NBA game of the week: Lakers at Houston

By Ben Bolch

March 17, 2012 12 AM PT

Looking ahead

LAKERS AT HOUSTON: Tuesday at 5 p.m. PDT. TV: Channel 9, NBA league pass.

It could be an awkward reunion for the Lakers only five days after trading Derek Fisher and a conditional draft pick to the Rockets for forward Jordan Hill. That is, provided Fisher is still with Houston. The Rockets were reportedly considering a buyout of the veteran point guard’s contract, which contains an option for one more season worth $3.4 million. At 37, Fisher is no longer among the league’s elite guards, but his locker room presence and clutch shooting are major assets for any team with championship aspirations. Fisher, who won five championships in 13 seasons with the Lakers, is considered a prime candidate to become a coach or a politician once his playing days end.

— Ben Bolch

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Ben Bolch

Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. Bolch is also the author of the recently released book “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He happily traded in gobs of hotel points and airline miles to return to cover UCLA basketball and football in the summer of 2016. Bolch was once selected by NBA TV’s “The Starters” as the “Worst of the Week” after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments.

NBA game of the week: Lakers at Houston

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