LOS ANGELES - The Lakers improved to 27-5 Sunday night and now possess the NBA's top record, which might postpone the release of Lamar Odom, the trade of Andrew Bynum and the firing of Phil Jackson for maybe two or three days.

Why can't anyone enjoy this?

Have we all forgotten the days of Chucky Atkins and Tierre Brown?

Is it really a capital offense when you lead by 23 and win by nine?

If there is a Laker nation, it's grumpier than Iran.

Here the Lakers slapped around the beardless Portland Trail Blazers, 100-86, but, ahh, what about the first quarter? The Lakers kept kicking the ball around, and LaMarcus Aldridge kept draining jumpers. A startlingly springy French rookie named Nicolas Batum also kept slamming the ball through the net and the floor, too.

"Then in the second half we started getting more energy on defense," said Derek Fisher, who is spending plenty of his own at point guard, with Jordan Farmar hurt.

"We made it hard for them to score, and that's when we pulled away."

It also coincided with two of Fisher's cymbal clashes from behind the 3-point line, the second of which gave the Lakers a 12-point lead with four minutes left in the third quarter. Portland coach Nate McMillan called an exasperated timeout. Those are the moments Fisher has learned to identify, in 12 seasons of doing this. There are times when a 3-pointer is a left hook to the chin.

"Kobe's probably the best at doing that," Fisher said. "But especially at home, you can sense when you can hit a shot that makes them call a timeout and gets the crowd going."

Fisher played 33 minutes after Jackson got nervous watching him play 40-plus minutes in three of the past six games. Jackson has been a worrywart about a lot of things, but then, that's his job. You do not get to 70 victories without nagging and prodding and being a general pain. But when everyone else starts panicking over beating the Knicks by two, that either indicates a heavy wagering habit or an inability to remember when the championships are really won.

"I said it last week," Fisher said. "More opinions are heard these days. And you can't just keep saying the same thing."

Magic Johnson and James Worthy have used their part-time media podiums to goad the Lakers' walkabout habits. For the record, their Showtime teams never lost fewer than 17 games in any season. None of those losses prompted a state of emergency.

These Lakers got spanked at home by Detroit and failed to attend a game in Sacramento. Their other three losses came on the final possession, including two pop-a-shot misses in Miami and Orlando. Lots of teams lose to Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard in the Sunshine State.

More to the point, the Lakers have lost just that one Sacramento game in Western Conference play. Although the West is strong, one through nine, it's impossible to tell who the second-best team is, from week to week. If it's New Orleans, well, the Lakers have crushed them twice on their own home court.

The Blazers, who beat Boston last week, are a long-term threat because of their raw wingspan and talent. Four members of their rotation Sunday were in their rookie season, including Greg Oden, the No. 1 pick in '07 who sat out last year because of a knee injury. There are reasons for Oden to struggle, and he has at times. He averages nearly 23 minutes, eight points and just over seven rebounds. Here he had 10 points and four rebounds and Bynum had four and 10. That, to Fisher, was a victory.

"It's one of those games where Andrew had to understand what his job was," Fisher said. "He did a real good job in the second half, backing off and using his length."

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The Lakers say they're young, too, but they're not inexperienced, not with Bryant, Odom, Fisher and Pau Gasol.

"What grade would I give us? For results, I'd give us an A," Fisher said. "That speaks for itself. But inside our room, we know we can get to A-plus.

"If there's one thing that will get us there, it's doing the job on the defensive boards. We should never give up double-digit offensive rebounds (it happened for the 22nd time Sunday). Not with the size we have up front. If we shore that up we'll be fine, because with Kobe we have a pretty good advantage in the backcourt."

Seventy victories is tough and probably impractical. Another 27-5 for the Lakers only gets them to 54-10 with 18 games left.

Besides, a 70-12 season would test the limits of our capacity to gripe. Easier to indulge it, apparently, than to get a grip.

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