Um yeah, the Lakers have faced the Clippers for the second time this season, and maybe you could also say that the result hasn’t changed. The Lakers blew out the Clippers by 18 points. The Clippers had a much better showing in this game by being not interested to be blown out but still they lost by double digits.

The good thing for them is that they did not lose by 38 points anymore — they only lost 20 points less that. That’s already acceptable in Clipper standards given that they were playing in the purple and gold court and not in their blue and red home floor.

The Clippers were complete in attendance for this game. Baron Davis and Marcus Camby (their off-season acquisitions) played together against the Purple and Gold. Their efforts were enough for the Clippers not to be blown out by 30 points.

Kobe and the Lakers racked their fourth straight win against a second-tier team and this is good as they head to top-tier competition because they will face Houston, Dallas, New Orleans and Detroit all in one week.

Now to the game tidbits:

10 Observations from Game 4 of 82:

• The Lakers were limited in the first half. I don’t really know if this can be attributed to good Clipper defense or just that the Lakers were playing shit.
• This is the second game that the Lakers shot below 40 percent and got away with it. They shot a bad .388. The Clippers were not that far at .389.
• Lakers got 30 more freethrows than the Clippers. Upon seeing this stat, I wowed because that is such a huge freethrow discrepancy. Lakers made 22 more freethrows than the Clippers.
• Sasha Vujacic needs to wake up. It’s early in the season but it’s time to show that he’s worth the overpay. Mitch Kupchak has already done his part, it’s time for Sasha to do his.
• Jordan Farmar’s kinda sagged off after his hot start in the first two games of the Lakers this season. Phil needs to light a fire in Jordan again. Read: nitpick him. But in all fairness he was amazing in this game, together with Trevor Ariza.
• The Lakers have beaten the Clippers by an average of a good 28 points briding two seasons. The Clippers need to catch up if they want a rivalry in LA. They haven’t won since 2006.
• Bynum was unnoticed in this game in terms of the points that he contributed but he was solid off the glass and defensive end with 17 rebounds and 4 blocks. That’s your max-player.
• Pau Gasol’s getting more and more comfortable inside the paint playing side-by-side with Andrew Bynum. He got his share of rebounds with 11 as Bynum caromed his own 17.
• Trevor Ariza may not have hit a three point shot in this game but his defensive intensity is good. The Lakers were very lucky to trade for this guy for defensive purposes. Nevermind that  the Lakers gave away Maurice Evans who was also a very good back-up for LA.
• Everywhere in the NBA, stars are going down with injuries. Let’s hope that the Lakers will be injury-free this season so the team would have an easier time rather than worrying about players who are going down.

Heroes of the Game: Trevor Ariza and Jordan Farmar. The Lakers were falling asleep in the fourth quarter when Ariza and Farmar initiated a 22-0 spurt in the fourth that lifted the Lakers over the Clippers. The two hustled and defended well in the fourth and the whole team followed up to their act.

Zero of the Game: Marcus Camby. Where was he? The 4 blocks were great but 1-4 and only 7 rebounds?

Laker Grades for Game 4 of 82:

• Kobe Bryant, A. He led the Lakers in scoring for this game. Had a poor day at the field but he hit 11-14 from the charity stripe.
• Pau Gasol, A. He was also having a bad day at the field with only 2-7 and 9 points to show but he grabbed 11 rebounds.
• Andrew Bynum, A. One game after being almost ineffective, off and saddled with fouls, he pulls down 17 rebounds and blocks four shots. Way to bounce back.
• Vladimir Radmanovic, B. Quiet 11 points for Vlad. Can’t it be as quieter as that. Hit three threes. Good for my fantasy team. But still quiet.
• Derek Fisher, B. Same comment as Vlad. He also hit three pointers but what’s with his forced shots? Derek always has those WTF shots reserved for every game.
• Lamar Odom, A. Lamar was a major factor this game. He was one of the players who led the 22-0 fourth quarter charge of the Lakers.
• Sasha Vujacic, D. Wake up, El Machina! Wake up! I mean please just make even 40-50 percent of your shots if you’re only taking four or five shots.
• Jordan Farmar, B. Farmar played as the guard in the run of the Lakers in the fourth. He and Ariza were both great. He’s back on the right track!
• Trevor Ariza, A+. Wow. He had the highest efficiency rating at +25. Trevor’s energy on the offensive and defensive side is amazing. He’s slowly earning the super sub role on the team.
• Chris Mihm, D. (broken disc) I did not see Chris Mihm on the box score. I didn’t see him either in the game. He’s flunking for this grading for being not able to play any minutes at all.
• Josh Powell, D. He also did not play. Wondering why Phil Jackson did not let him play? Maybe because Josh Powell may sabotage the game being a former Clipper? Lol.
• Luke Walton, C. Lol. 0 points on 0-1 shooting and all 0’s on other statline. Okay, we’ll give Luke a C for just being able to play in this game.

Play of the game:

Nah, just highlights. Can’t find movie shorts of great plays from this game on Youtube.