The Grammy Awards are back. The Lakers have been booted from Staples Center (together with the Clippers and Kings) in order to prepare for the 50th annual Grammy Awards. Apparently, its more important to force the Lakers to struggle on a nine game road trip lasting almost three full weeks so that Beyonce and Justin Timberlake can thrill millions on national tv. OK, I guess I kinda of see the point if you put it that way.

With Staples Center getting a full makeover for three weeks due to the only other show besides the Lakers to bring hundreds of celebrities out to Downtown LA, the Lakers will be flying eight and a half thousand miles to play nine games in twenty days. They open up with a back to back against Detroit and Toronto. The Lakers will play five teams under .500 on this road trip and thus should win a minimum of five games. To go 5-4 on this trip would be good news, but as Lakers fan, we are always hoping for the best, so lets beat Detroit tomorrow and make it an 9-0 trip! On second thought, I’d even settle for 8-1!

The Lakers are now 3-4 since Andrew Bynum went down with a knee injury and Kwame has posted his first double-double of the season last night against the New York Knicks. The team pushed the end of the game with a 29-9 run, mainly led by Vujacic who had 12 points in the fourth quarter and made sure LA fans knew that he was no longer a “12:30 player”. Also, Radmanovic made a brief appearance in last nights game and looked like he can finally contribute to this team the way the expect. Vlad Radman scored six points on 2-2 shooting from the three point line. Those two shots from beyond the arc were the only two of the game in eleven minutes that he combined with one rebound and one assist.

With the good news of a Lakers win, with our luck, there is bad news to follow. Luke Walton suffered a hip injury early in the game and did not return after the 1st quarter. He is said to be out indefinitely, which truly mean, who knows?

In other news, DJ Mbenga will be given a second 10-day contract because Phil Jackson made it clear that he wants DJ on the killer road trip with the team. But one has to wonder, will Mbenga get a guaranteed contract for the rest of the year if they finish off this road trip successfully? Here’s another question, with all the Jason Kidd trade talk, would the Lakers be able to use Mbenga as an expiring contract for the Nets to get back? (I don’t believe league rules allow the Lakers to trade Mbenga quite that fast though).

Stu Lantz, the Lakers play-by-play commentator said he will be packing four to five suits for the nine game road trip and will accesorize with fancy ties. Jordan Farmar said he will be bringing some clothes with him, but he also has “someone” that’ll be taking care of his laundry for him. I expect Farmar and Vujacic to really step up big on this road trip. They will be getting plenty of run time with the successful small line-up the Lakers are running as Kobe moves to the small forward position.