The Los Angeles Lakers are in a slump.

Kobe is injured. Malone is injured. Shaq is injured, although he’ll be back later this week. Rick Fox is also injured, but I had to wait until I took a breath before mentioning him.

But is their current case of bad luck really such a bad thing?

Just 5 weeks ago, the Lakers were sitting pretty atop the Western Conference, 3? games ahead of the Sacramento Kings and 4 games ahead of whoever’s turn it was to lead the Midwest at that time, probably Denver. The most talented team in the game was also the best, and life was all good in Tinseltown.

But now, LA has lost 6 of their last 9 games, and these wins have been against the noted powerhouses Atlanta, Cleveland and Boston, and all were at home. And even counting last night’s win over the Cavs, the Lakers have dropped to 3 games behind Sacto, lie 4th in the Conference, and their immediate prospects for reviving their fortunes are hanging by a stethoscope.

Yesterday evening at about half past 10, Cleveland’s explosive swingman Kedrick Brown did something no-one else in the League has been able to do. He stopped Kobe. Biting on a fake as the clock ran down at the end of the first quarter, Brown came down and made sure Kobe didn’t get the shot off, striking his right shoulder as Kobe buckled and 18,897 people held their breath.

Although Kobe made his free throws, his shoulder had been rendered useless for the rest of the game. And, it now appears, the rest of the month as well.

Over the 5 games whilst Shaq has been out with a twinge to one of his massive calves, Kobe had been carrying the offensive load, as is his wont. He was averaging 29 points (plus 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals) until last night’s 10 point/17 minute aberration, and over this period his shoulder certainly was getting a workout – 22 FG attempts and 10 FT attempts per night – so Brown really had to hit it hard in order to damage it so significantly.

Last seen eking out a living on the Celtics bench ever since he became the second neophytic ‘K Brown’ drafted in 2001, Kedrick had been gaining an ever increasing profile alongside King James I in Cleveland. Now, however, he’s become famous for different reasons.

The good news is, of course, that upon awakening this morning the world learned that, beneath the headlines, the damage wasn’t that severe. Reports today all mention a ‘sprain’ as opposed to a separation, or worse, and consensus is Kobe’s shoulder will not require surgery. And, with the playoffs literally months away, there’s a mountain of time, and games, for any ill effects to be a distant memory come the money end of the season.

The other good news is that Shaq will be back soon, eyeing this Friday’s matchup with the Kings as his return, for obvious reasons. Reportedly granted medical clearance a couple of days ago, Shaq these days is the type of ageing savant who no longer enjoys dining out at poor quality restaurants. For him, the high class establishments and prime cuts, the lobster and the eye fillet, the BIN389. So it’s highly likely the Lakers won’t be without Kobe and Shaq for more than 1 game – Wednesday against Denver.

Still, any continuation to this recent slump will hurt them in the standings, and that has the potential to be deadly come playoff time. This season’s Western Conference Semi-Finals will be the best since, well, last season, and we all saw how much LA struggled against the Spurs and the TWolves then. The Lakers are 5 losses ahead of where they ideally want to be at this stage of the year, and let’s not forget they’re likely to be without Kobe – physically and possibly mentally as well – for a few games later on this season as his hearings come up. They need to hold onto every advantage they can get; a 7 game series is too short to be able to afford to give away games, especially if you don’t posess home court.

The other side to this coin is the opportunity these mid-season injuries have afforded other guys on the roster to gain some needed seasoning. Look at the way Devean George has performed over the first half of this season. Or the way Slava Medvedenko has stepped up over the past week. Plus that Cook guy. No team can replace Shaq, Kobe and the Mailman. But there are points to be had, and there is enough live bodies on the roster for Phil Jackson and his team to potentially benefit down the road from the extra responsibilities enforced upon Kareem Rush, Luke Walton etc by this latest injury. “That’s why you have 12 men on your roster”, Jackson said yesterday, not sounding the least bit worried.

Without Kobe, the Lakers will be able to cover his 25 points a game, they won’t turn the ball over, and they’ll trust the triangle, but they won’t be the same. LA have 7 games in the next 11 days, 4 of them on the road, and Kobe may well miss all of them. For all their strength, smarts, and backcourt ball-hawking, this Lakers side lacks the petrol to enjoy playing a packed schedule, and is, these days, an average defensive team at best. That’s what the numbers say, at least, but opponents would be wise not to mention that to Payton, or Kobe, or Shaq, or Malone. These guys will step it up when it matters, and although the games each January still count, it does not matter, really matter, yet.

If everyone’s fit come May, look out League. The hole the Lakers are currently digging may in the end not prove to be deep enough to bury them, but expect the 12 workmen in Minnesota, Sacramento, Dallas and San Antonio to take as much advantage as they can as a result of Kobe’s unscheduled downtime nonetheless.