Was this trip to Houston necessary?

Staff writer Mike Bresnahan ties up some loose ends on days of Lakers playoff games.

Five things

If the Lakers had actually won this series in five games, here are five things I could be doing tonight in L.A. instead of being stuck in Houston for Game 6.

1. Continue to beat myself up for taking Greg Oden in the fourth round of my fantasy basketball draft last October.

2. Catch up on all the details of last month’s spring football game at the University of Wisconsin.

3. Work really, really hard on brushing up on the Lakers’ next opponent. (Hopefully my boss reads this.)

4. See if the fine minds at Hasbro have finally revoked the highly controversial words “Qi” and “Za” in Scrabble.

5. Go on a date. (Yeah, like that would happen.)

Q&A; of the day

Question: Not to get ahead of ourselves, but do we know the dates for the NBA Finals yet? I think I saw a commercial where the Finals start on June 4. Let’s presume the Lakers play Cleveland. What would be the dates for Games 3, 4, & 5 in L.A.?

--Bob A.

Answer: My head hurts. I just heard millions of Lakers fans screaming in unison at Bob A.

Lakers’ worst-case scenario

Losing again to a team whose center is shorter than Sasha Vujacic.

View from Houston

From Houston Chronicle columnist Richard Justice:

“The Lakers were called quitters, losers, dogs, gypsies, tramps and thieves after failing to show up Sunday afternoon at Toyota Center. Wakeup call anyone?

“After Game 4, the Lakers flew back home full of questions about their resolve. One stunning game left the other team scrambling.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Thank you, Richard.

Final thought

I actually predicted the correct winner of Game 5 after misfiring on Games 3 and 4. My new motto: “One in a row!”

The Lakers win again tonight. The Rockets should be commended for lasting this long with a patched-up lineup that would have trouble holding the main court at Venice Beach for more than 20 minutes, but their days in L.A. are done until next season.

--

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com