Just when you think the Lakers (20-26) have finally turned a corner, they proved against Phoenix on Wednesday that they're still far from being a playoff-caliber team. Turnovers didn't exactly keep them from winning the last 3-game stint at home. But in this league, they can be fatal on the road no matter the opposition is.

The Lakers travel to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves (17-25) in their 2nd of 7 games of their "Grammy tour". Like the purple and gold, the T'Wolves are finding it tough to win in 2013 having taken only 3 of their 15 games so far. Then again, they're missing both Kevin Love and Brandon Roy.

Love re-fractured his right hand against Portland early January and is expected to be out for nearly the rest of the regular season. He was averaging 18.3 points and 14 rebounds per game before going down with the injury. Roy has had a long battle with knee problems since college and it's resurfacing again. He's played in only 5 games averaging 5.8 points a game for Minnesota this season.

These are not the same Lakers (20-25). Not even close. These Lakers are now playing as one. For each other. And best of all, they're playing with a passion and confidence Laker fans have not seen the entire season. But with all of the excitement of finally seeing this team play like a team, we have yet to see the Lakers translate everything they've shown us these past 3 games on the road.

The Lakers own a horrible record away from Staples Center at 5-15 and have lost their last 7 games in their purple jerseys. What makes tonight's matchup against the Phoenix Suns (15-30) a little unsettling is the Suns have plenty of guys who can shoot the ball from deep. That means that the floor will be spread for the Lakers defensively, which leaves a lot of space in the paint for players like Goran Dragic to operate on offense.

"Whatever it takes."

That's now the new motto for the Lakers (19-25) heading to tonight's matchup with the visiting New Orleans Hornets (15-29). The purple and gold is on a 2-game winning streak fueled by their newfound passion and attitude thanks to the ever-evolving leadership of Kobe Bryant.

Kobe has taken another new role of becoming the team's facilitator and initiator on offense. And with Mike D'Antoni's willingness to further adjust his system around the talent he has on this team, the Lakers have gone back to a slow-tempo, halfcourt team. The overall effect of that transition could not have been established and justified more than the biggest win of the season over the reigning Western Conference champions Thunder on Sunday.

We all know Kobe Bryant is arguably the most competitive and passionate player the game of basketball has ever seen. To him, success is only measured in championships, and there's no such thing as 2nd best. In the past 2 games, Bryant reminded everyone just how much he puts winning above everything.

The Lakers had lost 3 straight games on the road catapulted by a disappointing loss to Miami at Staples Center that could have gone their way if not for the 8 turnovers they committed in the 1st half. Facing a 17-25 record that puts them 8 games below the .500 mark, the Lakers were running out of options, and more importantly, time to give any purpose to the remaining 42 games of the season.

With half of those 42 games on the road and rounding off their season series with plenty of playoff-bound teams the rest of the way, something had to be done...now!

As much it is for Laker fans clamoring for the firing of Mike D'Antoni, the players have to be the ones to take the initiative to resolve the problems themselves. D'Antoni may have been showing how inept he is in coaching this team, especially this month, but it's most likely the Lakers front office won't kick a 2nd head coach out of town this season. They might make some roster moves by the trade deadline, but it doesn't look like they're ready to part with D'Antoni right now. So the only realistic solution is for the players to just go out there and play the game together.

No better person to act like an ambassador than its leader, Kobe Bryant. And no better  teammate to start with than Dwight Howard.

The Lakers gave up Andrew Bynum for Howard in hopes that D12 would stick around and become the new face of the franchise. Not only that, the Lakers needed a center who is more pro-active on defense than Bynum. Right now, however, Dwight isn't living up to expectations. At least, not consistently.

The Lakers are a mess. They know it. Lakers fans know it. And just about the entire world of sports is aware of it.

One of their biggest problems is their defense and a reason for that is their lack of communication. According to the LA Times' Mike Bresnahan, the Lakers held a much needed and long overdue team meeting to talk about whatever differences they may have with whatever and whomever.

Mike D'Antoni told his players to focus more on defense rather than complain about the tempo of the offense or individual touches. Steve Nash let everybody know that he's game for anything that will make the team play to their potential on offense. But Kobe Bryant took a more direct and bold approach and bluntly asked Dwight Howard, the franchise's projected heir after Kobe retires, if he enjoys playing with the Mamba. Dwight didn't exactly return an honest answer, but it looks like he got the message and even went as far as calling himself "immature".

The Lakers (17-24) will try to snap a 3-game losing streak to end a 3-game road trip with something positive before heading back to Los Angeles. The loss on Monday versus Chicago symbolized a season where the Lakers just can't seem to get of their own way to win games.

The frustrations of seeing losses after losses are resurfacing again among the players as Kobe Bryant expresses the need for a change now and Dwight Howard pointing at his lack of "touches" in the paint as a vehicle for the result against the Bulls. Even general manager Mitch Kupchak weighed in on what he thinks is the real problem with the team. Nevertheless, the Lakers can't blame anyone or anything but themselves, and only they can get themselves out of it. Tonight is another opportunity to do just that.

The last time the Lakers were in town back in November, Rudy Gay's 21 points were enough to lead his Memphis Grizzlies (26-14) to a 106-98 victory over the purple and gold. After being down 34-18 at the end of the 1st quarter in that game, the Lakers rallied to a 49-46 lead at halftime by outscoring Memphis 31-22 in the 2nd quarter. But since consistency has been a major problem all season long, the Lakers couldn't even build on their slim lead in the 2nd half to scratch out a win.

With 25 seconds left in the 3rd quarter against the Bulls, the Lakers got their first lead of the game on a reverse layup from Kobe Bryant and looked to have the momentum to build on it to take a rare win on the road. But just like the season so far, the Lakers could not stop themselves from tripping over their own foot and lost yet another opportunity to climb out of the hole they've dugged themselves.

At 17-24 and already officially halfway through a disappointing season, the probability of making the playoffs gets dimmer and dimmer for the Lakers. By this stage in the season, this team was supposed to be already making their mark. And by All-Star weekend, the Lakers were expected to be a serious playoff team that's probably sitting in the #4 or #5 spot in the west. Instead, the Lakers are still scratching their heads trying to figure out how to put it all together.

We can all agree to disagree to what led to all of the frustrations, but one thing is evident and imminent, something has to change.

Thanks to Kobe Bryant's renewed commitment on defense, the Lakers (17-21) have been playing their best defense as a team the last 2 games, which coincedentally turned into 2 straight wins. A sign of good things to come for the Lakers? It better.

Despite their improved defense, the Lakers are still 4 games below .500 and 3 full games behind the 8th seed Rockets in the west. And to make things more interesting, the defending champions Miami Heat (25-12) have come to visit and see just how much the purple and gold have figured out their "D".

The Heat are coming off of a 92-75 thumping of the Warriors last night. But Miami are playing their worst basketball of the season losing half of their last 10 games. The Lakers, however, aren't expecting anything less from the Heat than their "A" game. And if they are to defeat the Heat, their defense also better bring the same.

All season long, the Lakers (15-20) have been searching for an answer to their struggles as a team, any spark that they can use as motivation to turn things around. That may have come in the final 6 minutes of their 108-105 loss to the Spurs on Wednesday.

Down by as much as 17 points in the 2nd half and 13 points in the 4th quarter, the Lakers digged deep defensively and held San Antonio's offense to just 5 points in a manic run that cut their deficit to 3 points thanks to Earl Clark's out-of-nowhere trey. Clark's outstanding performance and cool demeanor may have been the spark the Lakers desperately needed to help them realize what they, as a team, must do to salvage a season that is rapidly slipping through their fingers.

Tonight, they take on another a familiar foe that presents an even bigger challenge for them to conquer despite being at home. And if the Lakers truly learned anything against the Spurs, then they should cease this game as their last opportunity to prove to themselves that they are still not down for the count.