Lamar Odom of the Lakers drives for a layup against the Cleveland Cavaliers last season. Odom and the Lakers will play the Phoenix Suns tonight at the Thomas & Mack Center, then take on the Sacramento Kings at the arena Tuesday night. Photo by The Associated Press.

It won't qualify as the beginning of a franchise relocation, but the Los Angeles Lakers' decision to play two preseason games in Las Vegas demonstrates the love affair the two entities have for each other.

This isn't superficial, Paris Hilton-style love, either. This appears to be deep-rooted, genuine affection.

Tonight's game against the Phoenix Suns and Tuesday's against the Sacramento Kings are expected to draw large crowds to the Thomas & Mack Center, and they will get basketball fans in the right frame of mind for what could be Las Vegas' ultimate sporting event -- the 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend scheduled for Feb. 16 to 18.

"To us, Las Vegas is our home away from home," said Jeanie Buss, the Lakers' executive vice president of business operations and longtime companion of coach Phil Jackson. "We've seen the community grow and it's a community that understands pro sports and NBA basketball."

In addition to the exhibition games, the Lakers are holding a charity golf tournament and poker event Monday to raise money for their youth foundation. The golf tournament will be played at Southern Highlands, and The Mirage is the site of the poker event.

The Lakers have a long-standing relationship with the city, dating to 1965 when they played the San Francisco Warriors at the Las Vegas Convention Center. It would prove to be an unusual night as then-broadcaster Chick Hearn missed the game because he was stuck in Fayetteville, Ark., where he had called a football game the day before and was unable to get to Las Vegas because of bad weather.

It was the last game Hearn would miss for the next 36 years. Beginning on Nov. 21, 1965, Hearn called 3,338 consecutive games.

In 1984, the Lakers were the visiting team on the scoreboard but virtually everyone at the Thomas & Mack on April 5 was pulling for them against the Utah Jazz, which was playing part of its home schedule in Las Vegas. That night, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the NBA career scoring leader, making one of his signature sky hooks over the outstretched arm of the 7-foot-4-inch Jazz center Mark Eaton to surpass Wilt Chamberlain with 31,420 points.

The Lakers have been Las Vegas regulars for the past seven years, playing an annual preseason game at the Thomas & Mack. Given the number of transplanted Southern Californians here and the city's proximity to Los Angeles, the Lakers have come to count on having plenty of support when they come to UNLV's arena.

"We've always considered Las Vegas to be an extension of our market," said Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, who played for the Lakers in a 1981 preseason game against Philadelphia on the stage of the Aladdin Theater for the Performing Arts and fell into the orchestra pit while trying to save a loose ball from going out of bounds.

"We've enjoyed tremendous support through the years," Kupchak said.

That support might have been most evident in May 1992 when the Lakers were unable to play a home playoff game in the aftermath of the Rodney King riots in Southern California. With the NBA's blessing, the team moved Game 4 of its first-round Western Conference series to Las Vegas. More than 15,000 tickets were sold in 48 hours, and even though the Lakers lost to the Trail Blazers 102-76, they were able to enjoy home-crowd support despite playing 272 miles from The Forum.

"We were surprised at how it sold (out) as quickly as it did," Kupchak said. "It piqued our attention as far as Las Vegas (being) a market for us."

Buss said, "We were looking for a home-court edge and Las Vegas provided it."

The Lakers will still have the home-court edge tonight and Tuesday despite the opposition having local ties. The Suns feature former UNLV stars Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, and the Kings include former Rebel Louis Amundson and are owned by the Maloof family, which owns the Palms and was instrumental in bringing the NBA All-Star Weekend to town.

Lakers fans in attendance will have no shortage of story lines, however. It's not known if Kobe Bryant will play. He underwent knee surgery in July, began practicing only recently and did not play Thursday in the Lakers' home preseason victory over Seattle.

Also, forward Lamar Odom is playing with a heavy heart after the death of his infant son during the summer.

Assistant Kurt Rambis will coach the Lakers while Jackson recovers from hip surgery, and Kupchak said the Lakers' mix of veterans and young players bodes well for the franchise's future.

"I like what I see from our young guys," he said. "Kwame Brown is looking good and Andrew Bynum is making progress. He's not even 19 (years old) and he's had a good camp."

Brown might not play tonight because of a sprained right shoulder suffered Friday. He did not practice Saturday.