The Lakers are quieting the critics. This team is for real. The Lakers played 3 quarters of flawless basketball. The Lakers moved the ball amazingly with 34 assists. The Lakers did have 15 turnovers, but most was due to the second unit getting sloppy in the fourth. The second unit also blew free tacos for all the fans in the fourth by playing no defense.
But the first unit played out of its mind. Kobe, Lamar, Trevor, Andrew, and Fish played like a championship first unit. The Lakers shot 54% from the field and 57% from three point land (thanks Kobe!). All five starters made double figures in points and this is a great win to send us to one of the biggest games of the year. Now, the bests of the day:
Top 3 Laker performers:
1) Kobe Bryant played like an MVP tonight. 31 points, 4 boards, 7 assists, and 4 steals. 11 of 18 FG’s and 6-9 from downtown. Great game Kobe and great passing to Andrew!
2) Odom is back! Shades of 2006 showed up tonight. Odom had 17, 8 and 7 tonight to go along with 2 blocks. This is the Lamar we missed. When he is on his game, he is one of the most efficient there is taking only 8 shots. 0 turnovers too!
3) So many other Lakers could go here, but Ariza played superb. 12 points on 5-7 FG’s, 5 rebs, 4 assists, and all over the place on defense leading to 2 steals and a block.
Lakers Smush of the Day (Note: STD denotes the Laker that played the poorest): Vlad Rad again was out of the rhythm. 3-9 shooting and a couple of turnovers…he just doesn’t impress me as of late.
Key play of the game: Jazz try to zone the Lakers and the Lakers make about 10 passes around the arc to set up the Kobe pass to Kwame for the lay in.
What to look for next game: Look for the Lakers to play with lots of intensity. The Lakers should pound the ball inside to Bynum. This is a huge game. I’m picking the Lakers to win in a low-scoring close game. Game is Sunday @ 7:00 PM on FSN locally.
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