Some things to keep an eye on when the Lakers (12-9) host the Charlotte Bobcats (3-18) tonight (Tuesday) at Staples Center.

1. Will the Lakers lay an egg? On paper, the Lakers should easily win this game. Charlotte has the NBA’s worst record; the Lakers are 10-2 at home. The Bobcats will feature injured starters in D.J. Augustin (sore toe) and Corey Maggette (strained hamstring). But there are plenty of reasons why no one should put it past the Lakers to blow this opportunity for an easy win.

L.A. is 6-8 against the Bobcats and has lost three of seven home games against them. The Lakers took Monday off to rest their legs, but that could contribute to bad execution. The Lakers have a six-game trip beginning Friday at Denver, and they could enjoy the friendly confines of Staples Center a little too much. And most importantly, the Lakers remain unpredictable.

2. The Lakers must play well enough to rest their starters. Coach Mike Brown has remained reluctant to limit his starters’ minutes. The Lakers have simply proven to be too unreliable at compiling wins without Kobe Bryant (38.6 minutes), Pau Gasol (37.7) and Andrew Bynum (34.4) shouldering the load. With given how much the team struggles on the road, L.A. can’t afford to squander this opportunity against Charlotte. Not only does the team have to win, it has to do with comfortable margins. The game against Charlotte gives the Lakers a prime opportunity to give the starters some rest. Brown’s failure to monitor these minutes could prove costly later in the season.

3. Use this game as extended practice.With the Lakers lacking quality practice time because of the compacted schedule, this is the best opportunity to sharpen concepts. At the beginning of the game, let Bryant, Bynum and Gasol figure out the perfect balance in scoring. With Lakers forward Metta World Peace starting for the second consecutive game, this could be an opportunity for him to improve his rhythm. With the Laker bench hardly looking like one with an identity, this game could be a psychological pick-me-up. And most importantly, the Lakers could learn better how to execute the read offense.

*Usually, there are five things to watch in a game. Not this one. And if there are, the Lakers are in more trouble than everyone thought.

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— Mark Medina

Email the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

Photo: Lakers guard Kobe Bryant comes away with one of his 14 rebounds against the Timberwolves in the second half Sunday night in Minneapolis. Credit: Jim Mone / Associated Press / Jan. 29, 2012

CHARLOTTE — If you think this has been a crazy NBA season already, try this one on for size: Carmelo Anthony was held to a career-low one point and the New York Knicks won by 33.

Yep, that’s crazy.

And yet that’s exactly what happened Tuesday night as the Knicks routed the Charlotte Bobcats 111-78 to snap a six-game losing streak.

Tyson Chandler had 20 points and 17 rebounds to help the Knicks overcome another poor shooting night from Anthony, whose only point came on a technical free throw in the third quarter.

Anthony missed all seven shots from the field.

Only once in his previous 42 games with the Knicks had Anthony failed to finish in double digits. That came last March 18, when he had six points. His previous career low was two points when he was with the Denver Nuggets.

Anthony did contribute 11 rebounds and four assists.

“Sometimes defenses are going to load up on him because they understand he’s our number one option,” said Chandler. “So when they load up and he hits the open guy like he did tonight, we’re still effective and he’s still effective because of that.”

On this night the Knicks didn’t need much scoring from their premier player.

Chandler picked up the slack as the former Bobcats star shot 9 for 10 from the field, six of those coming on dunks. Amare Stoudemire chipped in with 18 points and eight rebounds while Landry Fields added 18 points and four assists for the Knicks, who won for the first time since Jan. 11.

The Knicks dominated inside the paint, outrebounding the Bobcats 53-33 while handing them their fifth straight loss.

They had 14 dunks against the defenseless Bobcats.

“We didn’t come out ready to play,” Charlotte center Byron Mullens said. “I mean Carmello scores one point and we still get beat by 33? That’s uncalled for. It makes us look bad. I know we’re a young team but there aren’t any excuses for getting beat by 33 and their main player scoring one point.”

Anthony didn’t seem fazed by his off night.

“I needed a night like this where I didn’t have to do too much and we still won the game by a lot,” said Anthony. “We got a long road trip ahead of us. We got another one tomorrow at Cleveland so it’s another day. This one is over. We won a game, team effort. Get ready for tomorrow.”

Still, Anthony’s recent shooting slump has to be a concern for the Knicks.

He came into the game shooting just 35.4 percent from the field over his previous eight games.

The Bobcats have plenty of problems of their own.

Point guard D.J. Augustin will miss at least three more games with a right toe injury which means they will rely heavily on rookie Kemba Walker.

Walker led Charlotte with 22 points but struggled early on with turnovers, seemingly bothered by the Knicks’ bigger guards. Gerald Henderson and Derrick Brown each scored 15 points for the struggling Bobcats.

“We just didn’t have enough,” Bobcats coach Paul Silas said. “We had really two players that played tonight, that’s Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson. I think Brown scored a little bit there at the end but that was it. When Carmelo Anthony goes 0 for 7, come on, you know? We should at least be in the game.”

Boris Diaw, who had averaged 21.5 points per game in his previous two games against the Knicks, had just four points on 1-for-6 shooting from the field.

The Knicks jumped out to a 52-42 halftime lead behind a near-perfect first half by Chandler, who was 6 of 6 from the field with 13 points and nine rebounds and simply outplayed Mullens.

“Tyson was unbelievable,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “I thought he was phenomenal.”

“I think a lot of offensive rebounds came because we were attacking the rim,” Chandler said. “When we get great penetration off the pick and roll I kind of got some easy lanes. That’s the biggest help to get to the glass and get the opportunity to put it back in.”

It was a good start for the Knicks in their first of four straight road games.

“It was important that we start playing better,” D’Antoni said. “We can’t get too excited because we have a game Wednesday night (at Cleveland) and we need to win that too.”

Walker was 5 of 6 from the floor for 15 points in the first half but turned the ball over four times.

The 6-foot-1 Walker seemed to be bothered by the 6-foot-5 Iman Shumpert and 6-foot-7 Landry Fields. However, the Knicks failed to take advantage of very many of Charlotte’s nine first half-turnovers, regularly missing easy layups. Shumpert even missed a breakaway dunk, clanging it off the back of the rim.

Still, the Knicks began to pull away in the third quarter as the Bobcats shot just 6 of 24 from the field. The Knicks were a solid 9 of 10 from the field during that same span and then expanded the lead in the fourth quarter while resting their starters, including Anthony.

NOTES: The Bobcats will be without Augustin for at least three more games after he injured his right toe earlier in the week. … Knicks center Josh Harrellson had successful surgery Tuesday on his fractured right wrist and will miss six weeks of action, according to the team. … Bobcats owner Michael Jordan sat courtside with his former agent David Falk.

If you think this has been a crazy NBA season already, try this one on for size: Carmelo Anthony was held to a career-low one point and the New York Knicks won by 33.

Yep, that’s crazy.

And yet that’s exactly what happened Tuesday night as the Knicks routed the Charlotte Bobcats 111-78 to snap a six-game losing streak.

Tyson Chandler had 20 points and 17 rebounds to help the Knicks overcome another poor shooting night from Anthony, whose only point came on a technical free throw in the third quarter.

Anthony missed all seven shots from the field.

Only once in his previous 42 games with the Knicks had Anthony failed to finish in double digits. That came last March 18, when he had six points. His previous career low was two points when he was with the Denver Nuggets.

Anthony did contribute 11 rebounds and four assists.

“Sometimes defenses are going to load up on him because they understand he’s our number one option,” said Chandler. “So when they load up and he hits the open guy like he did tonight, we’re still effective — and he’s still effective — because of that.”

On this night the Knicks didn’t need much scoring from their premier player.

Chandler picked up the slack as the former Bobcats star shot 9 for 10 from the field, six of those coming on dunks. Amare Stoudemire chipped in with 18 points and eight rebounds while Landry Fields added 18 points and four assists for the Knicks, who won for the first time since Jan. 11.

The Knicks dominated inside the paint, outrebounding the Bobcats 53-33 while handing them their fifth straight loss.

They had 14 dunks against the defenseless Bobcats.

“We didn’t come out ready to play,” Charlotte center Byron Mullens said. “I mean Carmello scores one point and we still get beat by 33? That’s uncalled for. It makes us look bad. I know we’re a young team but there aren’t any excuses for getting beat by 33 and their main player scoring one point.”

Anthony didn’t seem fazed by his off night.

“I needed a night like this where I didn’t have to do too much and we still won the game by a lot,” said Anthony. “We got a long road trip ahead of us. We got another one tomorrow at Cleveland so it’s another day. This one is over. We won a game, team effort. Get ready for tomorrow.”

Still, Anthony’s recent shooting slump has to be a concern for the Knicks.

He came into the game shooting just 35.4 percent from the field over his previous eight games.

The Bobcats have plenty of problems of their own.

Point guard D.J. Augustin will miss at least three more games with a right toe injury which means they will rely heavily on rookie Kemba Walker.

Walker led Charlotte with 22 points but struggled early on with turnovers, seemingly bothered by the Knicks’ bigger guards. Gerald Henderson and Derrick Brown each scored 15 points for the struggling Bobcats.

“We just didn’t have enough,” Bobcats coach Paul Silas said. “We had really two players that played tonight, that’s Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson. I think Brown scored a little bit there at the end but that was it. When Carmelo Anthony goes 0 for 7, come on, you know? We should at least be in the game.”

Boris Diaw, who had averaged 21.5 points per game in his previous two games against the Knicks, had just four points on 1-for-6 shooting from the field.

The Knicks jumped out to a 52-42 halftime lead behind a near-perfect first half by Chandler, who was 6 of 6 from the field with 13 points and nine rebounds and simply outplayed Mullens.

“Tyson was unbelievable,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “I thought he was phenomenal.”

“I think a lot of offensive rebounds came because we were attacking the rim,” Chandler said. “When we get great penetration off the pick and roll I kind of got some easy lanes. That’s the biggest help to get to the glass and get the opportunity to put it back in.”

It was a good start for the Knicks in their first of four straight road games.

“It was important that we start playing better,” D’Antoni said. “We can’t get too excited because we have a game Wednesday night (at Cleveland) and we need to win that too.”

Walker was 5 of 6 from the floor for 15 points in the first half but turned the ball over four times.

The 6-foot-1 Walker seemed to be bothered by the 6-foot-5 Iman Shumpert and 6-foot-7 Landry Fields. However, the Knicks failed to take advantage of very many of Charlotte’s nine first half-turnovers, regularly missing easy layups. Shumpert even missed a breakaway dunk, clanging it off the back of the rim.

Still, the Knicks began to pull away in the third quarter as the Bobcats shot just 6 of 24 from the field. The Knicks were a solid 9 of 10 from the field during that same span and then expanded the lead in the fourth quarter while resting their starters, including Anthony.

NOTES: The Bobcats will be without Augustin for at least three more games after he injured his right toe earlier in the week. … Knicks center Josh Harrellson had successful surgery Tuesday on his fractured right wrist and will miss six weeks of action, according to the team. … Bobcats owner Michael Jordan sat courtside with his former agent David Falk.

A few days after tweeting that “hardline” Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan “has never been with the real,” Stephon Marbury(notes) (currently playing in China) continued with the attacks on the NBA legend from half a world away via his preferred brand of social media. By the looks of the picture above, maybe it was because M.J. stiffed him on a hug a decade ago?

Or maybe it’s because Marbury, though there isn’t any interest in his services from NBA teams, is sticking with his former NBA brethren during this extended lockout.

Jordan, who is said to be leading the charge to not only roll back the NBA’s offer of a 50/50 split of basketball-related income with the players in their current negotiations but to possibly vote against any reconciliation with the players should the Players Association take the NBA’s current offer, is under harsh criticism for what some see as a hypocritical turn as team owner. Especially considering Jordan’s notorious rants against ownership from the other side of the table during the 1998 lockout.

Marbury, as you can probably tell, isn’t feeling it:

Stephon can rail against His Airness all he wants in 140 characters or less, but as Eric Freeman expertly pointed out last week, it hardly changes the type of person Jordan has always been and will routinely continue to be.

We can criticize Jordan for his terrible investment in taking on the Bobcats (essentially assuming all the team’s debt in the purchase from former owner Bob Johnson) and his poor personnel moves as both the team’s general manager and owner. But he’s doing exactly what he needs to do to keep his terrible business afloat right now.

And if that distances him from players both current and former? Well, Jordan’s never been the cuddliest guy around anyway. Why stop now?

NBA lockout? You can stop now. Go ahead.

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