Power forward Kurt Rambis had greasy hair and big pop bottle glasses, but he served his purpose for the Lakers back in the day.  He did all of the dirty work for the Magic Johnson era Lakers.  Rambis’ best season for the Lakers came back in 1985-86.  Rambis played in 74 games (all starts) for the Lakers in 1985-86 and he averaged 21.3 minutes, 5.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  Rambis played in 569 games (303 starts) in his nine years with the Lakers and he averaged 17.7 minutes, 4.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  Rambis gave the showtime Lakers toughness and they needed it.

The Los Angeles Lakers need to decide if they would be better off re-signing 27-year old center Dwight Howard to a long term deal or deal him in a sign and trade.  Howard played in 76 games (all starts) for the Lakers last year and he averaged 35.8 minutes, 17.1 points, 12.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.4 blocked shots per game.  He has now played in 697 games (696 starts) in his first nine years in the NBA and he is averaging 36.1 minutes, 18.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steal and 2.2 blocked shots per game.  Personally, I think the Lakers should re-sign Howard because he’s the best center in the NBA right now.

61-year old Mike D’Antoni was the Lakers’ third head coach in 2012-13 (Mike Brown and Bernie Bickerstaff), and he did a so-so job.  He led the Lakers to a 40-32 (55.6%) record during the regular season despite having four sure fire Hall of Famers in his starting lineup.  The Lakers got swept 4-0 in the playoffs, but I can’t blame that on D’Antoni as they were ravaged by injuries to their guards.  D’Antoni is now 428-371 (53.6%) during the regular season in his first 11 years as an NBA head coach.  He is also 26-33 (44.1%) as a head coach in the playoffs in his career so far.  I don’t think that D’Antoni is the answer for the Lakers, but I don’t think they will want to pay another head coach in 2013-14 along with him and Mike Brown, so his job is probably safe for the 2013-14 season.

The Lakers didn’t have much P.T. available for their rookies in 2012-13.  23-year old center Robert Sacre played in 32 games (3 starts) for the Lakers last year and he averaged 6.3 minutes, 1.3 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.  Sacre only shot 37.5% from the floor and 63.6% from the free throw line last year, which is pretty horrible for a center.  23-year old shooting guard Darius-Johnson Odom only lasted a short time for the Lakers before they let him go.  He played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Lakers last year and he averaged 1.5 minutes, 0.0 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.3 assists per game.

The Lakers finished up with a 45-37 record in 2012-13, which had them finish in 3rd place in the Pacific Division, 11 games behind the Clippers.  The Lakers were then swept out of the playoffs in four straight games by the San Antonio Spurs.  Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impacts for the Lakers in 2012-13, in my opinion:

TEAM MVP:  Kobe Bryant – When 34-year old shooting guard Kobe Bryant went down to injury late in the 2012-13 season, it ended any hope of the Lakers’ making a deep playoff run.  Bryant played in 78 games (all starts) for the Lakers last year and he averaged 38.6 minutes, 27.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  Bryant had 16 double-doubles and 3 triple-doubles last year.  Bryant scored at least 30 points in a game 35 times in 2012-13 for the Lakers.  He also had 10 or more rebounds 7 times, 10 or more assists 11 times and 3 or more steals 12 times last year.  Kobe proved in 2012-13 that he still has plenty left in the gas tank.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:  Steve Nash – 39-year old point guard Steve Nash just couldn’t stay healthy in 2012-13.  He played in 50 games (all starts) for the Lakers last year and he averaged 32.5 minutes, 12.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game.  He did still shoot well as he hit 49.7% from the floor, 43.8% from three point range and 92.2% from the free throw line last year.  Nash had 8 double-doubles for the Lakers last year.  He only scored more than 20 points four times last year and he had 10 or more assists 10 times in 2012-13.  He looked like a shell of his former self in 2012-13.

BIGGEST SURPRISE:  Earl Clark – 25-year old power forward Earl Clark was just a throw in for the Lakers in the Dwight Howard deal last summer.  He played in 59 games (36 starts) for the Lakers last year and he averaged 23.1 minutes, 7.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  Clark had 11 double-doubles for the Lakers last year.  Clark scored at least 10 points in 22 games last year and he had at least 10 rebounds in 12 games.

The Lakers got blasted again by the Spurs last night and it ended their season with a loud thud!  Paul Gasol led the way for the Lakers last night with 16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocked shots.  Andrew Goudelock (14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal), Antawn Jamison (12 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist in 23 minutes) and Chris Duhon (11 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal in 41 minutes off the bench) also pitched in for the Lakers last night.  Dwight Howard checked out early in the third quarter after getting his second technical foul of the game.  He finished up with 7 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist in 21 minutes in what could be his last game as a Los Angeles Laker (he is a free agent this summer).  The Lakers were swept out of the first round 4-0 by the Spurs.

The Lakers got blasted by the visiting Spurs last night in L.A.  The Spurs shot 61.2% from the floor and they outrebounded the Lakers 49-35 last night, which helps explain the scoreboard.  Dwight Howard led the way for the Lakers last night with 25 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots.  Darius Morris (24 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal) and Andrew Goudelock (20 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 3 steals) stepped up offensively for the Lakers last night.  Pau Gasol turned in a triple-double for the Lakers last night with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.  The Lakers are in deep trouble now as they are down 3-0 to the Spurs in this series.

The Lakers are completely decimated at guard for Game #3 and beyond against the Spurs.  PG Steve Nash (hamstring), Steve Blake (hamstring) and Jodie Meeks (partial ligament tear in his ankle) are all likely out indefinitely.  Nash has started both games against the Spurs so far in this series and he is averaging 30.5 minutes, 12.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.  Blake has played well against the Spurs too, starting both games in which he has averaged 37.5 minutes, 14.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocked shots per game.  Meeks has played in 1 game off the bench against the Spurs in this series and he had 4 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal.  These injuries mean the Darius Morris, Andrew Goudelock and Chris Duhon will play the bulk of the guard minutes for the Lakers from here on out against the Spurs, unless Blake, Nash or Meeks miraculously get cured in the near future.  Morris has played in both games against the Spurs off the bench in this series and he is averaging 15.5 minutes and 5.0 points per game.  Goudelock didn’t play in any games during the regular season for the Lakers.  He has played in 1 game off the bench in this series and he worked 6 minutes in which he had 2 points, 1 assist and 1 steal.  Duhon has yet to play in this series for the Lakers.  The Lakers are officially in deep, deep trouble against the Spurs now.

The Lakers have been playing big man ball against the Spurs, but they have little choice due to injuries to Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant and now Steve Blake.  Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol have been doing their parts to help the Lakers win.  Howard has started both games against the Spurs so far and he is averaging 37.5 minutes, 18.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 3.0 blocked shots per game.  Gasol has started both games against the Spurs and he is averaging 39.0 minutes, 14.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  I have little doubt that Howard and Gasol will keep playing at a high level against the Spurs, but they are going to need help if they are going to have any chance of coming back in this series.

The Lakers played hard, just not good enough to upset the Spurs in San Antonio last night.  Dwight Howard (16 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocked shots) and Steve Blake (16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal) led the way for the Lakers last night.  Pau Gasol (13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Metta World Peace (13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) also pitched in for the Lakers.  Darius Morris also got a lot of work as he finished up with 10 points and 1 steal in 23 minutes off the bench.  The Lakers are now down 2-0 against the Spurs as this series shifts to L.A.