Brian already examined one moment from the 96-81 win. Here's what other folks had to say:
GAME STORIES
-Jim Alexander, Press-Enterprise
-Mike Bresnahan, Los Angeles Times
-Kevin Ding, Orange County Register
-Steve Luhm, Salt Lake Tribune
-Brad Rock, Desert News
-Elliott Teaford, Los Angeles Daily News
NOTEBOOK ITEMS
-The Los Angeles Times' Broderick Turner, on the treatment Andrew Bynum may need for his ailing hip.
-Teaford, on Team USA invites accepted by Kobe Bryant and (surprise!) Lamar Odom, and declined by Bynum.
MORE ANALYSIS
ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin, on the leadership increasingly displayed by Pau Gasol:
ESPNLosAngeles.com's John Ireland, on Utah's self-created home court advantage conquered by the Lakers:
Lakers Blog's Mark Medina, on the teamwork highlighting the three games won without Kobe or Bynum:
Silver Screen and Roll's Gil Meriken, on Kobe's responsibility to maintain that teamwork upon returning:
Ding, on the possibility of Odom replacing Bynum in the starting lineup:
Slam Magazine's Lang Whitaker discusses trading cards, "Lost," and championships with Kobe Bryant.
GAME STORIES
-Jim Alexander, Press-Enterprise
-Mike Bresnahan, Los Angeles Times
-Kevin Ding, Orange County Register
-Steve Luhm, Salt Lake Tribune
-Brad Rock, Desert News
-Elliott Teaford, Los Angeles Daily News
NOTEBOOK ITEMS
-The Los Angeles Times' Broderick Turner, on the treatment Andrew Bynum may need for his ailing hip.
-Teaford, on Team USA invites accepted by Kobe Bryant and (surprise!) Lamar Odom, and declined by Bynum.
MORE ANALYSIS
ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin, on the leadership increasingly displayed by Pau Gasol:
- When Bryant is on the court, it is most definitely Kobe's team. He is the one controlling the ball. He is the one commanding double-teams. He is the one demanding perfection from his teammates when he gives them the ball, and his drive seems to border on an obsession with winning.Gasol has the same desire, but shows it differently. His style is more democratic but no less intense."I don't think people really understand his will to win," Lamar Odom said. "Maybe that's because he plays finesse. If he beat his chest every play and dunked it all the time, people would be like, 'Oh, he's a fierce competitor.' But when he first came here, the first thing I noticed was how much he wanted to win. And he obviously proved it."
When Gasol was called for a three-second violation in the third quarter because Brown took too long to feed him an entry pass from the wing, Gasol broke into an exasperated smile and trotted up the court. I've seen similar mental mistakes by the Lakers elicit the old stink face from Bryant.
When Bryant has a play go against him, he often slaps his hands together in disgust, as if he's clanging giant cymbals, and shakes his head at a referee for not making the call in his favor.
When D.J. Mbenga checked in for Gasol at one point Wednesday, the Spaniard held his hand out for Mbenga to slap, but "Congo Cash" ran onto the court without noticing the gesture. Instead of sheepishly recoiling his arm, Gasol slapped his own hand sarcastically.
"There's no doubt that they appreciate his style," Jackson said. "He's not an in-your-face type of a player. The intellectual level that he approaches the game with I think works well for our team."
ESPNLosAngeles.com's John Ireland, on Utah's self-created home court advantage conquered by the Lakers:
- (Jerry) Sloan was a hard-nosed defensive player in his playing days with the Bulls, and he teaches defense the same way now. But he realized something that, for whatever reason, other coaches don't want to accept.Sloan knows NBA referees can't call a foul on every play. Think about that for a second. What if, on every trip down the court, the officials called a foul? The game would last four hours and every player would foul out. The home crowd would probably riot. Good NBA officials don't call every foul; they manage the flow of the game as best they can while trying not to give either team an advantage. There's a big difference.So why do the Jazz win so many more games at home than they do on the road, more than any other team, almost every season? Because the Jazz play more physically in their own arena than any other team. Utah can't do that as a road team, because it won't get the calls and the crowd will turn against the team. But at home, it's a really smart way to play.
Lakers Blog's Mark Medina, on the teamwork highlighting the three games won without Kobe or Bynum:
- Surely, the performances from these past three games will bring up debate before and after the All-Star break on how long the Lakers (41-13) can sustain these type of performances, especially whenever Bryant and Bynum return to the lineup. It's indisputable that Bryant is the Lakers' best player, the team is better off for it and he will justifiably have the most looks offensively. It's also indisputable that despite Bynum's inconsistency, he is a needed inside presence. That being said, it'll be interesting to see whether the Lakers can continue such a strong team effort whenever Bryant and Bynum return. But the bottom line is this -- teamwork isn't an exclusionary concept; it's inclusionary by nature.
Silver Screen and Roll's Gil Meriken, on Kobe's responsibility to maintain that teamwork upon returning:
- I am a devout Kobe fan, but after seeing this, I’m shaken. Maybe the guys really are afraid of him. They seem to play looser and cut harder without him. They play better defense, and there is more teamwork. Did I mention that they play better defense?I won’t go as far as to say that Kobe is a cancer or the Lakers are better off without them, that would be LUDICROUS, and you can tell anyone who thinks so that I said they are CRAZY.I just am surprised that they responded this way. Now, when Kobe comes back, can he keep it rolling and mesh with team? Because you know that if things start bogging down on offense, the players are going to be real short tempered, because they feel they’ve proved they can play well without him.Yes, the Jazz may have laid an egg tonight, but combined with the wins in Portland and against San Antonio, there's no denying that the Lakers can play offense and defense the way Phil Jackson and Tex Winter envisioned it.
I hope this the start of something good. I hope Kobe kicks the party up to another level when he gets back.
Jim Hill on KCAL9 should be in politics, because he put the best spin on these recent events and Kobe after the game. Referring to Kobe, he said, "That’s the sign of a true leader. The sign of a true leader is when you take that leader out of the group, the group gets better and better. If you take the true leader out, and the group gets worse, then he’s not a great leader".
I sure hope so, Jim.
Ding, on the possibility of Odom replacing Bynum in the starting lineup:
- Phil Jackson acknowledged late Wednesday night that his trusted assistants are already lobbying him to make the change to start Odom over Bynum – and he’s going to contemplate it when the Lakers reconvene after the All-Star break.“My coaches are kind of pushing me in that direction, but I’m not ready yet to do that,” Jackson said. “We won last year with Andrew when he came back at the end of the season, going out there and playing the first quarter and starting the games. Even though he wasn’t 100 percent when came back off his injury last year, he still gave us a lot; he gives us a big front. So I have to measure that and see what’s going to happen with this team in the next couple weeks.”That revelation is yet another flare in the air for young Bynum to understand that his progress needs to be more consistent, particularly on defense. It is also a testament to Odom’s clear progress as one of Jackson’s most challenging long-term player-development projects, even if Odom never will become the Scottie Pippen of everyone’s dreams.
Slam Magazine's Lang Whitaker discusses trading cards, "Lost," and championships with Kobe Bryant.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Brian and Andy Kamenetzky
Before joining ESPN Los Angeles, Brian and Andy hosted Lakers Blog for the Los Angeles Times from 2005 to 2009. They host the ESPN Kamenetzky Brothers Lakers PodKast and frequently appear on ESPN Radio 710. As contributors for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, they have written about virtually every sport known to mankind.
TEAM LEADERS
| POINTS | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Kobe Bryant
|
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| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| Rebounds | A. Bynum | 11.8 | ||||||||||
| Assists | R. Sessions | 6.2 | ||||||||||
| Steals | K. Bryant | 1.2 | ||||||||||
| Blocks | A. Bynum | 1.9 | ||||||||||
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