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Yo Dwight, you got now.

It’s a case of can’t live with him, but can he live without him? For Los Angeles Lakers big man Dwight Howard, who has often felt like Kobe Bryant’s picked-on little brother in his first season in Lakerland, this baffling year now falls in the palms of his massive hands after Bryant’s devastating Achilles injury Friday night.

Make no mistake as the Lakers quickly move on with no other choice to Sunday’s critical game against the San Antonio Spurs. This is not suddenly the overly cerebral and emotional Pau Gasol’s team nor is it the injured Steve Nash’s job to keep Lakers’ chins ups. The bionic Metta World Peace? Hardly.

We’re about to find out just how much the 27-year-old Howard, L.A.’s hopeful future rock of the franchise, has grown up in the past year, through the scars and lessons of an implausibly wild ride: His never-ending debacle in Orlando, the trade, the back surgery, the firing of Mike Brown, the head-bumping with Mike D’Antoni, the shoulder injury, the death of Jerry Buss, Bryant’s relentless, often backhanded, tutelage, and, of course, all the losing by a team already declared one of the biggest busts in NBA history.

Just two games stand between the Lakers making the playoffs after an arduous climb or descending into a long, uncertain offseason. Immediately the cycle will begin of will-he-stay or will-he-go questions that will hound Howard and the Lakers all the way to the July 1 start of free agency when Howard can hand-pick a team with enough cap space to sign him.

All indications have suggested that Howard seems headed for a long-term stay in L.A., tabbed as the successor to Kobe’s throne once he calls it a career, perhaps as early as after next season as Bryant himself has suggested now on multiple occasions.

How Bryant’s Achilles injury, which could keep him out as little as six months or as long as 12, will affect the Lakers’ immediate playoff hopes will be known in a matter of days. Less certain is Bryant’s availability for next season and ultimately his longevity now 17 years in, and especially how it might alter Howard’s feelings about re-signing under such circumstance.

The latter is impossible to even speculate. Nothing with Howard has ever been what it seems.

And now Bryant’s absence thrusts Howard into the spotlight like never before, even as he smiled through all those years leading that rag-tag bunch as a sole superstar stuck in Orlando. For the remainder of this season, however long it lasts, and, without a doubt, for at least the start of next season if he chooses to stay in Lakers purple and gold, all eyes will be trained on the 6-foot-11, 265-pound man-child.

D’Antoni, whose offense has failed to integrate Gasol and Howard on the low block, will have no choice now but to slow the game up and put the team’s fate in Howard‘s ability to go to work down low.

With Bryant out, Howard is the Lakers’ best player on the floor. If L.A. is going to take the final steps and achieve the satisfaction of having at least scrapped into the playoffs, they’ll need Howard to lift his team and produce like he is indeed the best player on the floor.

The stage is truly his.

Metta World Peace made headlines last week when he injected himself with steroids made a miraculous recovery from knee surgery, not even missing two weeks’ worth of games after tearing his meniscus. Here, Jarrett Jack makes World Peace wish he stayed with his original timetable.

The first part of the decade wasn’t so much of a golden era for the Los Angeles Lakers though. It started off with an ass whooping in the NBA Finals to the Jordan’s Bulls which was not only the beginning of his dominance but also pretty much the end of the line for the likes of Magic, Kareem, Worthy, Scott, Cooper and Rambis.

Name more than three of the members of the 94-95 Lakers without reading the rest of the post and I’ll give you a $1

And then when those guys started to retire or get old, the Lakers started to replace them with Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell and Vlade Divac.

It was around this time where I actually started watching basketball. And that’s how I defend that I am not a bandwagon Laker fan to people – I tell them I started liking them when this motley crew was gracing my television.

While they were a far cry from Showtime, they were definitely a fun team to watch. Somewhat of a mid-90s version of the current Golden State Warriors: they ran up and down the court, didn’t play much defense and was a solid playoff team that everybody knew they had no shot to win it all.

With how hard it has been to watch the Lakers this season, it only makes sense to remember the mid-90s Lakers teams in all of their glory and think about how they’d stack up to the current roster.

Point Guard: Nick Van Exel vs. Steve Nash

My homeboy Nick – the man whose last name comprises part of my blogging name. He was the most maddening player in that he could be so good and so awful. When he was on, he was unstoppable because of his left hand but when he was off he would just sabotage the team with all of the 3-pointers he jacked up and clunked. That being said, Nash wouldn’t be able to guard him (not unlike any other point guard ever). But Van Exel wouldn’t be able to slow Nash much either, especially if he were running pick and rolls all day with Dwight Howard. I’ll call this one a draw.

Shooting Guard: Eddie Jones vs. Kobe Bryant

Here we start to realize how old Kobe is. He was 17 when he joined the Lakers in 1996, and it signaled the beginning of the end for Jones. He was a decent player, with a very nice 3-point touch. He was rail thin though, and Kobe would just out-muscle him on his way to easy buckets. Advantage Kobe.

Small Forward: Cedric Ceballos vs. Metta World Peace

Ceballos was the best Lakers player in the mid-90s, averaging 21.2 points per game in the 94-95 season. It would certainly be a challenge for MWP, but not one he wouldn’t be up for. I’ll give the edge to Ceballos because I don’t think Metta would get enough on the offensive end to offset Ceballos’ output.

Power Forward: Elden Campbell vs. Pau Gasol

Gasol is a much more talented player that Campbell ever was. But with Pau aching like he is at the moment, it’s hard to know which version you are going to get out of him night-in and night-out. Plus, he has always struggled with power forwards who are thicker, so Campbell could give him some issues. Calling it even.

Center: Vlade Divac vs. Dwight Howard

This one makes me shake my head. Vlade obviously would be overmatched physically, but somehow he would find a way to weasel his way into making it a fair fight, just as he often did against Shaq when he was with the Kings. Maybe be would flop a bunch and get Dwight in foul trouble. Or get under his skin and get him ejected. Or maybe he would start talking in Yugoslavian accent and get Dwight laughing and distracted. I’ll give the edge to Dwight here, but ever so slightly.

The final count ends up being 2-1 current Lakers. But would they actually beat the mid-90s team? I don’t think so. That team played really well together, as evidenced by their 48-34 record in 94-95. The current version is just trying to make the playoffs. Just one more reason the 90s are awesome.

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS — With the Final Four confetti cleared out of the way and the NBA playoffs just a little over a week away, we decided to spend a little time on what we saw from the college kids and what we might see from them in the future … at least from these college stars who are busy declaring their intentions for the NBA’s June Draft.

The list of early entrants already includes familiar names like Indiana’s Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller, Syracuse’s Michael Carter-Williams and  Kansas freshman sensation Ben McLemore, among others.

But how many of these college underclassmen are making sound decisions? How many of them are really ready for the rigors that await them in the professional ranks? And are you sure you saw a future NBA sar or two during March Madness?

Michigan’s Trey Burke, the consensus national player of the year, certainly looked the part in the NCAA title game Monday night. And he’s one of four Wolverines who could be headed for the Draft, along with Tim Hardaway Jr. and freshmen Mitch McGary and Glenn Robinson III.

Chris Dortch, the editor of the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and NBA.com’s college basketball/Draft expert, joins us to talk about what we saw, who fits where and whether or not they’re making the right choice on Episode 112 of the Hang Time Podcast.

Dortch, who also has a role in the upcoming Jackie Robinson biopic “42″ (in theaters Friday, April 12) also compares notes with our resident thespian. And we also discuss the wisdom of Los Angeles Lakers forward Metta World Peace‘s quick return from knee surgery, Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose‘s chances of returning this season from his knee surgery, the Knicks and their hot streak and what happens in the streets of LA if the Lakers miss out on the playoffs?

LISTEN HERE:

As always, we welcome your feedback. You can follow the entire crew, including the Hang Time Podcast, co-hosts Sekou Smith of NBA.com,  Lang Whitaker of SLAM Magazine and Rick Fox of NBA TV, as well as our new super producer Gregg (just like Popovich) Waigand and the best engineer in the business,  Jarell “I Heart Peyton Manning” Wall.

– To download the podcast, click here. To subscribe via iTunes, click here, or get the xml feed if you want to subscribe some other, less iTunes-y way.

Brendan Jennings with the checking from behind

Wow Chris Paul, Stay Classy

Big Bad Alonzo Mourning punches like a Sallie

Pushkin

Metta World Peace played Tuesday night for the Lakers, despite having a torn meniscus in his knee. How was he able to play with such a painful injury?

His answer defies logic, but for him, it makes perfect sense.

It’s really simple, he was able to play because he’s too sexy for his cat.

It’s Metta’s world, we just live in it.

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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are a must-watch down the stretch of this season, for reasons that were ridiculously obvious during a historic (for Bryant) Wednesday night in Portland.

Bryant played the entire game, scored a season-high 47 points and finished with an unprecedented stat line as the Lakers rallied from an early 10-point deficit to beat the Trail Blazers 113-106 and move a full game ahead of the idle Utah Jazz for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoff chase with just three games to play.

The Lakers have won four out of five to continue their season-defining playoff stand, a charge led by the wicked Bryant, who torched the Blazers with 47 points, eight rebounds, five assists, four blocks and three steals — filling the box score in a way that no player before him has. (He also outdueled Portland Rookie of the Year favorite Damian Lillard, who was spectacular himself with 38 points and nine assists.)

Whether the Lakers make the playoffs or not, Kobe is going to make sure their final three games are played with an intensity and at a pace that is playoff-worthy. That’s just who he is and has been his entire NBA career. There have been times when his individual drive and focus have been detrimental to his team (early in his career for sure and again later, when he and Shaquille O’Neal battled for control of the team). There’s no Phil Jackson around this time to balance the scales.

All that said, there is no player I’d rather watch under these extreme circumstances. The Lakers’ season goes into the category as one of the greatest crimes against the game if a crew with Kobe, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and Steve Nash doesn’t find its way into the postseason.

Would it have been nice to see the same sense of urgency in December that we all saw last night? Of course. In or out the postseason, a CSI crew will be needed to comb through the scattered wreckage of the Lakers’ regular season. There’s no way it was supposed to go down the way it has.

Kobe’s fingerprints will be all over the wreckage, along with those of Howard, Gasol, Nash, Jim Buss, Mitch Kupchak and just about anyone else inside the organization you want to throw in the mix.

Even after Bryant saved the Lakers’ bacon in Portland, the reviews seemed somewhat mixed from some of his teammates, per my main man Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com:

“It’s bittersweet,” Pau Gasol said when asked about Bryant’s dominating performance against the Blazers, in which he played all 48 minutes in a non-overtime road game for the first time in his career. “Because, I think it’s spectacular and it’s very impressive and it’s remarkable to be able to play 48 minutes and score 47 points. That’s incredible. On the other hand, I’m a player that likes to see a little bit more ball movement and better balance. I’ve always been [like that]. That’s just how I perceive this game.

“But again, he was incredible tonight. He scored a tremendous amount of points that I never scored in my life. So, like I said, it was very impressive and it’s not something that you do every night, of course.”

It wouldn’t be necessary every night if the Lakers had worked these issues out earlier in the season. They’ve been riding this roller coaster since training camp, with established veterans trying to sort out their roles — first under Mike Brown and since those first five games under Mike D’Antoni.

That they find themselves in this strange space of trying to decide if they can let Bryant will them down the playoff path his way or dive in and demand that they be a more integral part of the process, is something as remarkable as it is preposterous. McMenamin nails the Lakers’ dilemma here:

It’s walking a fine line, of course, to not give total credit to what Bryant has been doing. The Lakers need to win all these games. They have gone 5-1 in their past six with Bryant playing 45.7 minutes per game while averaging 28.0 points, 9.2 assists, 7.7 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.2 blocks. Tough to argue with that. However, if this playoff push is supposed to ready the team for a championship run, that’s where Gasol and Howard feel it’s within their right to speak up. This isn’t a sustainable formula to take the title.

“We just got to play together; that’s the biggest thing,” Howard said. “Play together. I think we got to really play inside-out. That’s what kills teams. It slows the game down. It gets me and Pau in a rhythm, and we’re able to find guys on the perimeter also. It’s tough to guard.”

World Peace joined in the chorus the night before after the win against New Orleans, when he was yelling at his teammates from the bench in the fourth quarter to not just get swept up by Bryant’s aura.

“At the end of the game, Pau was looking for Kobe, and I’m like, ‘What the hell are you looking for Kobe for? Go to work. You don’t have time for spectating. Everybody, what the f— are you looking for Kobe for? Go to work. Everybody go to work,’” World Peace said Tuesday. “The five guys that are on that floor? We go to work. We’re not watching. We don’t take pictures. That’s what you guys [in the media] are for, you take pictures. We’re not taking pictures out there. We can’t even bring a camera on the floor if we had a chance.”

The title talk from the Lakers is beyond overboard. We’re talking about a team that will have to fight with everything they’ve got just to make the playoff field. So they’d be wise to lock in on that before any chatter about playing for championships.

The only way to salvage this season in any meaningful way for the Lakers is to not only beat out the Jazz for that eighth spot, they then have to wage a hoops holy war in the first round against either the San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder.

The only way the Lakers get there is with Kobe showing the way, just like he did in Portland.

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• Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said in an interview with Jim Rome on Showtime that he would have met violence from former Rutgers coach Mike Rice with violence of his own.  ”I would have smacked the hell out of him,” Bryant said. “No question about it. No question about it. That probably wouldn’t have been the best way to react to it, but that’s how I would have reacted to it.”

• From last week: The NBA responds to Rice’s mistreatment of his team during practice.

• Jason Friedman of Rockets.com is celebrating Houston’s first postseason berth since 2009 and marveling at the team’s youth.

It’s just not supposed to work this way.

NBA history is littered with the carcasses of uber young teams who take their lumps while being served tough-love lessons on the importance of chemistry and experience. Maturity matters. So, too, does the significant amount of time it typically takes for a team to congeal and coalesce in a way that makes it playoff caliber.

What, then, are we to make of this year’s Houston Rockets, a club undeniably overflowing with young talent but one possessing precious little in the way of playing experience after reshuffling the deck last summer, undergoing a sea change mere days before the season started and then yet another prior to the trade deadline?

• Kevin Pelton’s projections strongly favor the Nuggets in the race for the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed. Denver held a half-game lead over Memphis entering Wednesday.

• Tom Ziller of SB Nation examines the relationship between assists and shooting percentage, concluding that many of the league’s most efficient offenses don’t exactly pile up the dimes.

But the Heat are easily No. 1 in shooting … and in the bottom half in assist percentage. The Thunder are No. 3 in shooting … and No. 27 in assist percentage. The Knicks by far get the lowest percentage of field goals via assist, yet land in the top ten in shooting percentage. There are explanations in these cases. Miami, Oklahoma City and New York each have superlative individual scorers, and two of them (the Heat and Knicks) have one of their weaker starters at point guard. But it doesn’t change the data: low assist rates simply don’t matter for these teams.

On the other side of the map, the Nos. 2 and 4 teams in assist percentage (the Bulls and Timberwolves) are Nos. 29 and 28 in shooting, respectively.

• Video: Fan takes basketball to the face.

• Indiana’s Cody Zeller has declared for the draft. SI.com’s Andy Glockner offers some thoughts.

Where Zeller was incredibly successful was in using his ability to run to score in transition, and that should translate to the next level. If you followed @LukeWinn‘s Power Rankings all season, his “GaZeller Watch” showed how dominant Zeller was on runouts. According to Synergy, he converted 39 of his 49 field goal attempts in transition this season, and as Luke showed almost weekly, he was, by far, the most prolific big man in the country in terms of points generated in transition. Zeller can really move for a big, and in a league where hustle and effort can be variable over 82 long games, that’s a big plus.

• Royce Young of CBSSports.com previews the Spurs’ road to the Finals, which likely runs through Oklahoma City.

But assuming good health, the Spurs seem to be headed on a crash course rematch with the Thunder in the Western Finals. It’s been five years since the Spurs played for an NBA title. Will things finally change this time around?

Here’s the thing with their matchup with OKC though: The Thunder’s best is better than the Spurs best, Harden or not. When both teams meet their standard of performance, OKC’s just a superior team. The catch to that is that the Spurs are much more consistent with their play and have a wider margin for error. The Spurs can often win when they play poorly. The Thunder, not as much.

• The Point Forward brought you Metta World Peace’s repeating “I’m too sexy for my cat” over and over. Trey Kerby of The Basketball Jones has some fun with it.

• The NBA made Iman Shumpert shave an Adidas logo out of his hair. Henry Abbott contemplates what that means.

I don’t doubt the NBA is technically correct here. It’s simple to believe the league really did negotiate for those rights, and doubtless the union really did hand them over. In a sense, Shumpert and every NBA player had long been paid not just to play basketball but also to adhere to rules like these, which help the NBA and its players make more money in exclusive league-wide sponsorships. There’s method to all this. (And doubtless without such rules, any number of players would be a sideshow of NASCAR-style sponsorships. A few years ago Rasheed Wallace was talking about selling a tattoo to corporate interests.)

But even with all those realities as they are … let me just put it this way: I’m really glad I wasn’t the poor sucker who had to tell Shumpert his hair was in violation. It is hard to imagine something more creepy and Big Brotherish.

• The Sacramento Bee reports that the current owners of the Kings, the Maloof family, issued a deadline to Sacramento-area investors interested in bidding for the team. That sounds important, but the general response seems to be: “Do they even have the power to do that?” The NBA recently brokered meetings in New York between the Kings, the Sacramento group and a Seattle group intent on moving the team, which made no mention of Maloof-imposed deadlines and which implied that the league’s Board of Governors, and not the Maloofs, will ultimately drive the discussion of the franchise’s future.

The Maloof family has given the Sacramento investors seeking to buy the Kings until 5 p.m. Friday to submit a written, binding “back-up” offer that matches the deal the family has in place to sell the franchise to a group in Seattle, a source close to the deal told The Bee today.

The source told the Bee that if the Maloofs receive a matching offer by Friday, they will consider it as a serious back-up proposal should the NBA nullify their tentative deal with Seattle. If the offer doesn’t arrive, or doesn’t match the Seattle bid, the Maloofs have said any talks are off with the Sacramento group. The source declined further comment about who issued the ultimatum, when, or why.

• Joe Swide of Portland Roundball Society calls Blazers fans to arms for Wednesday’s game against the Lakers.

The relationship between the two teams is less of a rivalry and more that of a fiercely defiant territory refusing to surrender to an oppressive empire. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Lakers sent the monstrous Shaquille O’Neal with his sheer brutality masquerading as a post game to bludgeon [Arvydas] Sabonis, Brian Grant, and the rest of our noble frontcourt into submission. The Blazers responded with the invention of “Hack-a-Shaq” in an ill-fated attempt to stave off destruction. After the repressed memory of the 2000 Western Conference Finals, Kobe, Shaq, and Rick Fox’s campaign of total war set Portland down a path that nearly led to its complete basketball ruin. It required the ascension of Brandon Roy to resurrect the city from the very literal ghost of Darius Miles, the battle of red seats versus black seats, and reel off nine straight victories in Portland over the Lakers from 2005-2010. The Rose Garden haunted the Angelinos like the Russian winter haunted so many would-be conquerors.

•  Timberwolves guard Brandon Roy: still clinging to his hopes of returning.

Hahahahaha. This dude. Fucking grade A entertainment every time you put a mic in his face. I refuse to call him Metta World Peace because that’s just absurd, but I gotta give props where props are due. Not only was he entertaining the masses in this interview, but god damn. This dude had fucking Meniscus surgery 12 fucking days ago. They told him he would be out for 6 weeks. 6!! He just says fuck that in a week and a half. I don’t know what they are putting in the water out there in LA but after this and Kobe playing 2 nights after he sprained his ankle badly, there’s definitely something going on. Maybe we all could just use a little more California sunshine in our lives. “I’m just too sexy for my cat”. What the FUCK are you talking about bro!? Didn’t know being sexy meant you recover from injuries at a super human rate. Unreal. What a country.

Tyler Flowers :: Ron Vesely/Getty Images

Sad news here. White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers made great use of Twitter yesterday by sending the following tweet about his teammate: “Adam Dunn just clogged the toilet in the clubhouse…this happens at least twice a week.” We wanted to check Flowers’ page for more behind-the-scenes gems like this, but sadly discovered his page has now been deleted. I have to assume Chicago’s PR staff made him pull the plug, which is a damn shame.

[si_subhead]Speaking Of Twitter…[/si_subhead]

Chargers safety Darrell Stuckey may have tweeted the best baby picture an athlete has ever tweeted of their child.

[si_subhead]This Is Bizarre, Even For Him[/si_subhead]

Metta World Peace said last night that he quickly returned to action from knee surgery because he was too sexy for his cat.

[si_subhead]Lovely Lady Links Roundup[/si_subhead]

Ashley Tisdale :: Maxim

Ashley Tisdale is in the new Maxim. On a side note, I had no idea she was 27 years old and my mind is blown. … Model Maggi Caruthers has some new photos out. … Colin, of Kansas City, says, “I’m not sure if you’ve ever featured her before, but may I suggest Carla Ossa?  If you have, she is worth repeating. If not, then shame on you!” Here you go, Colin.

[si_subhead]Jersey Boys[/si_subhead]

The NFL player who set the single-season record for most jerseys sold last year was this quarterback. Meanwhile, in the NBA, these 15 players have sold the most jerseys this season.

[si_subhead]This Actually Would Be A Legit Use Of Obama’s Time[/si_subhead]

[si_subhead]Sports Video Of The Day[/si_subhead]

Here is your Taiwanese animation recap of the NCAA tournament title game.

[si_subhead]Dog Video Of The Day[/si_subhead]

Great save.

By Casey Beal

#1 – Some Joyful Dirt-Tramping with Unambiguous Contempt for the Late Iron Lady.

I’d much rather we had put Reaganomics and Thatcherism in the ground before their eponymous progenitors… but I suppose this’ll have to do.  Elvis’ venomous sneer on the chorus gives me chills;

#2 – A Strange Marriage.

“I need you, like I need satisfaction.”

Bobby Digital does a surprisingly good Big Rube impression and provides the perfect compliment to Blake’s haunting production.  Hope this is a hint of great things to come from James Blake’s forthcoming album.  Tight as the grip of a squid indeed:

#3 – METTA!

About to return waaaay too soon from knee surgery, the Artist Formerly Known as Artest wants us to know that he can’t help being so crazy because there’s blood in his electrolyte-replenishing sports drink. Ick! Here’s his latest stab at hiphop relevance.

Metta World Peace – Blood in my Gatorade (feat. Prodigy, Hunna, Rain Bisou & James The Guitarist)

#4 -  Two Birds, One Stone. 

This next track made me reconsider my dogmatic stance against last year’s it-guy Kendrick Lamar, and two-years-ago’s overhyped southern rapper Big K.R.I.T.  Both kill it here and made me decide to give their albums another try.  I feel like Frank Cross at the end of Scrooged; “I get it now!”  Hear that? This song made me an objectively better person. IT CAN WORK FOR YOU TOO.

Also – YELAWOLF! He blew my mind on that Big Boi track a few years ago.  I’m glad he reminded me that he still exists.

#5 -Be Quiet, Jeff.

An old favourite in honour of my new favourite thing.  Lately I’ve been watching basketball games on mute so I don’t have to be infuriated by things like listening to ubiquitous big-headed know-it-all Jeff Van Gundy interviewing tiny-headed buffoon Will.I.AM. about Coke’s bogus new greenwashing initiative during gameplay.  Instead of the overwrought network commentary, I listen to old-favourite albums that have been getting neglected lately.  Give it a try!

Here’s my favourite track from my current favourite muted bball watching album, 2009′s Tronic;

BONUS

An extra song for getting caught in a thunderstorm and ducking into a depressing neon apocalypse of a sports bar filled with 30 something post-fratboys.  April showers…

Metta World Peace’s 12 day recovery from a meniscus tear is completely unreal, but because we’re talking about the man once known as Ron Artest, is anyone really that surprised? There will definitely be PED-like suspicions surrounding his quick return from someone, but those rumors would be much louder if we were talking about literally any other NBA player. MWP is in a class above Adrian Peterson when it comes to healing. Coaches and teammates cite his high pain tolerance/history of quick healing, but this man simply cannot be described. He’s crazy, funny, gritty, nutty, nuts, unpredictable, tough, odd, and now apparently a character from X-Men, so I really don’t know what else to say. If this guy’s comeback results in no setbacks and a Lakers playoff berth (people thinking he’s not that important to LA are very misinformed), I will have no other choice but to throw my hands in the air and declare MWP an immortal.

One of the things that is looking up for the Lakers, beside their All-Star roster that includes the greatest center in the game Dwight Howard, is the swift return of Metta World Peace. A player who’s effort can not be measured in numbers. Seriously, his numbers are not the prettiest of them all. He’s shooting 35% from 3 point range and I’d say his average is
above 30% because he keeps shooting until he makes the basket. That kind of behavior is what disrupts the Lakers offense because the ball doesn’t move around enough- he sometimes shoots a 3 pointer with over 15 seconds left on the shot clock.
Not only does it disrupt the Lakers offense, it definitely affects their defense. Since the shots from long range tend to bounce further from the basket, when the opposing teams grabs the rebound they’re already less than 20 feet away from the half-court line leading to an easy fast break. That renders two players completely useless, Metta World Peace and Dwight Howard.

If the ball is bouncing that from from the baseline there is no way Dwight Howard could have a chance at rebounding the ball. He jumps high but not that high, especially these days with his injuries. He also can’t block a fast break dunk because he’s on the other side of the court.

It affects Metta World Peace alot too because he specializes in defense in the half-court set not on a fast break. He’s too slow because of his age despite the spectacular condition he is in physically. He also can’t jump much these days which explains Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, Lebron James, Tony Parker, etc… shooting right over him consistently. Players especially like to shoot over him in semi-transition.

When the game slows down it allows Metta to lock down more on his opponent and sneak in that deadly left hand. If the opponent gets by Metta, Dwight will have a chance at swatting the ball out of the arena. That is how Metta is valuable
to the team. His size and physicality cant be matched by alot of match-ups as long as he’s in good position. Metta can contribute on offense too by driving into the paint more often. He could more easily create space for himself in 3 point territory
instead of constantly taking contested shots and wasting possessions. Currently opponents don’t respect his shot or his ability to drive so they body up on him to affect his look. Sometimes he’ll shoot so much that the other team doesn’t even
contest it and he still misses the shot. So how can the Lakers keep the game under control with Metta back on the court?

Pau Gasol dunking in Game 2 of the 2008 NBA Finals (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pau Gasol definitely helps in controlling the pace of the game as long as he’s being used effectively. When Pau has
the ball on the elbow by the free throw line he can very easily see where the ball should go to make sure the possession is
effective. He can pass to an open shooter if his defender cheats over to guard Pau. He can pass to Dwight in the same situation.
He can pass to a cutting player like Jodie Meeks, Kobe Bryant, Devin Ebanks.

Just kidding about Ebanks. Coach D’Antoni forgot he existed a long time ago. It’s weird it’s like a player sitting on the bench
has to be within the coaches peripheral vision for him to even have the slightest chance at playing that game. Which explains the
8 man rotation D’Antoni swears by.

As tired as the Lakers current rotation may be they must keep composure to have a chance at the playoffs and make a run once they get in there. The addition of Metta Word Peace is great but can have potential to be bad as well if he plays too recklessly.
That actually goes for Kobe Bryant as well since his ISO play in games takes the Lakers right out of close games sometimes. It’s a fact that sometimes Kobe shooting in the fourth quarter does help the Lakers win but with this roster any of those players
should be making their shots as long as they’re taking smart ones.

Important Points to make playoffs for the Los Angeles Lakers

*Control 3 point shooting, especially early in the shot clock- If a player misses a 3 pointer he must therefore drive the next time he gets the ball. Preferably after a pump fake. Each possession is crucial and 3 pointers early in the shot clock almost never help the teams cause.

*Slow down pace of game as much as possible BUT don’t get lazy!- This is important to note because when the Lakers slow down the
pass they make very lazy and sloppy passes. They must keep their focus and EXECUTE

*Pass to Dwight- With Pau Gasol back(and actually playing, thank you D’Antoni) Dwight getting shot attempts shouldn’t be too much
of an issue anymore. The other players should still be conscious of him getting open because it does happen often.

*If Dwight ISN’T open don’t pass to him- The ball should not be forced inside from the 3 point line. If Dwight’s defender is in
front of him either drive in to get him a closer pass or pass it to someone else like Pau so he can more easily pass the ball
inside. If Pau can’t get it to him he has the option to pass to someone else or shoot the easy shot.

Related articles

• Metta World Peace to Come Back Early From Surgery So Lakers Can ‘Make a Push’ for Playoffs (nesn.com)
• Clippers beat Lakers 109-95 to win division title (miamiherald.com)

Kobe Bryant: A-

Kobe is given an A- for one reason only, his indifference on defense. If we only took offense into account Kobe would be given an A+. He has had one of his best offensive seasons of his career, at age 34 no less. But on the other side of the court he has been atrocious. Far too often Kobe wanders and does his own thing, leaving others to try and hide his mistakes.

Let’s set the record straight. Kobe hasn’t been a “+” defender since he was 30 years old. The past three seasons we have seen a sharp decline, yet he has still been voted onto the NBA All-Defensive team. This is similar to the MLB Gold Glove award where Derek Jeter seems to win every year even though he hasn’t been a “+” defender in nearly a decade.

Kobe still is having one of the top 5 seasons of any player this year. If his defense hadn’t been so indifferent/awful he could have made a more realistic run at MVP.

Dwight Howard: B

All things considered, Dwight Howard has had a year most other centers would kill for. Dwight is currently leading the NBA in rebounding and is 5^th in blocks. This is a year that some in the media have deemed “awful” and “terrible” and “not max contract worthy.” Many even suggested the Lakers would be wise to deal Howard at the trade deadline.

Thankfully these people are not in charge of the Lakers. It was asinine to think the Lakers would trade their future cornerstone because he wasn’t immediately at 100% following back surgery which resulted in a 5.5 inch piece of nerve being pulled out. The more patient observes realized that Dwight was clearly not himself, but that he seemed to be progressing towards his former self every game.

He wasn’t even close to being the Dwight Howard of old to start the season, yet he managed to still put up some eye popping numbers. His defense was slow, his offense was turnover prone, but since the All-Star Break he has looked much better. For most anyone else in the NBA this would be an A season, especially if we just look at the numbers. But this is Dwight Howard, former 3 time Defensive Player of the Year, on the Los Angeles Lakers, the premier franchise in the NBA. That is why he only gets a B. (But if he leads the Lakers to the playoffs and past the first round he gets an A+).

Pau Gasol: C-

Pau Gasol has had a very rough season. It started with him being misused as behind the arc floor spacer, and then he was benched repeatedly at the end of games. He was then asked to play the role of 6^th man, which was followed by injuries. This has been a lost season of sorts for Pau, but I don’t think Pau’s play has accurately reflected his ability. Pau hasn’t been put in a position to succeed. When he was, the Lakers were contending for titles, not the playoffs.

Some claim that it is Pau’s job to adapt to what Coach D’Antoni would like to implement, but in reality that isn’t the case. D’Antoni knows where Pau is most effective and yet he reserves that role completely for Dwight Howard. Last season the Lakers were a top seed with Gasol and the much less mobile Andrew Bynum in the post. It can most definitely work, just not how D’Antoni wants it to.

Overall the season has been a disappointment for Pau, though not completely his fault. His overall value is at perhaps its lowest yet, but that doesn’t mean he can’t play. I’m confident given a change of scenery and the ability to be a low post player, Gasol can be right back at an All-Star level.

Metta World Peace: B+

Metta may not be the most effective or enjoyable to watch offensive player, but he is by far the team’s best one on one wing defender. Also, like Kobe, World Peace deeply cares about playing and winning. 12 days after having surgery to repair a torn meniscus, Metta will suit up to play the Hornets tonight. Talk about a warrior. He may make his share of boneheaded plays on offense, but if the rest of the team had his attitude there is no way the team would be struggling to make the playoffs.

Steve Nash: B-

Steve Nash has had a tough season to say the least. So far Nash has only played 50 of the 77 games this season, with more likely to be missed. It was expected he was to be the floor general, helping take the ball out of Kobe’s hands and make his job easier. When Nash broke his leg in the 2^nd game of the season, all of those hopes went down the drain. He came back a step slower due to the injury and wasn’t able to be the floor general he had hoped. His shooting has been stellar as expected, but the extent of his impact was never realized.

On defense Steve is beaten easily by quicker guards, but he doesn’t do a bad job on defense. He does a good job of staying in front of players and does guide them towards the help defense. At his age he was never going to be an average or above average defender. For example, if Kobe simply took the Nash approach to defense the Lakers would be much better off. I think Steve would tell you this hasn’t been close to the season he expected to have. He suffered his first significant injury since 2000 this year, and was forced to play catch up the rest of the year.

Antawn Jamison: B

Antawn has had just as much of a roller coaster season as the rest of the team. He went from receiving minutes, to riding the bench, to starting, to going back to the bench. Antawn was signed by the Lakers to do one thing: provide bench scoring. Last season the Lakers reserves were pitiful, struggling to put up 12 points per game. In this regard he has been a success. Jamison is reliable scoring off the bench and doesn’t need the ball in his hand to be effective. His 3 point shooting leaves something to be desired, but he has done what was asked of him.

Defensively he is one of the worst at his position. He routinely allows players into the paint and straight past him. The team isn’t built around defense so mostly his inability to prevent baskets goes unnoticed, but it is a real issue.

Earl Clark: B+

The Clark Knight Rises. Earl came out of nowhere to fill in admirably once Jordan Hill went down. Clark has proven his worth as a hustle guy who crashes the boards, cuts down the lane, can defend well and can even hit the occasional 3 pointer. Earl started out on fire, then cooled considerably to where he was all but benched. Then Metta World Peace got injured and Clark found himself remaining in the rotation. He has been playing well as of late, and that is a promising sign for the Lakers. Clark looks to be a solid player who has value beyond this season. For the right price tag he could be an integral part of the Lakers moving forward.

Steve Blake: A-

The only real mark against Steve Blake this season was the injury that forced him to miss 37 games this season. Aside from that Blake has been everything the Lakers wanted when they signed the backup point guard. Blake has been asked to come off the bench and start due to the injuries to Steve Nash, and he has done a great job. Steve Blake and Nash are the two most consistent 3-point threats the Lakers have, and Blake has definitely made the opposition pay for leaving him open.

He plays scrappy defense, but can get flustered when he is pressured on defense. He is one of the hardest workers and has the same old school mentality that Kobe and Metta each possess.

Jodie Meeks: B-

Meeks has been another solid performer off the bench, but hasn’t improved as much as the Lakers hoped. He was traditionally a 3-point specialist, and that is what he remains. The main issue for Jodie is his shot from inside the arc. At only 39.3% for the season, Meeks isn’t making opponents pay for leaving him open. A substantial portion of these misses come from missed opportunities near the rim. If Jodie was able to fix this part of his game, it would make Meeks a much more dangerous offensive player.

He is slightly undersized at the shooting guard position, but is a scrappy defender. Often times he seems to look bad because of Kobe’s wandering on defense.

Darius Morris: F

Didn’t do much this season and wasn’t effective when he played. Little chance he will be on the team past this season.

Chris Duhon: C

Chris Duhon was a thrown in for the Dwight Howard trade, but he was forced into action when both Steve Blake and Steve Nash were injured early in the year. Duhon was able to shoot 3-pointers well enough and had a few games with impressive assist totals. For a player who wasn’t expected to see much game time, Duhon did his part.

Robert Sacre: C+

I have a tough time even giving him a C+, but Sacre has been what every “last-guy-off-the-bench” should be. He is always standing up cheering for teammates, and does a great job of getting the team hyped up. He has received infrequent minutes, but actually displayed some good chemistry with Steve Nash on the pick-and-roll. Sacre will likely remain with the Lakers and he can develop further. In the meantime he will be the team chemistry guy the Lakers need.

Jordan Hill: Incomplete

Prior to getting injured Hill was having arguably the strongest year of his young career. In a season that saw injuries to Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard, having Hill available certainly would have been a boost to the Lakers. He didn’t get to show what he was capable of and therefore his great is incomplete.

Devan Ebanks: F

Ebanks was a project for the Lakers who many hoped would make an impact this season. The opposite happened. Ebanks played early in the year, but when he was arrested for a DUI he saw his role disappear. It looks like the Lakers will move on from the Ebanks project after this season.

Mike D’Antoni: C

Given the plethora of injuries, the lack of a full offseason, and the overall drama surrounding the Lakers, Mike D’Antoni has done an acceptable job. He has done a poor job of coaching defense and adapting to who he has, but overall he has done a solid job. Trying to take over a new team after they had been working on playing a completely different style is difficult. This fact is often overlooked when D’Antoni is judged. He hasn’t had the Lakers anywhere near the 120 points a game he promised when first coming over, but without ever having his team at full strength, it is tough to determine what could have been. D’Antoni still needs to put a much larger emphasis on defense, as he has enough talented offensive players to make that end of the floor work more seamlessly. He isn’t the best, but he certainly isn’t the worst.

News of the morning

World Peace not surprised by quick recovery | Favors hitting stride at right time | Riley wants to keep Heat stars together 10 years | Thompson taking leadership role on Cavs | Nowitzki: ‘Big summer’ ahead for Mavs

World Peace expects to start vs. Hornets — Just a dozen days ago, Lakers forward Metta World Peace was thought to be lost for at least the first round of the playoffs (provided L.A. got in) if not for longer. But the man who always has something to say on Twitter has gone through a miraculous recovery from torn meniscus surgery and expects to play tonight against the Hornets. Phil Collin of the Los Angeles Daily News has more on World Peace, his recovery and his teammates’ reaction to it all:

One teammate uttered the words “bionic nan.” Kobe Bryant has taken to calling Metta World Peace “Logan,” the character in “Wolverine.”

Whatever Metta Madness is flowing through his veins, it looks like World Peace will return to the Lakers lineup tonight, 12 days after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.

A medical miracle? Not really, World Peace said. He was itching to play the moment he was asked by Dr. Steve Lombardo if he could put weight on the leg, and he hopped out of bed and did so only hours after the operation.

“As long as he didn’t have to stitch anything together, I couldn’t do anything to (further damage) it,” World Peace said Monday after going through 3-on-3 workouts. “I was in great shape. The doc said he was surprised my knee was in such great shape playing 14 years in the NBA and always in a defensive stance.

“When I heard all that, it wasn’t like I was trying to come back to be a Superman. I figured I’ve just got to play through pain and it will get better as time goes.”

“It’s unbelievable,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He’s different. I’ve never seen this before.”

World Peace said his recovery was so swift because of his diet and offseason workouts.

“I think the way I eat prepares me for a challenge like this,” World Peace said. “Even when I sprained my ankle most people would have been out a couple games and I came right back against New Orleans.

“You can take a lot of medicine, but when you eat right and you’re injured that swelling is minimized. Right after surgery (Lombardo) was amazed how the swelling didn’t even exist.”

Favors heating up as Jazz find rhythm — When the Jazz opted to part ways with Deron Williams at the trade deadline during the 2010-11 season, they instead changed directions of the franchise as they plucked Derrick Favors from the Nets (as well as a future first-round pick — which became Enes Kanter). Favors has had periods of fits and starts with Utah during his 2 1/2 seasons there, showing flashes of the talent that made him the No. 3 overall pick. Particularly on defense, Favors has always been a steady contributor for the Jazz, but his offense and post moves have lacked behind. But lately, as Utah is making its push for the postseason and the No. 8 seed in the West, Favors is getting it done, writes Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune: 

When Derrick Favors arrived in Utah, he was a teenage NBA rookie who had just been traded by a team which repeatedly reassured him that he wasn’t going anywhere.

Favors was confused, bewildered and a little disillusioned after being the centerpiece — at least from the Jazz’s perspective — in the blockbuster trade that sent All-Star Deron Williams to New Jersey.

Coach Tyrone Corbin remembers when the quiet, stone-faced Favors joined the Jazz in 2011.

“Scared,” Corbin said. “He was a scared 19-year-old … that was surprised he got traded and didn’t know what to think of it, what to think of us or where to go next.”

Told of Corbin’s description before Monday morning’s practice, Favors smiled.

“I wasn’t scared,” he said. “I would say I was just mentally exhausted from the whole thing. Everything I went through in New Jersey and then I was traded here, I was just mentally exhausted.”

…

When he returned to Utah for the 2011-12 season, Favors “started feeling more comfortable because I knew there weren’t going to be any trade rumors. I knew I was going to be here.”

Favors played well, but Corbin continued to bring him along slowly. He made nine starts in 65 games during the lockout-shortened season.

…

This year, Favors continued to come off the bench as part of Corbin’s big-man rotation that also included Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap and Enes Kanter, another developing youngster.

Still, Favors averaged only 22 minutes a game — at least until March 27.

In the second quarter of a game against Phoenix, Kanter was likely lost for the season with a dislocated shoulder.

Favors seized the moment.

In the next six games, he averaged 12.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 27 minutes.

In Sunday night’s 97-90 win at Golden State, Favors finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds in 30 minutes. His blocked shot with 40 seconds left helped preserve the critical victory.

“He’s grown all year,” said teammate Mo Williams. “He’s getting to the point where he’s turning the corner. … He’s doing great things for us down the stretch.”

Riley hopes to keep Heat stars together 10 years — Miami Heat president Pat Riley was the man who, back during the 2009-10 season, put together a squad that amassed just 47 win and lost in the first round of the playoffs. After that season, though, Riley constructed the big rebuild of the Heat by re-signing Dwyane Wade while adding in Chris Bosh and LeBron James to create the superteam that Miami has come to know and love. That long-term vision is apparently on Riley’s mind again as he is working on constructing a way to keep the Bosh-James-Wade trio together beyond the summer of 2015-16, which is when all three players have player options on their deal. Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald has more:

While the rest of the NBA community is busy speculating about the future of LeBron James and how the Heat plans to navigate the new salary cap, Pat Riley is thinking long-term about how special the run of this Heat team can become.

Speaking with reporters at the Heat’s “Family Fest” on Sunday, Riley pointed to models of success the NBA considers some the best in its history as the ultimate goal for the Heat while also reminding the city to enjoy this “special time.”

“I just want to keep helping them, keep bringing in more pieces that are going to complement them and hope we can have one of those 10-year rides, you know,” Riley said. “You think about every team, through the Celtics in the ’60s and the Lakers in the ’80s and the Bulls and then again the Spurs, those guys have been together eight, nine, 10 years and if we can keep this group together for eight, nine, 10 years, then we’re all going to have some fun.”

And then a piece of advice.

“So, don’t ever take it for granted,” he said.

Thompson taking on more leadership with Cavs — Much was expected from Tristan Thompson, the No. 4 overall pick of the 2012 Draft, last season. But Thompson’s first NBA campaign was mostly a disappointment as he finished as an All-Rookie Second Team member. But this season, Thompson has found more of a groove on the court — the season-ending injury to Anderson Varejao freed up more minutes for the youngster — and has become a true building block for Cleveland’s future. As well as his increased on-court production, Thompson is emerging as a spokesman of sorts for the Cavs, something All-Star teammate Kyrie Irving has shied away from. Jason Lloyd of the Akron-Beacon Journal has more:

The evolution of Tristan Thompson as both a man and basketball player has dramatically progressed over the course of the last week. The Cavs will say he has always been one of the team’s leaders, but never so publicly as recently.

Thompson defended his coach as a father figure last week and called any speculation about Byron Scott’s precarious future “bogus.” Then he responded with two sensational performances in victories over the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic.

…

As Kyrie Irving continues to shrink away from any public platform, Thompson is embracing his role as a spokesman — and he’s backing it up with his play on the court, too.

“Just being myself, just being a natural leader and speaking up if I see something is wrong,” Thompson said after the victory Sunday against the Magic. “Just recently y’all have been coming to me, and I’ve been speaking, so I guess you can say I’ve been a leader.”

Because of the position he plays and his immense talent, Irving remains the floor leader. But twice in the past week Irving has been given the opportunity to take a stand publicly and twice he declined.

Asked after a dreadful loss to the Brooklyn Nets if the players had given up, Irving passed and said he wouldn’t answer for anyone else, then embellished the point of his recent shoulder injury as proof he hasn’t quit.

…

Asked prior to the game Sunday against the Magic about the speculation surrounding Scott, Irving again passed on the chance to support his coach.

“Until that time comes, I’m not really worried about it,” Irving said. “To even imagine that, I’m not going down that road. I’m focused on finishing the season with him and that’s all that matters right now.”

Thompson was so bothered by the speculation that he went into Scott’s office last Thursday and explained to his coach why he said, “All the rumors about coach Scott, hot seat and all that crap, that’s bogus. It’s up to us to go out and compete and play hard because we’re the ones out there. When he was out there playing, he won championships. It’s up to us to go out there and play.”

Scott conceded that he was touched by Thompson’s defense but told him to worry instead about his performance on the court.

“I told him, ‘You don’t have to fight my battles,’ ” Scott said. “Any coach would say, ‘I really appreciate the support from a guy like that.’ Then to go out and play the way he’s played has been fantastic. Hopefully he can continue to play that way.”

Nowitzki: ‘Big summer’ looms for Mavs — The Dallas Mavericks’ immense letdown of a season is something that apparently is more than a little on Dirk Nowitzki‘s mind. The Mavs’ superstar chimed in on it yesterday in an interview with USA Today’s Sam Amick and, now, is getting the message out to the local writers, too. Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News has more on Nowitzki and his thoughts on what will undoubtedly be a summer of changes for Dallas:

Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t want it to end like this.

Slugging it out for the eighth seed — or more likely missing the playoffs — is bad enough once. Or twice.

In the autumn of his NBA career, he wants more. And while he has no problem putting pressure on ownership to find some high-quality warriors to play alongside him, Nowitzki also is OK taking on his share of the workload off the court.

He’s ready to hit the recruiting trail.

“I’ve said it all year long — this is a big summer for us,” Nowitzki said. “We have to get better. We have to get some guys in that can get us back to the top level. We want to be a top-four seed in the West. That was always our goal, to play for the top. So this is a big summer. If [owner Mark Cuban] needs me to recruit and do all that stuff, I’m more than happy to.”

…

The Mavericks followed up their championship in 2011 by barely squeezing into the playoffs last season. They will probably miss the playoff this season for the first season since 1999-2000.

“I don’t know if it was necessarily Cuban’s plan to go for eight, nine one-year players,” Nowitzki said. “Once you let the championship team go, there were some consequences and obviously some risks that go with it.”

And Nowitzki has made it abundantly clear to Cuban that another season like this one isn’t something he’s interested in.

“My last couple years, I’d love to contend,” he said. “We’ve been a championship team that one year, and once you smell that victory, you want to smell it again. I don’t want to go anywhere else. [Cuban] knows that. Everybody knows that. I want to be a Maverick for life.”

ICYMI of the night: On the heels of the Hall of Fame announcement on Monday, it’s as good a time as any to relive the greatness that was Gary Payton in his prime …:

[nba-video vid=channels/hall_of_fame/2013/04/08/2013-hof-payton-hihglight.nba]

Lakers F Metta World Peace has been seen off crutches and taking jump shots at recent Lakers pregames. Metta recently told reporters that he feels great and if it were up to him he would be playing. World Peace started running Friday and did some shooting Saturday at the team’s training facility.

The Lakers have apparently reduced his original six week timetable and could return as early as this week.

World Peace originally injured his left knee and on March 25th against the Golden State Warriors. Less then a week ago he underwent surgery. He credits the rehab process behind his quick recovery.

This couldn’t have come at a better time for the Lakers who just lost the eighth spot to the Utah Jazz with just five games remaining in the season.

Kobe Bryant gave Metta his new nickname, “Logan aka Wolverine” based on how quick he has healed from the injury. Just another bad ass quote from Kobe.

(via ESPN-LA)

Metta World Peace, center, plans to return for the Lakers on Tuesday. (Noah Graham/Getty Images)

By Ben Golliver

Metta World Peace told reporters Monday that he plans to return to the Lakers’ lineup less than two weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee that was supposed to sideline him for six weeks.

The Los Angeles Times reports that World Peace plans to play when the Lakers host the Hornets at the Staples Center on Tuesday night.

“It’s not about how strong I am playing tomorrow night,” said World Peace. “It’s about how strong I was playing three games ago. I was ready to play.”

The doctors “were amazed at how the swelling didn’t even exist. That’s off of meniscus surgery,” he said. “You can play, but it’s the swelling that keeps you from playing. I didn’t have [any swelling] and that’s why I wanted to play right away.”

A Tuesday return would come just 12 days after World Peace underwent surgery that was expected to end his 2012-13 regular season. The Lakers surely need him: L.A. is currently one-half game behind Utah for the No. 8 playoff seed in the Western Conference with just five games to play, and the Jazz hold the tie-breaker.

World Peace, 33, is averaging 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.7 steals this season and is clearly L.A.’s best perimeter defender. The Lakers are 4-2 since he departed a March 25 game against the Warriors with what was initially dubbed a “knee strain” and now enter what is essentially “win-or-go-home” mode with a little more than one week remaining in the season. Coach Mike D’Antoni has tightened an already tight rotation in World Peace’s absence, playing as few as seven Lakers, with starting point guard Steve Nash also sidelined for the last three games with a hamstring/hip injury.

The recovery timeline sounds superhuman, but it’s not unprecedented. Then-Blazers guard Brandon Roy returned just eight days after surgery to repair torn meniscus in his right knee, suiting up against the Suns during the 2010 playoffs. Critics questioned Roy’s decision to return so suddenly and his statistics dipped sharply the following season and have not yet recovered. Indeed, Roy sat out the 2011-12 season in unofficial retirement and could be headed for retirement again this summer after playing just five games for the Timberwolves this season.

World Peace doesn’t have the same history of knee trouble that Roy did and he’s in the latter stages of his career, where the desire to win now carries less long-term risk simply because of his age. Still, while meniscus repair surgery is a relatively minor procedure — compared to an ACL repair or microfracture surgery — there’s no denying that returning a fully month before initially anticipated is incredibly aggressive. Not that World Peace’s competitiveness has even been in question, but Lakers fans have to appreciate this sacrifice given the team’s adversity this season.

ESPNLA.com notes that World Peace actually called his shot on the fast rehabilitation prior to undergoing surgery.

After the injury he tweeted, “First ever knee injury. Recovery time hopefully is a week and a half.” He would later delete the tweet but be right about the recovery time.

World Peace is under contract for $7.3 million this season and has a $7.7 million player option for next season. He told NBA.com in March that he would consider opting out of his contract if it would help him remain with the Lakers past next season.