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LOS ANGELES -- Andrew Bynum sat in front of his locker with a scowl instead of a smile.
He was brief with his answers, short with his time and limited with his patience.
As Bynum took a page out of Kobe Bryant’s playbook of succinct, pithy answers during the playoffs, several reporters had to double-check the final box score in their hands and make sure there wasn’t a misprint.

The Los Angeles Lakers had just beaten the Denver Nuggets, 104-100, to take a 2-0 series lead in their first round matchup and Bynum finished with 27 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Was there something missing?

“I left a lot on the court today,” Bynum said. “I worked way too hard before the game to let that happen. I could have had a perfect game.”

Bynum couldn’t define his perfect game, but it was certainly more than the stat line he produced Tuesday night. He wanted to get at least another rebound and at least a few more blocked shots. After getting a triple-double in Game 1, Bynum isn’t satisfied with anything less than a double-double now.

“I just left stats out there. That’s about it,” Bynum said. “I left a double-double out there, I left some block shots out there, I left points out there. I left a lot of things out there tonight.”

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Tuesday's Game 2 against the Denver Nuggets was a lot tighter than Sunday's Game 1, but the end result was the same. The Lakers win, and in the process take a commanding 2-0 lead heading into Friday's Game 3 at the Pepsi Center.

In what technically should have been called Lakers Early Morning, we break down the win focusing on the following:

• A monster game from Kobe Bryant. 38 points, four rebounds, two assists, three steals, and a block. Bryant was particularly hot early, hitting nine of his 12 hoists in the first half, despite some decent defense from the Nuggets who forced him into plenty of contested or lower percentage looks. But as the old saying goes, "Sometimes Kobe Bryant is better than you." Add in some huge defensive plays in the second half (a chasedown block on Al Harrington, plus a key steal late in the fourth) and it was a big night for Kobe.
• Strong play from Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. We look at the role Pau has played through the season and the first two playoff games, and why it's so important.
• What changed from Game 1 to Game 2, and our thoughts on the series going forward.

All that and more!



Click below for video from Kobe, Gasol, Mike Brown, Devin Ebanks, and Ramon Sessions ...

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The Lakers remain undefeated in the Mike Brown postseason era, despite the Nuggets' pesky refusal to wave the white flag. The showing in Game 2 on Tuesday wasn't nearly as dominant as in Game 1, and I imagine Brown will point out more mistakes in Wednesday's film session. But the bottom line is the Lakers are up 2-0, and you can't ask for anything better. Here are four takeaways from the game.

1) When Kobe gets rolling, it's just ridiculous.
Heading into this series, Kobe Bryant hadn't shot the ball well against Denver this season. Thus, after his slow first half in Game 1, 14 fourth-quarter points and a steadily increasing efficiency felt like a nice omen of his having figured out Denver's scheme against him. Then again, Tuesday night didn't necessarily present a big mystery to unravel. George Karl opted largely to guard Kobe in single coverage with either Arron Afflalo or Corey Brewer, the first among the better wing defenders in the NBA, and the second certainly credible. And in both cases, they were rendered pretty helpless. Bryant's first basket was a rather emphatic dunk off a cross-court baseline feed from Matt Barnes, quite the announcement of his intentions to own this game. From there, the reins were never relinquished en route to 38 points on 15-for-29 shooting.

Shots were drained from inside, outside and all points in between. Whether attacking the rim, working in isolation, spinning baseline, fading away, jab-stepping, head-faking, pulling up or using his super status to get away with the mother of all push-offs, Bryant emptied his proverbial bag. And as we've learned over the years, it holds an awful lot of tricks. The second half probably featured a little too much one-on-one for the good of the overall offense. But at the same time, his night was pretty efficient and often spellbinding.

The timeliness of his makes also was key. With just more than four minutes in the game and Denver starting to gain momentum, Kobe found himself faced up against Afflalo yet again. This was a possession on which the Lakers really needed a basket, a moment their leader always knows. A few jab steps later, a 3-ball dropped, and the Lakers were back up by eight. He also drained a pair of free throws with 9.4 seconds on the clock, keeping the lead at five and essentially ending Denver's quest to push overtime.

Although really, Bryant's best plays of the night might have come on the defensive end. In the second half, after Steve Blake missed a 3-pointer, Denver was off to the races yet again, with Al Harrington on the receiving end of a home run pass from Andre Miller. Kobe, 33 years old and hopped up on German medicine, chased down Big Al from behind and blocked what should have been a flush. Then, with 2:21 left to play, Kenneth Faried couldn't hang on to a home run pass from Ty Lawson, and a scrum ensued for the loose ball. Kobe came up with the rock, sped down court, absorbed contact from one defender, and wrapped a pass around Danilo Gallinari to Andrew Bynum for a dunk and a six-point lead.

In a game in which Denver continued to claw for survival, Kobe made sure to cut off the oxygen supply whenever possible.

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The list of things Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace have in common expanded by one.

It used to be just:

1. Both play professional basketball
2. Both play pro basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers

Now you can add:

3. Both have been nominated for the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award

Gasol was named as one of the four finalists for the award on Tuesday. The distinction is awarded annually to the player, coach or trainer who shows "outstanding service and dedication to the community." The other finalists include Orlando’s J.J. Redick, Dallas’ Jason Terry and Atlanta’s Josh Smith.

World Peace won the award last season back when he was still Ron Artest.

Gasol visited St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis back in March and this 2010 column by ESPN's Tom Friend gives a good feel of Gasol's continual charitable involvement in the medical community.

Dave McMenamin covers the Lakers for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Follow him on Twitter.

The Lakers' postseason got off to as incredible a start as even those with wildly active imaginations could envision. Suffocating defense, spearheaded by Andrew Bynum in a performance that literally made NBA history. Balanced offense with six players in double figures and Steve Blake just behind them at nine. And as I wrote yesterday, the collective focus was off the charts. In the meantime, Denver made a few pushes, but largely found itself increasingly overwhelmed.

A sign of things to come for the entire series, or just one game in which both teams played at the opposite ends of the spectrum? To get to the bottom of matters, we had an IM conversation with Roundball Mining Company's Jeremy Wagner. Below is a transcript of the exchange.

Brian Kamenetzky: We focused so much on how L.A.'s size would help on the offensive side of ball, but it was really the defensive end -- led by Bynum but supplemented by Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill -- that changed the game. How much did that surprise Denver, and how do they address it?

Jeremy Wagner: It was obvious the Nuggets were not prepared for shot-blocking Bynum. They never adjusted and kept throwing up weak attempts. One key is Denver will to have to move much more on offense. I think it was six of Bynum's blocks came on an iso set when four Nuggets stood and watched. Denver also must look to pass when it doesn't have a shot at the rim. The corner was open on nearly all of Bynum's blocks and Denver must take advantage of that.

Do you think Bynum will be content to play Dikembe Mutombo, or will he demand more shots? We know he likes shots.

Andy Kamenetzky: I'd like to think this mindset will be maintained. It's important to note, Drew actually got the ball, but constant multiple defenders forced him to pass out. Even more important, Drew was aware of this, which makes me think pouting isn't imminent. However, I'm not necessarily confident he'll be as successful passing out from double/triple teams. Sunday's one turnover is the exception, not the rule, and that could give Denver more chances to run, which creates problems for the Lakers' D. Not to mention frustration for Bynum.

BK: You'll hear "tempo" come up about 700 times in a day's worth of interviews with Lakers players and coaches. Jeremy, what are you expecting from Denver in terms of changes to either the game plan or approach?

JW: I do not honestly know what to expect, because I do not think George Karl even has a solid plan of attack. Denver must respond better to the Lakers' length by showing better interior passing and look for more drive-and-kick options. The lack of movement on offense caused them to constantly attack a defense set and ready to respond to any penetration. You can tell by Karl's rotations he does not know what combination of players to put on the court, another major issue. Denver has lived playing small, especially in crunch time, but with the Lakers' length, that is suicidal. On the other hand, players like JaVale McGee did nothing to show they belong on the court. Denver is in a very tough place and I am not sure there is a clear solution.

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It's been a busy day on the blog. To recap, we looked at...

• The discipline shown by the Lakers in their Game 1 win Sunday afternoon.
• The pressure on Mike Brown to perform well in his first playoffs with the Lakers.
• Assault charges filed against Jordan Hill, who said Monday he expects to play in Tuesday's Game 2.

Dave McMenamin passed along reaction Monday's reaction from El Segundo to the incredible comeback for the Clippers Sunday night in Memphis, along with Mike Brown's comments regarding George Karl's assertion he saw "about 30" instances of illegal defense from the Lakers in Sunday's game.

As for the rest of practice...

Among the more underplayed positives of Andrew Bynum's dominant Game 1 came on the offensive end, where he had only one turnover despite multiple touches against near constant double teams. While Bynum improved against extra attention during the season, he was still fairly prone to miscues. Not Sunday. Brown attributed Bynum's near-pristine performance to a better understanding of what Denver would send at him. "[For the playoffs], we've broken down what Denver does. We've walked through it. We showed tape, we walked through it again. We showed tape again. Then we scripted it, and then we walked through it. So he has a better feel of what they're doing, and where they're coming from," he said.

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The three most common ways the word "discipline" is applied to the Lakers:

1) As a verb to convey punishment handed down by the league. The most recent examples include Metta World Peace's current seven-game suspension, or the four-game sentence served at the beginning of the season by Andew Bynum.

2) With the prefix "un" in front of it, and a "d" at the end.

3) As part of the phrase "a team that lacks discipline."

One element that's always impressed me about the Spurs throughout the Popovich/Duncan era is the methodical nature of those teams. Whether up 15, down 15, or in the middle of a close game, they always seemed to be playing exactly the same way. Players become metronomes in high-tops, plugging away towards a common purpose rarely if ever abandoned. Obviously, like all teams, the Spurs will experience mental lapses. But rare are the games where I've seen San Antonio beat itself, and that's in part because, collectively and consistently, they're an exceptionally disciplined bunch.

On the flip side, this is my seventh season covering the Lakers, and even during the winning titles stretches, a disciplined approach has never been their calling card. This is a group with a penchant for inexplicably breaking away from what's working, typically because they'd rather settle for jumpers than make an extra pass to find a better shot. Impatience rears its ugly head on a regular basis. Short cuts will be taken in an attempt to knock out a team in the third quarter, rather than systematically build a lead through four. Minds will wander with a cushion, and that daydreaming allows an opponent to get back into a contest.

In broader terms, the issue would be labeled "inconsistency," but I've always felt the root of the problem is a lack of personal discipline.

Thus, it kind of blew my mind Sunday watching the Lakers play what was certainly their most disciplined game of the season, and perhaps the last few years. When you go down the checklist of matters requiring restraint against the Nuggets, the Lakers passed with flying colors.

- From start to finish, the Lakers controlled tempo through an insistence on forcing their pace and refusing to get sucked into Denver's running game. Shots were launched sensibly within the offense, which cut down on run-out opportunities against an unbalanced defense. They also took care of the ball, turning it over just 11 times against a squad capable of inducing turnovers. And on the occasions where Denver did shift into fifth gear, transition defense was in furious effect, the angles cut off and the lane protected. Even Matt Barnes, playing on a bad ankle, managed to track down Corey Brewer from behind and poke the ball away.

On the season, the Nuggets led the league in points in the paint (53.4) and fast break points (19.8), while ranking third in points off turnovers (19.7). On Sunday, they scored just 44 total in the paint, 19 fast break points and 12 points off turnovers. The Lakers can easily live with those results.

- Defensively, the Lakers were as alert, alive and active. Denvers shooters were rarely left wide open, even by bigs forced to challenge in space or along the perimeter. Rotations were crisp and purposeful. Bynum clearly turned the game upside down with his paint presence, but Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill also blocked a pair of shots. Denver shot a miserable 35.6 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from Downtown en route to a scant 88 points, all far below the seasonal averages of the NBA's most prolific team.

- On Friday, I wrote about the pressure facing Devin Ebanks, Hill and Ramon Sessions while making their postseason debuts. All three are young players, potentially prone to the magnitude of this moment. But rather than attempting to do too much or playing out of control, we saw a trio of composed performances. Unfortunately, Hill is now dealing with a potential distraction, but in theory, this was a nice sign for the less experienced Lakers moving forward.

Again, it was a triumph of discipline, the importance of which can't be overlooked.

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Denver coach George Karl used his press conference following the Nuggets' 103-88 loss to try to get into the referees heads and gain more favorable officiating in Game 2.

"(Andrew Bynum) was playing nice illegal defense," Karl said after Bynum tied the all-time NBA playoff record with 10 blocked shots Sunday. "He zoned up good. I think we got one illegal defense (called against the Lakers). I saw about 30."

Lakers coach Mike Brown chalked Karl's comments up to nothing more than gamesmanship.

"He’s a veteran coach, he’s been in the playoffs a long time," Brown said after practice Monday. "He’s got to try to work the officials in a lot of different ways. He’s just trying to work the officials, work the public a little bit which I applaud him for doing."

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The opening weekend of the 2012 NBA playoffs featured two games with dramatic fourth quarter results that got the rest of league's attention.

On Saturday, Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose tore the ACL in his left knee when he was still on the court in the fourth quarter even though the Bulls led the Philadelphia 76ers by 12 with just 1:22 remaining.

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Clippers trailed by as many as 27 points in the second half and came back to beat the Memphis Grizzlies with a furious rally in the fourth quarter.

Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau, the NBA's reigning Coach of the Year, was left to defend his decision to keep Rose and the rest of his starters in the game. Just a day later, Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro continued to play his best players late in the game even though his team entered the fourth quarter down by 21 points.

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Sunday, Jordan Hill put in a great performance in his postseason debut, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in L.A.'s 103-88 win over Denver.

On Monday, a promising beginning may have been derailed.

Hill has been charged with choking a family member in an incident on February 29th, while still a member of the Houston Rockets. A warrant for his arrest will be issued, and Hill will have to return to Houston to face the charge -- third degree felony assault on a family member. According to the Houston district attorney's office, Hill faces a sentence of two to 10 years, and a $10,000 fine.

Hill posted two posts on his Twitter feed this morning, "Wowwwww," and "Unbelievable!!!!!!!!"

Obviously this has very serious implications, first for Hill -- this is a serious charge with real prison time potentially attached.

UPDATE (2:15 pm PT)- Hill issued the following statement Monday:

"I'm saddened to learn of the accusations that were filed against me today. At this time, i cannot comment further other than to say that my attorneys are working to gather all of the facts and evidence and I plan to cooperate completely with the authorities.

"I'd like to apologize to the Lakers organization and to all of their fans or the untimeliness of these accusations. I promise to keep my focus and attention on the playoffs during this time and to helping my team win another championship."

UPDATE (3:10 pm PT) - Speaking to the media directly, Hill said he didn't anticipate missing any games. Mike Brown said as well, based on his understanding Hill should be available.

Here is Hill's brief time with the media Monday:

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Phil Jackson arrived in Los Angeles for the 1999-2000 season having already steered the Bulls to six NBA titles. You’d think heading into his first playoffs with the Lakers six rings would outweigh any skepticism over incense and engender a little blind faith from his players.

Not so, Kobe Bryant said last week as the Lakers prepared for the opening round of the playoffs.

“Obviously he had come in having won six championships from Chicago, but at the same time you’re still like, “Is this really going to work?”

“You don’t know until it actually works.”

Mike Brown is not Phil Jackson. His resume includes an impressive .659 winning percentage through six sixth seasons running NBA teams, but it includes multiple playoff disappointments and in his lone trip to the Finals, back in 2007, Brown’s Cavs were dropped by San Antonio in four straight. Supporters say he squeezed a lot of wins out of LeBron James and a perpetually limited supporting cast. Detractors say that his offensive playbook could be could be written out on a cocktail napkin, and whatever success Brown had belongs primarily to James.

In short, Brown is like the overwhelming majority of NBA coaches – constantly working to maintain his credibility, constrained by the limitations of his roster, and balancing his will against stars at least as, if not more powerful, than he.

Brown’s title as an assistant under Gregg Popovich in 2003 was enough to lend some weight with a young Cleveland team short on championship experience. In Los Angeles, balanced against multiple rings for Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum -- not to mention 16 for the franchise -- Brown’s hardware is more a sparkly party novelty passed around between hors d’oeuvres during cocktail hour.

A dip in gravitas (between the old coach and the new one), as well as a change in offensive philosophy, has fueled a season-long question of whether Brown's players are buying in to his system and his leadership. With help from Bryant, Brown managed to keep the season on the rails, but it wasn't easy.

Just ask Kobe.

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Really, Sunday's game couldn't have gone any better for the Lakers. A triple-double for Andrew Bynum keying a dominant defensive performance for the team. A near trip-dub from the ever-productive Pau Gasol, and 31 points from Kobe Bryant following a huge second half.

But the day wouldn't have been nearly the success without the supporting cast. Steve Blake, Jordan Hill, and Devin Ebanks all played significant roles, and the Lakers now have a 1-0 lead after a 103-88 win. The Lakers played great defense, controlled the tempo, moved the ball, and generally speaking showed impeccable discipline on the floor.

We talk about all that and more on Sunday's edition of Lakers Late Night. In show postgame video from Mike Brown and Bynum.



Click below for more video, from Brown, Bynum, Devin Ebanks, Jordan Hill, Ramon Sessions, and Pau Gasol.

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I'm not sure if it's possible to draw up a better blueprint for a win than the one executed by the Lakers Sunday afternoon at Staples Center in Game 1 of their first round matchup against the Denver Nuggets. They controlled the pace of play throughout, took the wind out of Denver's transition game and benefited from a balanced attack offensively, and now lead the series 1-0 after a 103-88 stomp job on the visitors.

Nobody knows how long this season's playoff run will last, but for one day at least, the Lakers looked like a team ready to make some noise.

Here are four takeaways ...

1. Andrew Bynum dominated the game.

His first field goal came with 4:24 remaining in the first half, a tip on a Kobe miss. He followed it with a dunk off a nice feed from Pau Gasol. He'd finish the first half with six points, his third bucket again coming on a dunk after a feed from Pau. But the modest production offensively tells little about the incredible impact Bynum had not just on the opening 24 minutes, but the game as a whole. He was absolutely dominant in the paint, nearly obliterating Denver's efforts to get to the rack in the half court. Bynum recorded three blocks in the first quarter, and in the second showed great mobility on the perimeter matched with Ty Lawson, sticking with him as Lawson drove left and sending the shot attempt into Denver's bench.

Bynum was a factor even when he wasn't blocking shots. Al Harrington air balled a second quarter jump hook around Gasol in part because he knew Bynum was there to contest, just one of the litany of Denver shots he altered in the paint.

In the third, Bynum continued the block party, swatting Kenneth Faried on Denver's first trip and adding three more to reach eight, establishing a career playoff high. He was quick in his help, recovered well, and did what he could to close on perimeter shooters. Most encouraging about Bynum's work is that it came while he was a relative non-factor offensively. George Karl continued his practice of aggressively double-teaming Bynum on the catch, forcing him to give up the ball. He did, leading to a ton of open looks for the Lakers and helping fuel a very effective attack from beyond the arc (50 percent through three quarters). He's spoken a lot this year about focusing on defense and rebounding even when he's not getting touches at the other end, and Sunday did just that.

He finished with 10 points, 13 boards and 10 blocks -- that's a triple-double to you and me, and the swats set a franchise record along with tying an NBA postseason record -- in arguably his most impactful game this season (and he's had a lot of them). We've talked a lot over the past few weeks about what the Lakers look like when Bynum is fully engaged.

This is it. The Lakers held one of the league's most explosive offenses to 35.6 percent from the floor. Denver isn't a great perimeter team. The Nuggets rely on attacking the rim, and with Bynum serving as catalyst the Lakers basically made it impossible.

2. The Lakers got their wild cards.

Before the game Karl talked about limiting damage from L.A.'s non-stars. To use his term, he didn't want to create any "wild cards." In that regard, the Nuggets were a total failure.

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He's not exactly healthy -- asked what causes pain for his sprained right ankle, he replied "Moving." -- but Matt Barnes will play Sunday when the Lakers and Nuggets open up their first round series at Staples Center.

Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), this is spectacularly good news for the Lakers.

Already down Metta World Peace to suspension, facing Denver's depth and versatility the Lakers could ill afford to lose Barnes, leaving Devin Ebanks as the only available small forward not named Christian Eyenga. Now they have to hope Barnes, so reliant on energy and activity, can press through the pain and play his game, something he wasn't fully able to do last spring while fighting a knee injury. If he can't cut hard, move out on the break, or aggressively crash the glass, Barnes isn't nearly as effective. This is before we talk about the defensive side of the ball.

Coach Mike Brown still plans to start Ebanks, a smart choice allowing him to maintain continuity with the rest of his rotation, but Barnes is slated for heavy minutes. One of the more interesting things to watch over the course of the series will be the effectiveness of both on the offensive glass. Both Ebanks and Barnes posted offensive rebound rates near the top of the league among small forwards.

It doesn't serve the Lakers for them to be timid, but awareness will be key (with the 3's and the team as a whole). Well executed, aggressive work on the offensive glass will force the Nuggets to stick around the defensive end a little longer, taking some starch out of their transition game. On the other hand, mistakes will fuel Denver's attack.

"You've just got to pick and choose," Barnes said Saturday after practice. "We watched a lot of film on what we've done this year, what's been effective, and there are still times to go to the glass with them. You just have to pick and choose, because [Ty] Lawson's a one-man break, and Andre Miller likes to get the ball out and throw it ahead. So I've just got to be smart about when I crash."

Brown made it clear he doesn't want either to feel limited, but also emphasized judgment. A miscue here and there can be tolerated, but should either string a couple together Brown won't be shy about making substitutions.



Click below for more video from Saturday's practice, including Kobe Bryant, Ramon Sessions, Andrew Bynum, and Ebanks.

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