Fortunately for the Lakers, Kwame Brown has come on strong, as Chris Mihm continues to be unavailable.  He has been inactive for Games 1 and 2, but hopes his ankle recovers so he can play in the latter half of the series.

"Anytime I'm trying to get going on the ankle, it's swelling up and causing a lot of pain," Mihm said.

Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson have carried the harmony of their relationship this season into the playoffs and it has paid off as they are sitting in a tied series versus Phoenix.

"We're talking, joking around on the bus. It's been a great relationship and it's made the season more enjoyable," Bryant said.

"We've kind of come over a hurdle of the despondency of last year to the optimism of this year and in doing so, he's kind of pulled [his teammates] up by the bootstraps with his scoring and ability," Jackson said. "Right now, he's really confident that his teammates can do things out on the floor and he's helping them develop their game. He's doing a real good job being a floor general on the court."

"They have both grown to respect each other," said Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw, who was Bryant's teammate on the Lakers' three championship teams from 2000 to 2002. "Kobe may have been more resistant to coaching the first time around and then, having gone through the experience of last year, not having Phil, not making the playoffs, not experiencing success on a level that he's accustomed to, I think he started to miss that. This time around, it's been great.

"From Phil's perspective, he's calmed down. He's more patient and more relaxed and he also has a different respect for Kobe and all that he's gone through."

Kobe Bryant was granted approval by the league to wear No. 24 next season but refused to talk about it Wednesday with reporters because "it's the playoffs, man" he said.

After 10 seasons of wearing the #8 Lakers' jersey, it is being reported by Darren Rovell of ESPN that the Lakers have informed the league that Kobe Bryant will wear the number 24 next year. 24 was the number worn by Bryant for part of his high school career, until he changed it to 33 to honor his father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant.

This past season, Bryant's jersey was the fourth-highest selling jersey in the league, up from fifth a year ago.

In this week's edition of the RealGM Radio podcast, Aaron Bronsteter and co-host James Gould run down their predictions for the NBA Playoffs and awards.

They are joined later in the program by J.T. Magee to discuss RealGM's latest mock draft and draft news.

Additionally, Bronsteter interviews Kerry Eggers, columnist for the Portland Tribune about the trade demands of Zach Randolph and Darius Miles, as well as the future of the team under coach Nate McMillan.

The Los Angeles Lakers have purchased a D-League team of their very own.  

"We're happy to have a team of our own and look forward to helping the league continue to grow," said Jeanie Buss, Lakers' executive vice president of business operations.

The Orlando Magic?s Dwight Howard and the Los Angeles Lakers? Kobe Bryant today were named Eastern Conference and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in April.

Averaging 18.1 points on .559 shooting and a league-high 14.0 rebounds and recording an NBA-best seven double-doubles, Howard led the Magic to a 7-2 record and their best month of the season. In a 102-97 win over the Sixers on April 15, he registered a season-high 28 points and a career-high and NBA season-high 26 rebounds.

Behind Bryant?s averages of a league-high 41.6 points on .509 shooting, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals, the Lakers went 6-2 and won their last five games to secure a spot in the playoffs. Bryant scored more than 30 points in every contest and recorded his fifth and sixth 50-point games of the season. Bryant captured the 2005-06 scoring title with 35.4 points per game and became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1989-90 to amass 2,700 points in a single season with 2,832 total points.

Kobe Bryant scored 35 points on Wednesday to officially secure the NBA's scoring title.  He finished with an average of 35.4 points per game, the most since Michael Jordan averaged 38.1 in the 1986-1987 season.  

"It was a good season for me individually. I'm more proud of what we accomplished as a team, getting to the postseason," Bryant said.

Kobe Bryant scored 43 points in the Lakers' 109-89 win over Phoenix on Sunday, which clinched their first playoff berth since 2004, when they went to the NBA Finals.

"It doesn't really seem like we're overly jumping for joy, but it is a great accomplishment for us," he said. "We came from last season when we didn't make it. This season nobody expected us to make it and here we are."

Kobe Bryant made a late-season case for league MVP honors, scoring 43 points and helping the Los Angeles Lakers clinch a playoff berth with a 109-89 rout of the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

The Lakers are back in the postseason for the first time since losing the 2004 NBA Finals to Detroit, according to the Associated Press.

Steve Nash and Raja Bell both missed the game for the Suns.