The Lakerhead

Lakers Are Farmarvelous (Sorry)

Forgive the pun, but I just can’t help myself.  The Lakers are Farmarvelous.  Jordan Farmar returned from knee surgery (torn meniscus) after missing 18 games (a little over a month).  And he looked like he hasn’t missed a step.

How does 14 points, 2 assists, and a steal on 5-7 shooting from the field sound in 17 minutes?  It sounds like the Lakers are back to almost full strength.

On one play, Farmar caught Ariza just in time for an alley-oop off the fast break.  Fisher would most likely be busy pounding the ball really quickly on the court to set up his patented “We’re on a fast break, but I’m going to go ahead and shoot this 20-footer”.  Yeah, it’s nice to have a true point guard on the floor again.

I shudder to think what they could do with Kobe’s finger not bandaged up (when he turned his hand this game to give a backside five to his teammates with his right hand, you know he’s in pain).

Not that Kobe isn’t marvelous playing with pain.  He had 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists on 8-17 shooting (47%).  He once again proved that the Lakers are virtually unstoppable when Kobe shoots near the 50% mark.

The Lakers beat the Spurs 99-85, with the game entering garbage time during the early moments of the 4th quarter, when a Farmar-led bench (with some excellent passing from Gasol) blew the game open.

But the real story tonight was Andrew Bynum.  Bynum came on strong the last two games, but scoring and rebounding against Brian Skinner (Clippers) and Andray Blatche (Wizards) is not the same as scoring and rebounding against Tim Duncan.

Since both Duncan and Bynum didn’t play the 4th quarter (no need to with the Lakers killing it), it’s safe to say Bynum played Duncan to a standstill.  That’s a huge advantage for the Lakers.  Looks at the stats:

Bynum: 15 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist

Duncan: 15 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist

When Bynum neutralizes the best power forward to ever play the game, you know the Lakers are going to roll over the Spurs.

It’s happening, ladies and gentlemen:  Bynum and Gasol are playing to their potential, and Kobe is playing team-ball.  It’s the best possible shape the Lakers can be in before they enter a slew of road games.  Let me tell you, they are ready for the challenge.