seen anything like that in a basketball game,” Gasol said of the poor marksmanship.

Read the full story here.

“People outside, fans, media, of course they are going to say [the Lakers are the favorites] because, on paper, they have the best lineup in the league,” he said during Monday’s media availability to promote his new movie, “Thunderstruck.”

“But you still got to play the games. We respect everybody. We are going to go through the league respecting everybody as well.

“We already view ourselves as an elite team, but we have to prove it again. Last year is over with.”

Bill Geeslin has since passed away for reasons unrelated to the incident, but alleged in a 2008 deposition that Bryant forearmed him in the chest while diving for a loose ball during the Grizzlies’ 85-73 win over their visitors at FedExForum.

“He did not apologize,” said Geeslin, an insurance agent from Blytheville, Arkansas. “He walked away and pushed – he kind of pushed his arm toward me and glared at me and walked away.”

Geeslin surmised that Bryant was angry that his team was losing or that the referees call no foul on the play leading to the sudden contact between the two men.

Geeslin said the incident made him feel like “a human punching bag.” He said he filed suit in federal court because he felt violated and wanted to make sure that Bryant was never again able to “inject such pain.”

Read the full story here.

“I certainly would not want to be married to somebody that can’t win championships. If you’re sacrificing time away from my family and myself for the benefit of winning championships, then winning a championship should happen every single year.’

It’s easy to see how Vanessa’s comment could be “misconstrued” so she released a statement to clarify,

I’m sad to hear that comments in my New York  Magazine interview are being misconstrued and taken out of context. I have and will continue to support my husband’s dreams. I have been with Kobe for 13 years. I accepted his marriage proposal PRIOR to him winning any of his 5 championships with his teammates.

Read the rest here.

Vanessa sat down with New York magazine and gave readers a behind the scenes look at her life.

On her fashion style (while packing for the Olympics with her Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Louis Vuitton, Rick Owens & J Brand clothes spilling over)

“I’m inspired by Ann Miller and Monica Bellucci.  My mom dressed so ladylike, with high-waisted knee-length skirts, nylons, and long tailored coats, always on her way to work.” (As far as Kobe’s style goes)  For the longest time I tried convincing Kobe that he should wear things a little more fitted. And for years and years he was like, ‘I don’t feel comfortable, I feel like they rise.’ And now all of a sudden the stylist says it, and it makes sense.”

On her typical day and having NO nannies

“I think people imagine that I sit at home with all the time in the world to do my hair and makeup, but that’s certainly not the case.  I’m up at 6:30 in the morning with my kids. I’m taking them wherever they need to go.  [I don't use a nanny.]  That’s the way I was raised.  [I've never missed a sports game or practice of my daughters.]

Read the rest here.

It was not supposed to be like this. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James said Team USA could beat the 1992 Dream Team of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, et al.

But could they beat Spain in Sunday’s gold medal game in the London Olympics?

Turns out, they could, but only after a late-game finish – keyed by tough defense and  – that pushed the United States to a too-close-for-comfort 107-100 victory.

It was hardly resounding, but it was good enough – for the gold and to squash discussions about comparing it to the ’92 team that crushed opponents by an average of 43 points a game.

In the scheme of things, it was only about the mission: winning gold. And the U.S. did that. How uptight and relieved were the Americans? When Chris Paul scored a layup in the final minute to put the United States up by 13 points, coach Mike Krzyzewski jumped as if his team had won the national championship.

Players, one-by-one hugged each other in exaltation in the waning seconds, their mission completely, if not dominant.

They had to overcome a strong effort by Spain’s Pau Gasol, who had 15 of his 24 points in the third quarter. The Los Angeles Laker took advantage of the Americans’ smallish interior defense.

"We haven't really been pointing at anything, that's been one of the problems, We don't really get too excited about anything anymore. I'm excited about this game. I'm excited about the challenge of it and hopefully the rest of the guys are too."

“You guys want me there, I am there and I’m ready to defend,” Bryant said. “And then when you guys need me to put some points on the board, I’ll do that, too.”