No NBA team has ever won a playoff series after digging themselves into a 0-3 hole, as the Los Angeles Lakers did last night. Sure, it’s happened four times in hockey and once in baseball, but the Lakers will have to make history in order to beat the Dallas Mavericks and advance to the Western Conference Finals. Ninety-eight NBA teams have found themselves in this position throughout the league’s history and every single one has been eliminated.

With that said, Kobe Bryant couldn’t care less.

"I might be sick in the head or crazy, because I think we’re still going to win the series," Bryant said. "I might be nuts."

If the Lakers play their best basketball, Bryant may not be nuts. After all, they are the two-time defending champions and the Mavericks have developed a reputation for choking in the playoffs. They lost to the Miami Heat in the 2006 Finals after leading the series 2-0 and even Dirk Nowitzki admits that the Lakers could make this interesting if the Mavericks don’t handle their business tomorrow night.

"We’ve got to go for it on Sunday," Nowitzki said. "We’re not good enough to coast or relax. I’ve seen a lot in this league already. I don’t want to be the first one."

However, that’s assuming the Lakers play their best basketball, which hasn’t happened in this series. Pau Gasol has been a shell of himself: missing the simplest of shots, fumbling the ball away and allowing passes to bounce off of his back. The Lakers need their dominant big man right now, but they’re getting the Space Jam version of Charles Barkley.

The Lakers’ reserves have also been underwhelming and Derek Fisher has been losing the point guard matchup. Bryant has played well statistically and trusted his teammates, but they have completely let him down.

With rumors of trust issues and arguments taking place behind closed doors, it’s hard to predict which Lakers team is going to show up. This group hasn’t maintained their composure and battled through adversity. Instead, they’ve harped on each other’s mistakes.

"They finished a little better than we did, which was the difference in the ball game," Phil Jackson said. "We were spending too much energy on disappointments instead of playing through things."

Jackson is doing his best to get his team prepared, but there’s only so much he can do. Jackson showed a different side of himself on Friday night by being much more animated on the sideline and hitting Gasol in the chest to fire him up. Game 4 could be his last playoff game, but he believes the script has been written like this for a reason. Will he top off a legendary career with a historical ending?

"Kobe said to me this morning that it seems right that this is the kind of way your last season should be. Something like this comes up and it has to be another hurdle that you have to cross. But it’s not me crossing it, it’s the team," Jackson said.

"There’s not a whole lot I can do but substitute," he continued. "The rest is up to them. It’s up to them to do the right thing. I call a play or two here and there, but that’s about it. They know what to do. It’s just what it is."

The Lakers are focused on becoming the first team to overcome this deficit, but a loss tomorrow night would also be making history. After all, no team coached by Jackson has ever been swept in the playoffs, but a Game 4 loss would change that and send the Hall of Fame coach into retirement earlier than he expected.

Clippers Already Working the Phones: The Los Angeles Clippers believe that they’re one piece away from making a splash in the playoffs and are preparing to be very active this offseason. Vice President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey made it clear that the team will search for help to bolster the roster for a playoff run.

"We need an impact veteran," Olshey told HOOPSWORLD’s Eric Pincus. "A guy with leadership skills that has won at a high level, who can show Eric and Blake how not just to get in the playoffs, but how to be a factor in the playoffs."

The team wants to surround Blake Griffin with veteran pieces that allow him to start experiencing success right away.

"This is not unlike the drill in San Antonio when they had Tim Duncan or Cleveland with LeBron or guys like that," said Olshey. "You have to put right pieces around him but you don’t have to find ‘the piece’ because it’s here."

{AUTHOR_BOX}The Clippers don’t consider themselves to be rebuilding and are adamant that the goal is to win now, even with their young roster.

"Every decision we make right now, it’s going to be about playing right now instead of standing here [outside of the playoffs]," Olshey said. "We’ve got three All-Stars on our roster all under 28-years of age and Eric Gordon.  They’ve got great chemistry.  We’ve got DeAndre [Jordan].  We’ve got some good role players, the youth with Eric [Bledsoe] and Farouq [Aminu] is there for the future."

The Clippers’ brass is already working the phones and will meet face-to-face with executives in New Jersey this weekend during the NBA’s group workout. Los Angeles hopes to make a trade before the end of next month.

"Absolutely, that’s my goal," Olshey said.  "We want to be aggressive or active.  We’re already on the phones.  We’ll see people in New Jersey and Chicago.  The sooner we can add the pieces we need to ensure that we’re a playoff team next year, the better off we’re going to be."

For the complete interview with Olshey, check out Pincus’ excellent piece.

The Big Unknown: Shaquille O’Neal is expected to return to the Boston Celtics’ lineup tonight for the first time since February. O’Neal practiced Monday for the first time in a month and the Celtics hope he gives them another dimension that they’ve lacked since trading Kendrick Perkins at the trade deadline.

His presence could change the series for Boston, who trails 0-2, but it isn’t changing how Miami prepares their game plan.

"Both teams’ games will stay the same," Erick Spoelstra told The Boston Globe. "He’ll be able to impact and help them at the rim, in the paint, more because it is a physical series, but we’re a physical team as well."

Dwyane Wade, who won a championship with O’Neal in 2006, has no idea what to expect from O’Neal. He knows what kind of impact the Hall of Fame center can have on the court and he feels that his presence could revitalize Boston.

"We don’t know [what to expect]," Dwyane Wade said. "He’s a guy that’s won four rings and obviously having him back will be a big boost of energy for the crowd and to the team, but it’s our job just to continue with our game plan and we can’t really worry about who’s coming back and who’s not."

If O’Neal does play, expect plenty of movement and running from Miami.

"He’s a big target under the basket, but we’ve got to get him moving," Chris Bosh said. "We don’t want it to be a stagnant halfcourt game because that’s where he can really affect the game if he checks in. We want to get out on the open court and run and try our best to keep him off the boards and keep him out of the paint."

That may be easier said than done.

HOOPSWORLD Chats: There is one chat on today’s schedule. Susan Bible, who covers the Oklahoma City Thunder and NBA for HOOPSWORLD, will be taking your questions at 11am EST. As always you can check out our entire upcoming chat schedule.