Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Even though the Los Angeles Lakers suffered an embarrassing loss to the Boston Celtics in Dwight Howard’s ho-hum return from his shoulder injury, all hope for the road trip isn’t lost. Yes, the Lakers lost Pau Gasol for six-to-eight weeks Tuesday and Kobe Bryant went 30 minutes without a single assist against the Celtics, but the Lakers are 3-2 on their current seven-game trip away from Staples Center. Maybe I’m just a hopeless optimist, but things could be worse.

This current road trip was viewed as a test to see if the Lakers were beginning to turn around their season as fans have hoped since scoring a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder two weeks ago. Not including the Celtics game, the Lakers play lately has signified a turn for the better. Bryant was averaging 9.3 assists over a seven-game span prior to last night. The bench has played with more passion and life. Earl Clark continues to thrive in his role as starting power forward. The Lakers have things to be proud of lately.

The Lakers close out their road trip by facing the lowly 11-37 Charlotte Bobcats Friday night (a team they should dominate but stranger things have happened to the Lakers this season) and finally with a nationally televised match up with the Miami Heat. If the Lakers win tonight as everyone expects they should, that would guarantee a winning record on their toughest road trip of the campaign.

The Lakers are 3-2 on the second night of back-to-backs, so the odds of getting a victory in Charlotte are in L.A.’s favor. The Lakers need to establish dominance early so they can rest Howard and Bryant for Sunday’s big game against the Heat. The Lakers sit just four games behind the eighth-seeded Houston Rockets, so all hope isn’t lost. At least not yet.