Chris Paul is real deal, though the Lakers make any point guard look great

When ordinary point guards routinely perform like Chris Paul against the Lakers, it’s really no surprise when CP3 himself performs like Magic Johnson. . . .

It’s a Lakers weakness. . . .

Kobe Bryant’s inconsistency suggests his peak is past. . . .

Length is the Lakers’ friend — or should be, anyway. . . .

Turning Rudy Tomjanovich’s old Houston Rockets rallying cry on its head, reader Tony Chan of Walnut writes of the Lakers’ woes, “Never overestimate the heart of a champion.” . . .

Bud Selig’s bloodless coup in ousting Frank McCourt seems not to have fazed Andre Ethier. . . .

Throw out his record against his former team and John Lackey is a sub-.500 pitcher since leaving the Angels. . . .

Indicating that it will be quite some time before baseball produces another 300-game winner, 44-year-old knuckleballer Tim Wakefield of the Red Sox is the all-time leader among active pitchers with 193 victories. . . .

No. 2, with 172, is Roy Halladay. . . .

Rick Neuheisel’s seemingly endless search for a consistent quarterback has entered its fourth year. . . .

A “UCLA Bruins” mountain bike cycling jersey available at amazon.com probably won’t appeal to many Bruins fans: It’s red and gold and features a Trojans logo across the front. . . .

Andrew Ference of the Boston Bruins, fined for raising his middle finger to fans in Montreal, seemed to blame his glove afterward, saying it might have “got caught up.” . . .

The Minnesota Vikings, again looking to add a retread, are said to be interested in Donovan McNabb. . . .

Brandon Davies, dismissed from the BYU basketball team after having premarital sex in violation of the school honor code, reportedly plans to rejoin the team next season. . . .

He’ll see if abstinence makes the heart grow fonder. . . .

A Sporting News listing of the top 10 records in sports, topped by Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, includes a pair of sevens: the number of no-hitters pitched by Nolan Ryan and consecutive NCAA basketball titles won by UCLA. . . .

The most dubious record in sports, as determined by the Sporting News, also has a Southland tie-in: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 26 consecutive losses under John McKay. . . .

If pre-draft analysis of NFL prospects didn’t drag on for so long, perhaps nobody would be leery of Texas Christian quarterback Andy Dalton simply because he’s a redhead. . . .

Regarding Lakers rookie and former Louisville forward Derrick Caracter’s arrest in New Orleans for allegedly assaulting a female cashier at an IHOP, reader Doug Thompson of West Los Angeles emails to note, “It’s hard to believe that someone who played for Rick Pitino would engage in inappropriate activity with a woman inside a restaurant.” . . .

Monday marked the 35th anniversary of then-Chicago Cubs center fielder Rick Monday’s saving a U.S. flag from fans trying to set it ablaze in the outfield at Dodger Stadium. . . .

New Orleans Hornets Coach and former Notre Dame forward Monty Williams, asked what his Irish football buddies would think of his having the Hornets practice at USC’s Galen Center, told nba.com, “That’s why I spit on the ground over there.” . . .

Kudos to tireless USA Today reporter David Leon Moore of Moorpark, who ran the Boston Marathon last week before reporting on it, covering the 26.2 miles in 4 hours 7 minutes. . . .

Market Restaurant + Bar in Del Mar, whose investors include Tony Hawk, ranks among the top 10 athlete-owned restaurants, according to thedailymeal.com, which also lists Wayne Gretzky’s in Toronto and John Elway’s in Denver among the best. . . .

Topping the rankings is an eatery that USC fans might choose to avoid: the Vince Young Steakhouse in Austin, Texas. . . .

Regarding Lamar Odom’s sixth-man award, Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald writes, “I believe that means he’s the sixth athlete to get involved with a Kardashian sister this month.”

jerome.crowe@latimes.com