Lakers VS Bulls Cooler Talk
With the Lakers coming off of their first loss of the season, I was eagerly waiting to see how they would respond when they hosted the super-fast Bulls team. The six point win looks much closer than the game really was, and I took many positive signs from this Laker team.
- Gasol scores 16 of the Lakers’ first 20 points. (You think Phil Jackson is noticing where the good things are happening in the triangle offense?) Radmovich proceeds to get an “and 1″ on a flagrant foul where he gets clothslined by Drew Gooden. I have a feeling it’s going to be our night.
- Derrik Rose’s quickness, versatility, and knack to score remind me a lot of Dwayne Wade in his rookie year. At 19 points, 5 assists, and 5 boards, he will be a lock to win the rookie of the year. Let’s see if he keeps it up (he sure did against the Lakers, scoring 25, 9 assists, and 3 rebounds).
- Odom misses a gimme, gets his own rebound, and puts it back in. To see why he missed the first shot, he shoots a short jumper again and nails it right after the ball comes out of the net, and gets a delay of game warning. This ranks alongside him dribbling the ball up when he was supposed to inbound it last year as another great classic Odom moment.
- Tyrus Thomas has enough athleticism to combat our entire 2nd unit. His defense (blocks and steals) keeps the Bulls in the game against the Lakers’ bench mob.
- The starters + Odom (Bynum out) pull away in the 2nd half after great defense and passing basketball. It feels like those 7-0 games again, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
- I spoke too soon, the Bulls finish the half on a 15-4 run (early offense) to make it 61-56, Lakers, halftime.
- I kind of like the new Kobe Bryant. Now that he’s realizing he can’t swish four 30-footers in a row, he’s a much greater defender. On offense, he takes high percentage shots and looks for his teammates. He does the little things (in the third, he tapped an offensive rebound off the board to Bynum who got an and 1). He looks closer to Jordan’s level playing this way than he ever has before.
- Game’s lesson: Gasol having the ball sets everyone up, and gets him into having a monster night as well (34 points on 14-21 shooting in 34 minutes). Possible foil to this lesson: Kevin Garnett checking him for 7 straight games. Kobe is coming around, however (9-18 shooting), including 3-6 on threes, which he has looked horribly off before. He had 21 points. Bynum also 18. The cold war with the champion Celtics continues in imaginary what ifs…
