Two-time NBA champion Jordan Farmar recently wrapped up his third annual Hoop Farm basketball camp at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. He was joined by his former Lakers teammate Luke Walton on the fourth and final day of camp, and the two joined the campers in a little game of knockout.

Farmar ended up winning the game, but Walton came in third. He was knocked out by an 8-year-old kid named Robby. All in good fun though, right?

The Hoop Farm not only taught youngsters how to play the game and be a good teammate but it also promoted healthy eating habits and the importance of green living. All proceeds from the camp will be donated to The Jordan Farmar Foundation, which aims to improve the lives of children through efforts that promote health, hope and healing. There were about 200 participates at the 2010 Hoop Farm, some of them foster kids. For four days, the kids did basic basketball drills, performed yoga and learned how to become eco-friendly thanks to a special presentation by the Alliance for Climate Education.

I visited Farmar at his basketball camp and he was kind enough to grant me a one-on-one interview. From our conversation, he talked about the success of his Foundation and the Hoop Farm, and more importantly his basketball future.

“I’m really excited at this stage in my life, in my career,” says the newest member of the New Jersey Nets. “A new start for me, playing a different style of basketball for an organization who is rebuilding. We have an owner who is committed to winning; we brought in a new coach who won before and he’s gonna try to get us back to his winning ways.”

Even though Farmar is no longer with the Lakers, he will remain a favorite son of Southern California. He attended Woodland Hills Taft High School, played for Ben Howland at UCLA for two seasons and was an integral part of two NBA championships (2009 and 2010) with the Lakers.

Farmar says he has no hard feelings toward the Lakers’ organization and wished his former teammates the best. “I’m gonna miss the organization, I’m gonna miss the city, my family, and my teammates. We became really close in my four years here. We did some amazing and special things …. I wish them the best.”

Having lived in SoCal all his life, living on the East Coast will be a big change. But I got the sense that Farmar – who reportedly signed a three-year deal worth $12 million – is definitely looking forward to his move to New Jersey – or I should say Brooklyn.  “Being in that region, the New York-New Jersey area, it’s a great place to live, so much culture, so much to do. I’m just really excited for the opportunity,” he said.

Farmar pointed out that first-year Nets coach Avery Johnson has big plans for him in terms of his role on the team, and Johnson loves the championship experience he’ll bring to the young Nets. He also hinted that he and Nets guard Devin Harris may play together in the backcourt at certain times.

“He was a huge part of my decision-making process,” Farmar said of Johnson. “He and I spoke directly for the majority of the negotiation. He assured me that I was the one he wanted to try to help restore the organization. He liked the fact that I’ve won, that I’m competitive and my skill set. Playing for him, who was a point guard and understands the game the way I do, will help me improve.”

Because Johnson runs more conventional screen-and-roll sets on offense, Farmar won’t have to deal with the restrictions of the triangle offense, which oftentimes didn’t allow Farmar to fully utilize his point-guard skills.

“I’ll get a chance to be what I am on the floor, and that’s what I’m really looking forward to,” Farmar said.

For more information on Hoop Farm or The Jordan Farmar Foundation, visit www.farmarlive.com.

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Karl Malone announced his retirement from the NBA on Feb. 13, 2005 in Salt Lake City, a place he called home for 18 seasons. (REUTERS)

When the 1992 Dream Team took time off to visit golf courses in Barcelona, almost everyone on the team was itching to bust out their golf clubs out and take their cuts. Karl Malone saw the well-manicured greens, uninviting bunkers and deep roughs, and called it a “waste of pasture.”

Karl Malone was a different breed of athlete. For one, he’s a stand-up guy whose loyalty is admirable. He prefers Harleys over Ducatis; monster trucks over Escalades; 18-wheelers over Rolls Royces. “Growing up, I was always fascinated by equipment,” he said.

He also enjoys riding horses and, when he’s not sporting a baseball cap, he dons a cowboy hat. He wears T-shirts and jeans to work, and probably doesn’t own a tuxedo. The last time he got dressed up for an occasion was at the 1985 NBA Draft in New York. Remember that fashion debacle? After David Stern called Malone’s name with the 13th overall selection, the Louisiana Tech stud walked to the stage wearing white pants, white shirt, a blue coat and tie that looked like it was purchased at Toys R Us.

Somewhere on the red carpet, Joan and Melissa Rivers are having a heart attack after seeing Malone’s fashion faux pas. He just looked real uncomfortable and probably couldn’t wait to rip that tie off his neck, cut off his sleeves and pop a cold one in the green room. You know it crossed his mind.

Malone may have been a pro basketball player, but he’s more of a Big Country than City Slicker. He loves the great outdoors. He owns a cabin in Kenai, Alaska, where he goes fishing and hunting with family and friends. “I just like to kick back and just enjoy life,” Malone said. “We grew up hunting and fishing in Louisiana. When I come here [Alaska], it’s not just about fishing. It’s about relaxing and getting your mind right. When I come here, I forget who I am. We don’t talk about sports.”

If Malone were cast in a Hollywood western movie, he would fit in like a glove. Wait a minute! I believe we have evidence of Malone, the actor, in a western flick. He played Elijah Abel in the 1994 movie “Rockwell.” See photo below:

Can you guess the guy on the right? If you said "Karl Malone" you just earned your spurs.

Born and raised in Summerfield, La., Karl Anthony Malone knew only one way to get things – through hard work. He earned every thing he got in life, which sums up his incredible basketball career that is about to be permanently highlighted in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

The man hardly took shortcuts, possessing a work ethic that is second to none. He is self-man professional athlete who accomplished basically everything needed to be accomplished in the game of basketball, except for winning a championship. But even though he never won an NBA title, he never allowed that void in his basketball life to define him.

But title or no title, the man known as The Mailman delivered one powerful NBA career.

At 6 feet 9 and 260 pounds, Malone was the ideal power forward; a pioneer of the position. If you look up “power forward” in the NBA dictionary, it will say SEE KARL MALONE.

Malone was a physical marvel. Built like a superhero and blessed with a motor that always pushed forward, he demoralized opponents with his brute strength and relentless nature. In 18 years with the Utah Jazz, he led the franchise to two NBA Finals appearances and won two regular-season MVP awards (1997 and 1999). In 1,476 games, he scored 36,928 points – second only to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Malone was also dependable. From 1985 to 2003, he missed only 10 games. He was a real basketball iron man.

But Malone had plenty of help in Utah.

John Stockton, the NBA’s all-time leader in assists and steals, made sure The Mailman always delivered on game days. The two formed one of the best 1-2 combos in league history.

Stockton to Malone!

Whenever legendary Jazz play-by-play announcer “Hot Rod” Hundley said those words it was like sweet music to Jazz fans and basketball fanatics in the entire state of Utah. Without Stockton and Malone, there would be no Delta Center in Salt Lake City (or Energy Solutions Arena).

Stockton and Malone played 1,412 games together and are immortalized outside of Energy Solutions Arena with bronze statues and an intersection in Salt Lake bears their names.

“We’re sorta like Siamese twins,” Malone said of his good friend John. “I look at him and I was warriors, and we go out and fight battles. There’s no doubt in my mind what he’s thinking and I don’t think there’s any doubt on his mind what I’m thinking when we go on that court, and that’s to win.

“When we’re gone from the game of basketball, when you mention one you gotta mention the other one. If we happen to go to the Hall of Fame one day they’ll probably get us both there together.”

Well, almost.

Stockton was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009, along with Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. “We’ve won and lost a lot of games together. We’ve been through a lot together,” Stockton said of his good friend Karl.

Malone left Utah in 2003 to join Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Gary Payton in Los Angeles, hoping for a Hollywood ending to his storied basketball career. The Lakers reached the 2004 NBA Finals, but lost in five games to the Detroit Pistons. Malone hobbled off the court one final time and never looked back.

That’s not the way a heroic cowboy would ride off to the sunset.

He could have played another season with the Lakers, but decided to retire. Now, depending on who you talk to, there are varying reports on why Malone retired. Here’s one explanation: Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s Bryant’s wife, had a reported run-in with Malone. In a story published in the L.A. Times in 2004, Vanessa jokingly asked Malone “Hey, cowboy, what are you hunting?” in reference to Malone’s hat and boots. Malone reportedly responded with, “I’m hunting for little Mexican girls.” That last comment infuriated Vanessa, and she told Kobe about it. Kobe confronted Malone about the incident and it caused a major rift between the two.

Whether or not Kobe had something to do with Malone not returning to the Lakers remains unproven. The bottom line is Malone went to L.A. to give it one more shot at winning that elusive title, but fell short.

However, on Aug. 13, 2010, Malone will finally get his title. It will say “Karl Malone, basketball Hall-of-Famer.”

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Kobe Bryant antagonist Matt Barnes (right) recently signed with the L.A. Lakers. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Kobe Bryant says anyone who is crazy enough to mess with him on the court is crazy enough to play with him.

Two seasons ago, Bryant got into an altercation with Ron Artest – who was with the Houston Rockets at the time – during a playoff game. A year later, Artest signed with the Lakers and became an integral part of the Lakers’ championship run in 2010. Last week, the Lakers signed another Kobe antagonist – Matt Barnes.

Barnes, who played with the Orlando Magic last season, got into a heated battle with Bryant during a regular-season game in Orlando. There were back-and-forth intimidating glares, some words were exchanged and Bryant even shot an elbow at Barnes’ chest as he finished off a dunk. Barnes retaliated by showing the ball right in Bryant’s face on an out-of-bounds play. The two went face-to-face on more than one occasion, and the officials and teammates had to separate them.

Barnes downplayed the whole incident and claimed the encounter was a bit overblown.

“What we went through during the regular season was [something] the media built up,” the seven-year pro said on ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday. “That was just two competitors trying their best not to let their team lose.

“When you’re in the heat of battle sometimes it gets tough down there,” Barnes added. “Either of us wasn’t going to back down, and that’s really what all that was. There was a lot of talking back and forth, there were a few cuss words said.”

It was Barnes who reached out to Bryant this offseason when the opportunity to join the Lakers presented itself. Barnes was close to signing with the Toronto Raptors, but when the deal fell through the Lakers became a viable option for the former UCLA standout and Santa Clara native.

“Once I started thinking about the Lakers that’s where my heart kind of went. It was between them and Miami as my two main choices,” said Barnes, who signed a two-year deal worth about $4 million. “Being from California and going to UCLA, I just thought it would be a great opportunity and a dream come true to play for the Lakers.”

Barnes added: “The Lakers have always been on my radar. Talking to [Lakers GM] Mitch Kupchak, he said he felt the same way.”

Barnes said he grew up idolizing the Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Showtime Lakers during the 1980s. He joins a Lakers squad that has won the last two NBA titles. He’ll play backup shooting guard or small forward. The feisty defender and a decent outside shooter should be a welcomed addition to an already talented Lakers roster. The Lakers are Barnes’ eighth NBA team.

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The Associated Press is reporting that Phil Jackson will return to coach the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2010-11 season, putting off retirement for at least another year to chase his 12th NBA championship.

Jackson made the announcement Thursday with a news release. The Hall-of-Fame coach said last week he was leaning toward retirement after another long season, but he changed his mind after getting a week to rest up at his offseason home in Montana.

With Jackson at the helm, the Lakers recently won their second consecutive NBA championship – their fifth under Jackson – should be the prohibitive favorites to repeat next season.

Jackson, who will turn 65 later this year, says next season will be “a last stand for me, and I hope a grand one.”

Going after a possible fourth “three-peat” was just too much for Jackson to pass up, and the Lakers have all the pieces to make another title run. Kobe Bryant is still in his prime years, Pau Gasol has developed into a first-team All-NBA performer and Andrew Bynum is expected to make a full recovery from his torn meniscus on his right knee.

“He knows how badly I want him back. Let’s go for it again,” Bryant said shortly after the Lakers won Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.

Jackson has been dealing with health issues for the past four seasons, mainly knee, back and hip ailments. He struggles to get through long road trips because he can’t sit in an airplane for long hours, and he needs a customized “booster” chair on the bench to alleviate his back pain.

Since Jackson came to L.A. in 1999, the Lakers have been to the NBA Finals seven times. Jackson is the winningest coach in the league in terms of championships, and if you include his two rings as a player he has been a part of 13 championship teams.

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Kendrick Perkins is the anchor of the Boston Celtics and without him the Celtics sunk like the Titanic.

Seven minutes into Game 6 of the 2010 NBA Finals, the Celtics lost their starting center when he came down awkwardly on his right knee while trying to grab an offensive rebound away from Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum. Perkins fell to the floor and immediately pointed his right knee and called for the Boston medical staff.

He was helped off the court and taken to the locker room, and did not return. The initial report is that he tore two ligaments on his knee and is out for Game 7. He was seen leaving the arena on his own power, but definitely was favoring the knee.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said not having the 6-10, 280-pound Perkins puts the Celtics are at a huge disadvantage against the bigger and taller Lakers. “He’s one of our guys that gives us great spirit. He gives us a lot of toughness and gives us size. I hope he can play. It’ll be tough if he can’t. Somebody else is going to have to step forward. He cleans the paint up. Not having him there made the Lakers awfully long.”

Kendrick Perkins lays on the floor after injuring his right knee in the first quarter of Game 6. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Without Perkins manning the middle and cleaning up Boston’s bricks, the Celtics were manhandled, 52-39, on the boards and the Lakers dominated the game, 89-67, Tuesday night.

Rivers added that not having Perkins in the lineup allowed the Lakers to rest Bynum, who is nursing a torn meniscus in his right knee. The Lakers were able to tread water when their starting 7-foot center was on the bench. The Celtics, on the other hand, absolutely drowned when their starting center was taken out of the game.

You could sense that as soon as Perkins left the game, the Celtics were not the same team. In fact, seeing Perkins getting helped off the court really killed Boston’s spirit.

“I think we were a little focused on when Perk was going to come back instead of continuing to play. As soon as halftime came we all ran to the training room to see if he was OK. Our energy went down for a little bit, but for the most part it’s not an excuse. We just didn’t have it,” said Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo, who suffered a gash on his chin after running into Ron Artest’s elbow in the second half.

“Perk is our enforcer. He’s the biggest body we have on Bynum. He cleans the paint up for us. He does a lot of the intangibles. He’s a great shot-blocker, rebounder and he’s the anchor of our defense.”

Former Celtic Kevin McHale, who was at Game 6 covering the game for NBATV, said Perkins is one of the toughest players in the league and for him to sit this one out shows the seriousness of the injury. “Kendrick’s got a fairly severe knee injury and when you do something like that the swelling would be hard for them to eliminate. Believe me, when you have an injury like that, you go to bed thinking ‘You know Coach, I don’t feel that bad.’ Then you wake up the next morning and you put that first step in and it’s like someone hit you with a sledge hammer.”

The Celtics say they are still confident they can win the series even without their best post defender, but realistically their NBA title hopes may have disappeared when Perkins’ knee gave out.

But one thing is for sure, they’re not going to use Perkins’ injury as an excuse.

“Perk brings rebounding and defense to the game, and his toughness so you lose that. But that’s not an excuse,” said Celtics captain Paul Pierce. “We’re a mentally tough team. We’ve had injuries all year, and we know how to win when guys go down.”

Video courtesy of NBA.com

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Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen knocked down eight of 11 3-pointers against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in Game 2 of the 2010 NBA Finals. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Ray Allen set an NBA Finals record for most 3-point shots made in a game. He made eight of them, and all of them barely hit the rim. It was the kind of night shooters dream about. Catch the ball, get your feet set, release, and … SPLASH! Those who can shoot know that feeling. Those who can’t? Well, you can at least dream about it.

Allen’s jump shot was so pure and wet on Sunday night that it looked like Staples Center was the backlot of a Hollywood movie set and Allen was reliving his role as Jesus Shuttlesworth in Spike Lee’s joint “He Got Game.” Though Allen made it look easy, it certainly wasn’t. Try making seven 3-pointers in a row from 23 feet in an empty gym without a hand in your face. It might take you all day. Allen drained seven in a row in the first half against the best team in the league at defending threes.

“There’s so much going on out there from great screens being set to misdirection plays, making sharp cuts, and offensive rebounds – that’s best time to get a 3-point up. I thought they did everything they could to keep me from shooting threes working tirelessly, but we were setting great screens and getting to my spots,” said Allen, who finished with 32 points on 11-of-20 shooting and was a blistering 8-for-11 from behind the arc.

“Starting the game off, you don’t want that first shot to be a 3-pointer. You want to work your way into the game. But if it has to be, it has to be. I try not to turn a shot down when I’m open for sure.”

And the Celtics are glad Allen didn’t turn down any of the 3-point looks he was given because Allen’s shooting exhibition was a big reason why the 2010 NBA Finals is now at 1-1.

Allen felt he never got a chance to make an imprint in Game 1 because he barely played, and he made sure things were going to be different in Game 2.

“The other night was frustrating. It was tough trying to adjust to the referees and I was watching from the sidelines. I just tried to root them on,” Allen said of his disappointing Game 1, a game in which he played only 27 minutes because of fouls. In Game 2, Allen played 43 minutes and was never in serious foul difficulty.

“Physically I felt great. I was getting to the spots that I need to, just never really got into a great rhythm,” Allen explained. “Tonight I was focused on adjustments to Kobe [Bryant] attacking, being in position before I could get back and help my teammates out. The bigs set great screens for me, [Rajon] Rondo pushed the ball in transition and we got a lot more fastbreak opportunities. We got stops so we were able to run.”

Allen and Rajon Rondo were instrumental in helping the Celtics build a 14-point lead in the first half, and even though the Lakers caught them in the second half it established a fast tempo the Celtics felt comfortable playing and didn’t allow the Lakers to set up their defense and pack the paint.

“Can’t say enough for what Ray did for us tonight, especially in the first half. He carried us the whole way,” said Rondo, who recorded a triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. “We played on our edge but Ray held us through it and took over the game. Me, personally, it was fun to watch. I was just trying to get him the ball.”

Allen added: “The ball bounced more in our favor. I think we had more activity in this game, we had more energy. We fought harder. There were a couple of threes where the ball bounced kinda funky and we ended up getting it. We fought and got those extra possessions this time, and early in the game we got into transition. I got a couple of threes early and nothing was rushed, basically.”

Boston tried to get Allen more looks in the second half, but the Lakers made the adjustment and held him to only three 3-point attempts in the last two quarters.

“They did a better job of guarding him,” Rivers said. “The start of the third quarter they were scoring. By them scoring that meant we were not running anymore, and we couldn’t get [Allen] in transition. We wanted to establish Ray and Paul coming out of halftime, and we got into the same pace the first six minutes of that third quarter that we were in Game 1. We were walking the ball up the floor and we lost our tempo.”

Boston’s starting backcourt certainly made up for the lack of productivity from their their frontcourt, particularly Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

Pierce suffered through a rough shooting night, going 2-for-11 and finishing with just 10 points. He did get to the foul line six times but most of them came in the first half. Garnett vowed to bounce back from a bad Game 1, but it got even worse for him in Game 2: six points, four rebounds and five fouls in 23 minutes.

“It was a team effort. A lot of guys stepped up,” said Pierce. “Obviously Ray had the shooting going for us all night long, so we had to play through him. Rondo had it going. If we had two guys who had it going then other guys can fill in and play their roles, and we feel like we give ourselves a chance.”

Thanks to Ray Allen, Boston now has a chance in this series.

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Kobe Bryant made sure there wasn’t going to be a Game 7 as he made three clutch shots down the stretch to lead the L.A. Lakers to a 111-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns and clinch the 2010 Western Conference championship.

L.A. will face the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, a matchup of two teams with a combined 32 NBA championship banners. Game 1 of The Finals begin Thursday night in Los Angeles.

Against the Suns in Game 6, the Lakers built a 12-point lead at halftime and led throughout the second half. But backup point guard Goran Dragic led a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Suns in which the home team sliced an 18-point deficit to three points with under three minutes remaining. Dragic ignited the surge when he scored six points in nine seconds, two coming on free throws after Sasha Vujacic was called for a Flagrant 1 foul when he hit Dragic in the chin as the two Slovenians got tangled up in the backcourt.

Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher make their third consecutive trip the NBA Finals, their first trip with Ron Artest as a teammate. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

But when the game got close, the Lakers turned to the best closer in the game – Bryant.

After the Suns cut the lead to 99-96 with 2:19 left, Bryant got the ball on the wing and buried a shot over Grant Hill and Channing Frye to give the Lakers a five-point lead. Then, with 35.2 remaining, Bryant put the game away when he drove past the Suns bench, rose up over Hill and swished a fadeaway shot from about 22 feet to make it 107-100.

“Just had to keep attacking, trying to stay aggressive,” said Kobe Bryant, who scored a game-high 37 points – his ninth 30-point game in his last 10 playoff games.

“They had help coming from the weakside, with traps and things like that, and made it difficult for me to get to the basket. So, I just had to create a little bit of space and raise up,” Bryant said. “I had a good look, it looks like a tougher shot than it actually is. I got a good look, got my legs underneath me and was able to knock it down.”

Suns coach Alvin Gentry got a great view of Bryant’s fall-away shot and thought Hill played it about as well as any player could defend it. Unfortunately, Bryant was just better than any defense the Suns threw at him.

“After I had knocked down a shot, I just heard him mutter something like ‘That’s BS!’ Something to that effect. It just made me smile. I just padded them on the butt,” Bryant said of his sideline encounter with Gentry.

“I mean, what can you say about Kobe?” Gentry asked. “There’s an intense game going on and you almost have to laugh at what he does. I thought we played great defense on him and he just made tough shot, after tough shot.”

Bryant’s got some help offensively from Ron Artest, who carried over his game-winning play from Game 5 to a very solid 10-for-16 shooting night and 25 points in Game 6.

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The Phoenix Suns’ zone defense has altered the complexion of the Western Conference finals.

After two convincing victories in Game 1 and Game 2, the Lakers appeared to be headed for sweep until the Suns, out of pure desperation, went exclusively to a zone defense that not only slowed up the Lakers’ offensive attack but it has energized the Suns’ offense. Despite 38 points from Kobe Bryant, the Suns got enough stops on defense and a huge lift from their reserves to score a 115-106 win in Game 4.

“The only thing that we tried to do is that we look at the tape and we try to look at it as if we were the Lakers, and we said, ‘OK, where would you attack us?’ ” said Suns coach Alvin Gentry, whose team has held the Lakers under 50% from the field on consecutive games after L.A. shot 56% in two games in L.A.

The Suns bench also played a big role in Game 4. They not only outscored the Lakers bench, 54-20, but they also brought a lot of energy on the floor and helped Phoenix outrebound the Lakers, 51-36.

Suns reserve forward Jared Dudley gets the Phoenix fans excited after knocking down a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. The Suns bench outscored the Lakers bench, 54-20, in Game 4. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

“We saw some areas where we were really vulnerable so we talked to our guys about being well aware of that. One of them was the high screen-and-roll with Kobe,” Gentry explained. “We thought that we would have to get up and at least make him drive it and not just come off and rise up and shoot the ball. We also thought that they would try to pound the ball a lot more, so we would have to be inside and then close out on shooters and I thought we did a good job with that.”

Gentry said the other day the Suns will continue to play their “girly zone” for as long as it keeps the bigger and taller Lakers from dominating inside. “The whole key is, although it’s a zone, we try to match up,” Gentry said. “Initially, everyone has to have a man and then from there we try to pass guys off. Early on they were making jump shots, and I think we’ll have to live with the jump shot.”

Lakers coach Phil Jackson dismissed the notion that the Suns won Game 4 because of the zone defense, noting that the Lakers shot 49% from the field. Instead, he highlighted the fact the Lakers were outshot from the free throw line again.

“We shot 49 percent didn’t we? That’s pretty good. Nothing wrong with that. I won’t say we struggled against the zone. I think we’re struggling at the defensive end,” Jackson explained. “We outscored them from the field in both games, shot better than they did, we did a lot of things very good but still wasn’t enough to win the game. They beat us at the foul line both nights and that’s the difference in the margin of the game. We have to do a better job in that activity.”

Jackson pointed out the discrepancy in the number of foul shots in the two games in Phoenix. In Game 4, the Suns were 22-for-32 from the free throw line while the Lakers shot 7-for-13. In Game 3, the Suns went to the line 42 times and converted 37 of them, while the Lakers got just 20 attempts.

“Every time we came near them they fell down and went to the line,” Jackson joked.

Bryant carried the Lakers offense for much of the second half, including a huge scoring binge in the third quarter. But in the fourth quarter, Bryant was silent and that’s when the Suns bench took over as Channing Frye, Jared Dudley and Leandro Barbosa helped build a nine-point lead on consecutive 3-point shots.

“Our defense could’ve been much better,” Bryant said. “Coming up here, we lost the sense of urgency defensively. I think our concentration was focused on how to attack the zone and it kind of flipped our attention to detail defensively. Our focus was on the other side of the floor, which doesn’t win championships.”

Bryant only had four shot attempts in the fourth quarter, but he says it wasn’t because of the Suns defense. “We didn’t lose the game because of that, we lost the game because our defense sucked.”

Though Jackson and Bryant made some valid points, the simple fact that they seem very agitated whenever the zone defense questions keep popping up gives reason to believe that the Lakers are frustrated with the way the zone has disrupted their flow and rhythm on offense. The Lakers’ triangle offense is an extension of their defense, and when the Lakers are rolling on offense they seem to play better defensively.

The Lakers are attacking the Suns’ zone defense from the wing, which goes away from the weakness of the zone. There were times when 7-footer Pau Gasol (who was held to 15 points) was out on the wing moving the ball, which takes him out of the low block where he is most effective. The attack must start with one player on the pinch post – either Bryant, Ron Artest or Lamar Odom – initiating the attack from the top of the foul line and down. By putting someone in the middle of the zone, this collapses the defense and opens up the baseline as well as the corner.

Whenever Bryant or Gasol got into the middle of the zone, the Lakers got easy buckets. They did this for much of the third quarter when they made their run but, for whatever reason, got away from it in the fourth quarter and began settling for 3-point shots. The Lakers are 18-for-60 from behind the arc in the last two games.

Video courtesy of NBA.com

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Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson revealed on Sunday night that he is considering sitting center Andrew Bynum for Game 4 to rest his ailing right knee.

The Lakers have a 2-1 edge in the Western Conference finals against the Phoenix Suns and Game 5 is on Thursday in Los Angeles so that would give Bynum three full days of not putting any weight on his right knee, which has a torn meniscus.

Bynum told Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com that he prefers to play because he’s not doing more damage to the knee. But Jackson is more concerned about how Bynum’s injury is impacting the Lakers, especially on the defensive end.

“I’ll talk to him and see what his suggestion is and how he feels about it, ” Jackson said of Bynum, who had two points, two rebounds and four personal fouls in a little over seven minutes in Game 3, won by the Suns 118-109.

“I think that he was ineffective tonight. There’s some things that got by him. He had one nice move in the post. Defensively, I thought he was a little bit late.”

Amare Stoudemire punished the Lakers defense with a series-high 42 points, aided by 14 free throws on 18 attempts. But Stoudemire scoring 40 points is not that surprising. What was surprising was that Robin Lopez made eight of 10 shots from the field and scored 20 points. If Bynum were healthy, Lopez wouldn’t have 20 points. Heck, he may not even have more than six.

Bynum doesn’t need to score to have an impact in the game. They have Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol for that. What Bynum brings to the floor is size and length on defense, which discourage players, such as Stoudemire, from driving to the basket. With Bynum and Gasol in the backline, the Lakers possess two 7-footers with extremely long wingspans and perimeter defenders such as Ron Artest can apply more pressure on the opposition and not worry about getting beat to the basket.

“Obviously, he’s been a key player all year. He can bring a lot to the table defensively and offensively,” Gasol said of his teammate. “He’s a big presence for us. We don’t know how much that knee is a factor. Of course, I would like for him to play more, and provide more, and help us.”

The Lakers are good enough to advance past the Suns without Bynum, but they will need him in the NBA Finals. And that’s the big picture Jackson and the Lakers are looking at.

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Kobe Bryant collected the 11th 40-point game of his playoff career in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Suns. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Despite all the things he has achieved in his soon-to-be Hall-of-Fame basketball career, Kobe Bryant still finds little things to motivate him. It’s what makes him the best player in the Association. It’s the reason why he has four NBA championship rings. It’s the kind of closer mentality that separates him from his peers. Actually, take that back. Kobe Bryant is without peer.

Bryant loves to take on challenges. Kevin Durant pushed him in the first round, and Bryant pushed him out of the playoffs. Utah fans made fun of his L.A. Times photo shoot, and Bryant responded by sending the Jazz home after four games. Now, in the Western Conference finals, Bryant has taken on the challenge posed by the Phoenix Suns and forward Grant Hill.

Hill got a five-page scouting report on Bryant courtesy of his Duke buddy Shane Battier. Well, after Bryant lit up Hill and Suns for 40 points to lead the L.A. Lakers to a convincing 128-107 victory in Game 1, Battier may need to send five more pages to help out his fellow Blue Devil.

Since LeBron James accepted his second consecutive NBA regular season MVP award, Bryant has scored 31, 30, 35, 32 and 40 points and the Lakers have won five in a row. Coincidence? Hardly.

Bryant believes he is still the top dog in the league, and not receiving a single first-place MVP vote burns him to the core. (Are you kidding me, media members? Zero first-place votes for the reigning NBA Finals MVP. Unbelievable!). Now, Kobe is going to take it out on the Suns or whichever team comes out of the East.

“Kobe carried a lot of the offense tonight. I don’t know about [taking it personally], but I would say he shouldered the game,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of Bryant’s 13-for-23 shooting in Game 1, a game in which the Lakers shot 58% from the field and outscored Phoenix 56-36 in the paint.

“The way he got those points, when he’s in that zone like is tonight there is not a whole lot you can do about it,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said of Bryant, who scored 21 points in the third quarter and pushed the Lakers to a 14-point lead almost on his own.

“Every time [Kobe] plays he takes it personally,” Gentry added. “That’s his motivation. He understand how important this first game is and I just thought he played at a real, real high level. Since he walked into the league, I’ve never underestimated him. You knew at some stage that he would try to take the game over. That’s what he does. He’s a great player. He is focused on one area and that’s try to win a championship.”

When Kobe was asked if he takes things personally whenever he takes the court, he replied (with a smile): “It’s never personal with me.”

“He’s the best scorer in the league,” Lakers forward Lamar Odom said of Bryant, his teammate of six seasons. “Fadeaways, of course he gets out on the break, playing with his back to the basket, inside, outside, shoots the ball with his left hand when his right hand is broke. Time off was exactly what he needed.”

Given a week off to prepare for the conference finals, Bryant feels healthy and now has a bounce in his step.

“I’ve done a lot of work during the season,” Bryant said. “You see me before games, working on my shooting and just working on different things. Now I feel like I have two legs to play with. I have better balance on my shot, so shots aren’t going short anymore they’re going in. It’s a combination of those two things.”

Though he won’t admit it publicly, Bryant felt completely disrespected with the MVP voting. It was bad enough that his chief rival for the top spot was a runaway winner, but it was compounded by the fact that three media members left him off the All-NBA first team and Durant finished ahead of him.

LeBron may have a case for No. 1, but in no way shape or form that Durant has surpassed Bryant. It’s not even close. Durant led the league in scoring because he was on a team that needed scoring. Bryant could have averaged 30 points during the season if he wanted to, but he’s playing for an NBA title not a scoring title.

And here’s a question for the media who voted for MVP: “How many players had six game-winning shots during the season?”

Not LeBron. Not Durant. Not Dwyane Wade. It’s the guy who is STILL playing in the playoffs and the guy who is about to win his fifth NBA championship ring.

Video courtesy of NBA.com

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