ESPN

--by Brian Kamenetzky

Just toss out the fourth quarter, in which the Lakers were outscored 19-10, got a little sloppy with the ball, and instead of working the clock to protect substantial lead kept taking early shots, as if firing quickly on each trip would help make time pass faster, speeding the process of getting to the buzzer, the showers, the bus, the team plane, and finally back to LA after a week-long trip through some seriously wretched weather. Wipe it from the memory bank, like a bad blind date. It doesn't mean much.

Instead, focus on the first three quarters of LA's 93-81 victory Sunday night over the Detroit Pistons at The Palace. There you'll find their full level of domination over a

shorthanded home team (no Rip Hamilton, Ben Gordon, or Tayshaun Prince). That's where all the important stuff happened, anyway.

As it was in Saturday night's win over the Nets in New Jersey, the Lakers got out to an early lead. Unlike Saturday night, where they frittered the cushion away by the half, tonight they continued to build into the break and through the third, thanks to a combination of solid defense and smart offense. Over the first 24 minutes, the Lakers forced 13 turnovers and held the Pistons to 39.5% shooting, explaining Detroit's anemic 38 point output, weak even for an offensively challenged squad. Meanwhile, they exploited an impish Detroit frontcourt, whether to spring Andrew Bynum for dunks- he was 5-5 from the floor- or piling up free throws (25 in the opening half alone). Ron Artest was particularly active, scoring ten points and showing why his impact on the defensive end is so strong. Four steals and endless harassment of Pistons on and off the ball, all in addition to the ten points and four dimes with which he pitched in offensively. It was among the best pair of quarters he's played with the Lakers, and his energy was infectious. Even as their collective minds clearly began to wander in the fourth, the Lakers were still hustling after loose balls and defending well (they shaved nine points off LA's lead in the period, but mostly because the Lakers scored only 10 points).

From there, it was a matter of tending the garden.

With the win, the Lakers come home having won four of five since they last played at Staples, and again reclaimed the league's best record (22-4).

More Notes:

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Other guests on that June 18 evening included Naomi Campbell and David Duchovny. (I trolled around for footage, but couldn't find any, unfortunately. I guess you can't find everything on the Internet.)

This time around, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant talk among other things about the state of the Lakers, how the whole Ron Artest thing is working out (just fine, thanks), and, of course, the Christmas Day tussle with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. "It's going to be an interesting matchup," Kobe said. "It'll be our first time facing them since their addition. I'm curious to see how we match up with them." By "their addition," I'll take the liberty of assuming he means Shaquille O'Neal, as opposed to Anthony Parker or Jamario Moon. Call it a hunch.

Kobe was also effusive in his praise of Pau Gasol, and explained both why the big Spaniard is such a brutal cover, and why his addition has helped his game:

"He's clearly one of the best basketball players in the world. Clearly. In my opinion, he's the best post player in the game. Left hand, right hand, fadeaway, jump hook, he'll give you everything. But yet he still seems to be under-rated. I think the people that play against him, and have to match up with him, they know what time it is... It makes my life a lot easier, because we have another threat on the floor that you have to pay attention to, that you have to double team. And when you have that, it puts so much pressure on the defense. And we can run a two man game, and that's how we compliment each other so well, because he can stretch the floor, too. So when it's a crucial situation and he and I run the screen and roll, it's a tough matchup."

Click below for the vid.

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For a pair of frames, David and Goliath actually appeared to be engaged in a competitive fight. Between an effective second quarter zone D and Phil Jackson's liberal- and perhaps jarring- use of the bench, the New Jersey Nets (our metaphorical "David," for the benefit of the thick) finished the first half up by a bucket and had perhaps discovered an exploitable weakness in the Lakers' game plan. Or maybe just lulled their guests into a bored slumber and riding it out for another two quarters was a possibility.

No such luck.

Once the third quarter kicked off, an eventual 103-84 Lakers victory was conceived through a formula tried and true. Pau Gasol, these days just a multi-colored mane away from being Rodman in his prime, snagged fourteen rebounds to compliment fourteen points and six dimes. A stifling lockdown was employed, limiting the Nets to just 36 over the second half. And then there's that Kobe fella. 29/10/5, plus the standard "MVP" chants on another coast. The natural order was once again restored as the hometown squad fell to an opponent Devin Harris labeled "one of the better" in the league. Way to gush, Dev.

In the meantime, as Jersey drop to 2-26, it's safe to say that every victory, no matter how small or trivial, counts for something. And as ESPN's accompanying video highlight reveals: Sean Williams 1, Marv Albert, 0. Drink it up, Nets fans!

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Let's be honest, here; New Jersey basically lost their opportunity to win Saturday night's tussle with the

Lakers once LA's team bus managed to work through blizzard conditions on the east coast and arrive from New York City at Izod Center. Unconfirmed reports had Nets coach/GM Kiki Vandeweghe dispatching lightly-used reserves Keyon Dooling and Terrence Williams to pile snow on as many cleared roads as they could find leading to the arena just to make it tough, and who could blame him?

It was a matchup of NBA titans vs. 125 pound weaklings. Literally nothing had to give. And against a team as wretched as New Jersey- they entered with a robust 2-25 mark- it can be said in general terms that anything interesting or meaningful coming out of the evening probably means something went wrong. Sure enough, the 103-84 final score was certainly comfortable enough for the Lakers, though it wasn't all pretty. Initially, it looked like the expected blowout would come quickly. The Lakers built up an eight point lead at the end of the first quarter, and were up by 10 after a Kobe Bryant triple with 5:33 to go in the half. From there, sloppiness, poor work against New Jersey's zone, and some inspired (it's all relative) play from the home team helped fuel a 16-4 run from the Nets heading into the break, a 48-46 Nets lead giving life to those hoping to see The Greatest Regular Season Upset In History.

There were some mitigating circumstances. Foul trouble was an issue, and combined with a game offering a chance for little used reserves to get a little burn, Phil Jackson played everyone on the bench save Sasha Vujacic over the first 24 minutes. (I'm not sure Adam Morrison knew he was even allowed to take off his sweats in the first quarter, but there he was, getting some early playing time.)

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"Early on in his career, he wasn't one of those players that we focused our attention on most of the time. I would even say as far back as '99 when we won the title (with San Antonio), when we played the Lakers in the second round we were more focused on how we would stop Shaq underneath. But Kobe was definitely up and coming. We just figured that we could get away playing him with a little more single coverage, as opposed to letting Shaq kill us. Kobe wasn't quite the polished scorer. He still took bad shots. The one thing I remember vividly about that team is they just didn't have that chemistry. They were talking to each other on the court and if Kobe took a bad shot, believe me, guys on the team weren't very happy about it...

...Listen, the guy never went to college, came straight out of high school. The cultural adjustment alone is huge and I think we saw a lot of that with Kobe Bryant early on in his career. He wasn't nearly as polished, and I'm sure it cost him with his teammates and the media. But he's matured a lot and his game has matured along with him. Now he makes a lot of smart decisions. Yeah, he can score the basketball, but as far as the wild shots and the shots that were really bizarre, you don't see those every often, if ever, anymore. That's just Kobe Bryant growing up."

More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest
• Steve Smith

--Sean Elliott faced Kobe Bryant's Lakers twice in the playoffs as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.

"When he first came into the league, he played more up and down, fast paced, using his athleticism and getting into the lane to do great things. Year by year, he’s put something new in his game and not settling for what he is at any time. It’s not normal to keep adding like that. Only great players do it, because they’re not satisfied. A couple years ago, he came back from a summer with the pump fake, and he was using that pump fake for everything, getting guys off their feet and off balance. That’s how he got his rhythm. Now, he’s using what I call the plant-spin back. He goes to the hole and makes everybody jump, then spins back. You can learn it- it’s easy to learn. But to have the confidence to use it in a game is the difficult part. I practice it all the time, but I just haven’t mentally got it to go in a game. I just can’t get it yet. But that’s what makes Kobe, Kobe. The patience he has to learn how to play, and then apply it."



More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest
• Steve Smith

--Washington's Gilbert Arenas averaged 29.3 points a game during the 2005-06 season, and 28.4 a night the following season.

"Kobe went through a stretch after we tried to get him (after the 2004 season), where I didn’t love the way he played. Maybe it was the pressure of that whole situation, but I didn’t think he played as good of a teammate. The one area that I thought he might have been falling short was in the leadership capacity.n the sense that I’m not sure his teammates liked him. To get the most out of everybody, I think your teammates really have to like you, and they really want you to succeed. That’s the best chemistry you can have. The last two years, that’s changed back to where I love the way he plays. Tremendously, in everything he’s doing. Whatever it is, I feel like he’s changed. He understands that leadership role, that dynamic better. Or he has more confidence in those guys that they can do it with Pau Gasol obviously. But right now, I love the way he plays."

More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest
• Steve Smith

--Mike Dunleavy is the coach and general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers, and coached the Trail Blazers during their epic seven-game Western Conference Finals in 2000.

"It's so similar to what you see with MJ in the later stages of his career. Catching the ball on the pinch post, on the block. When Kobe first into the game, you saw him dribbling a lot. I'm really interested to see how many dribbles he takes in a game, because he's simplified it so much. He catches the ball, he don’t waste dribbles. One to three, and he's scoring or doing something... He's always in the gym, obviously, but the funny thing about Kobe, and people don't realize this, he'll be practicing left-handed shots or over-the-backboard shots. Then, the shots that he was practicing prior to the game, he'd make the shot in the game, then wink at you."

More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest
• Steve Smith

--Caron Butler was teammates with Kobe Bryant during the 2004-05 season.

"I've been watching his footwork. His footwork is great. The way he gets the ball and where he gets the ball with his footwork, it's tremendous. He’s already "cheat code," because I think he's the best player in the NBA. But every year, I've never seen an NBA player besides him, every year, he brings something new to his game. One year it was ball handling. Next year, it was the "Michael Jordan" mid-range turn around jump shot. Then he had his knee surgery and he got his dunking back. Every year, he brings something back. It's exciting to see a player like that."

More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest
• Steve Smith

--DeShawn Stevenson has played in Utah, Orlando, and Washington over his 10 NBA seasons.

"I remember one time, I think I was with the Magic, in the first quarter he probably had 20, 25 points. I was guarding him, and there wasn't nothing I could do. He's walking across half court, taking one or two dribbles, pulling up and shooting threes. I mean, that's cold. He hit one or two threes where he walked across the court and shot it. A step or two behind the regular three point line. Just shot it. A guy like that, once he's rolling, he's rolling."

More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest
• Steve Smith

--Keith Bogans, in his seventh NBA season, has built his career on the defensive side of the floor.

"He shoots his threes, he takes it to the hole, he likes the baseline jumpers. But what he does best is he takes what’s given. It’s the sign of a very intelligent basketball player. You see him read games and see how it’s going, see where he’s needed. Sometimes he’ll just defer to everyone else for a while until he sees what’s the weakness in the other team, or what’s available to him, or how people are guarding him or how his team is playing. He factors all these things in and then comes and tries to kick your ass."

More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest
• Steve Smith

--Gregg Popovich, head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, coached against Kobe Bryant in the postseason five times in this decade.

"He’s a lot more aggressive now. It’s like he knows now that he can’t be stopped. He’s so much more aggressive now, and what can you do? He’s got you on your heels at all times. Earlier in his career, he was kind of thinking about, okay, I’m gonna get my shot off, but now he thinks the game. He gets everyone involved, and he’s also scoring. Before, he may have thought he was the best… now he knows."

More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest
• Steve Smith

--Antonio McDyess entered the league one season before Kobe Bryant, in the 1995-96 season.

"I remember one practice last year, after a game in which he was getting hit an awful lot on his arm on his shots he spent a practice one-on-one with one of the assistant coaches continually hitting him on the arm so he could learn to shoot while he was being fouled at the same time. That's the diligence that he's done every single year, every month, every week. Understanding how he has to play better and overcome any obstacle that's put in front of him, whether it's double teams, triple teams. Understanding where he's being defended on the floor, and how different teams come to trap him. He's always studying and trying to figure out what he can do."

More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest
• Steve Smith

--Kurt Rambis, longtime Lakers assistant coach, left Los Angeles to become the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves before the 2009-10 season.

"Last year, he started using the left hand, and it was a great tool. A great tool to have in the tool chest. It works. You need it, it’s necessary, and everybody should have it. But Kobe, he was like Einstein, he was smart enough to work on it. It’s like the guy who discovered peanut butter. The first time I saw it, I was like “wow.” I drive left a lot, but he actually shoots the jump shot with his left."

--Ron Artest, considered one of the best defenders of his generation, joined the Lakers before the 2009-10 season.

"He kind of played fast, which at my age then was much faster than me. He didn’t have to. I think he did things back then where athletically, speed wise, it made the game harder for himself. He really didn’t take advantage of all a guy’s weaknesses, he just played at his pace and played the way he wanted to play. Now you take him, he's still athletic, still very good, and now you add strength, you've added a jump shot, which he's always had but added more range. Now it's scary, he's added a post game... For me, knee injuries forced me to start posting up. There's nothing he's doing that teams are forcing him to do. What he’s doing is choosing to have in his career the longevity and play at a high level. I’ve always said to myself and to other people and friends, if he’d had his post game four or five years ago, this would have been scary. But he didn’t have to, because he did so many other things so well. I think those couple years where the Lakers were kind of down, he was getting beat up a little bit and getting a little frustrated. Now you’re keeping him with this kind of talent around, the longevity for Kobe Bryant, staying at this level, it’s scary for the rest of the league."

More Evolution of Kobe Bryant:

• Phil Jackson
• Sean Elliott
• Gilbert Arenas
• Mike Dunleavy
• Caron Butler
• DeShawn Stevenson
• Keith Bogans
• Gregg Popovich
• Antonio McDyess
• Kurt Rambis
• Ron Artest

--Steve Smith, 14 year NBA veteran, is now an analyst with NBA TV. He battled Kobe Bryant repeatedly in postseason action as a member of the Blazers and Spurs.