Opening pre season tonight

The Utah Jazz brought some serious mettle to the 2008 Western Conference Semis.

After L.A. opened the series with two double-digit home wins, the Jazz responded by taking games three and four in Salt Lake City before dropping the fifth game back in Los Angeles. Ultimately, Kobe Bryant (34 points, six dimes) and Co. closed Utah’s playoff door with a 108-105 victory in Game Six in Utah, as the league MVP pushed L.A. past fellow Olympians Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko (don’t forget the Russians!).

On Tuesday night at the Honda Center – you know, the Pond – in Anaheim, the Lakers are sure to get an equally gritty, equally tough game.

Or … Not. It’s preseason game No. 1, after all.

The Lakers might just as easily be playing the Harlem Globetrotters, or better yet, the Washington Nationals. Wins and losses in the preseason – particularly in the early stages – mean approximately as much as staged arguments between Heidi and Spencer on “The Hills.” ...read full article