The Lakers are on a four-game winning streak, but haven't been able to pull away from their cross-town rivals — the Clippers have won four straight too, remaining within a single game of first place in the Pacific Division. The Clips have five games to make up the ground and potentially avoid a first-round matchup with the Grizzlies, but it won't be easy. The Lakers hold the tiebreaker, so their lead is essentially two games. Still, the Lakers face the Spurs twice and the Thunder once in the next week, so the Pacific race is far from over.
Here are a few of the latest updates out of the division:
- Taking an in-depth look at Andrew Bynum's recent "youthful rebellion," Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com says locking up the young center long-term won't necessarily be an automatic decision for the Lakers.
- Warriors coach Mark Jackson would like to solidify the small forward position heading into next season, writes Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. The Warriors have Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, David Lee, and Andrew Bogut locked in as starters at the other four positions.
- Dominic McGuire believes his all-around game makes him a strong candidate to start for the Warriors next year, assuming they re-sign him, as he tells Thompson: "You put me around four scorers like that, you’ll see more from me."
- Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee and Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty continue to provide updates on the Kings' arena situation, which doesn't have a clear direction at this point.