It's probably that second thing I said.

It's no secret to anyone that these Lakers are suspect. But for one better than mediocre night there seemed to be some fire left, as contrived as some of it felt. The near-fights that threatened to elevate to "elementary schoolgirl slap fight" level, felt a little bit like this:

Everyone's got a little "goon" in them, but is anything funnier than Pau Gasol- the softest post player in maybe NBA history- trying to antagonize and instigate the Clippers? That's totally ignoring the fact that picking on the Clippers is the equivalent of making fun of the awkward kid who managed to take a half-step up from nerd-dom- a social smack down to keep everything in order.

Whether the Lakers are under construction or simply on the early stages of demolition, a chip on their shoulder might actually serve some purpose.

If this new attitude is more than a facade and actually an indication that they've realized the basketball world no longer respects them; if the haters coming out in force have forced them to play not with urgency but with something much more powerful: pride then maybe there's still hope for some Randy Newman in June.

But that's getting way ahead of ourselves following nothing more than a shove and a parting "Yeah, that's what I thought!" It will all ring hollow if they suddenly can't score or overcome middle of the road teams again.

But for now, at least we have Pau The Thug. An unlikely part for an even less likely player. In the end, that's. It enough.