VENUE: STAPLES Center
An upcoming four-game road trip would certainly put the Los Angeles Lakers' undefeated record since the All-Star break at risk.
However, they can't overlook a home game with a sub-.500 team which has given them fits.
Seeking a sixth consecutive win overall, Los Angeles will look to avenge last month's embarrassing defeat to the Charlotte Bobcats and avoid a ninth loss in 11 games in the series Friday night.
The Lakers (43-19) have won five in a row since All-Star weekend - Dallas is the only other unbeaten team since the break (4-0) - after entering it having lost three straight. That skid included a 109-89 defeat at Charlotte on Feb. 14, their most lopsided loss of the season.
While Kobe Bryant is averaging 29.8 points against the Bobcats (26-34) - his highest mark against any opponent - his individual numbers haven't translated into much team success.
"I don't know what it is about the Lakers, but the last eight out of 10 games our team has beaten the Lakers and that's pretty special," Charlotte coach Paul Silas said.
The Bobcats, though, have undergone some major changes since that Feb. 14 win, most notably sending swingman Gerald Wallace to Portland for Joel Przybilla, Sean Marks, Dante Cunningham and two first-round picks before the trade deadline.
The Lakers' only two wins in the last 10 meetings both came with Wallace sidelined by injury.
Charlotte was able to pull out a victory in its first contest without Wallace but has since suffered ugly back-to-back losses, including a 120-80 defeat at Denver on Wednesday night - the biggest loss in franchise history.
"We just can't get on the same page and we are not trusting each other," forward Stephen Jackson told the Bobcats' official website. "We are still trying to put this new team together but rotation and being on the same page should be automatic. When we don't trust each other and are not on the same page then we get beat by 40."
Even if the Lakers avenge their ugly loss to Charlotte, they will have a tough time keeping their win streak going after that. They begin a four-game trek Sunday against league-best San Antonio before visiting Atlanta, Miami and Dallas. Los Angeles is a combined 1-4 against those teams.
Los Angeles, though, has been playing excellent defense lately, holding opponents to 88.4 points per game during its win streak - 7.4 below its season average - and 41.3 percent from the field.
The Lakers rank in the top 10 in the league with 102.0 points per game but couldn't get much going offensively Tuesday night as defense keyed another win, 90-79 at Minnesota.
Coach Phil Jackson's team recorded its second-worst shooting percentage of the season (37.5) but allowed its second-lowest point total of 2010-11 and outrebounded the Timberwolves 53-39.
Pau Gasol registered his sixth double-double in seven games with 12 points and 17 rebounds.
"That's why we've been able to win back-to-back championships because we have a great team," said Bryant, who scored 24 points. "Pieces complement each other extremely well. That's the trick, that's the key. Management has done a great job."
The Bobcats haven't had the same kind of chemistry since Wallace's departure, averaging 83.0 points on 38.4 percent shooting in the last two games. They've lost three straight and six of eight on the road, though they're within one game of Indiana for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Jackson averaged 32.5 points in the first two games after Wallace was traded before being held to seven points on 3-for-10 shooting Wednesday. He also shot 3 of 10 - for nine points - last month against the Lakers, but his teammates hit a combined 54.2 percent.
