I like the way the lakers played the second half. It was a team effort and the bench finally showed up. Kobe is Kobe and he is going to get his points. Artest really has impressed me the way he is playing. You can tell he is having fun playing with the Lakers. High five for Mbenga. He done an excellent job rebounding, blocking shots and even scoring. It was a good win for the Lakers. And I am glad the Celtics lost night. LOL!
Caught the 4th Q on AM 710 driving back home. They were saying that Kobe was embarrasing Mayo, and that Kobe shot from everywhere tonight.
Hearing those 2 things about Kobe instantly told me that he passed AI. He only had 1 steal though... which is a bit dissapointing but most importantly, we won.
I looked at the stats, and our bench actually outscored the opposing bench... sweet. I feel we should give credit Powell. Without him, I can only imagine how even more awful the bench would be. Fish says Powell and Shannon seeked advice from Kobe and Fish on shooting. It certainly shows. Powell definitely added more range to his game and Im not shocked because I remember that when Ron got a tour of Staples Center (when he was signed), Powell was seen in his practice gear.
This was a great team effort and the best win of the season. Artest is adjusting little by little and DJ's performance was great. I admire his work ethic.
ReliveThe3Peat- I actually enjoyed watching Kobe focusing less on those passing lanes. Stability is important to me and Kobe taking chances on steals allows for easy baskets at times. I think Kobe will figure out the right times to do it. Also, holding himself back on such gambles today allowed DJ to play solid defense and get more rebounds because he was not forced to help on a player that got away from Kobe.
_________________ "Ron Artest has a look in his eye that is very scary right now"
Mike Breen
Caught the 4th Q on AM 710 driving back home. They were saying that Kobe was embarrasing Mayo, and that Kobe shot from everywhere tonight.
Hearing those 2 things about Kobe instantly told me that he passed AI. He only had 1 steal though... which is a bit dissapointing but most importantly, we won.
I looked at the stats, and our bench actually outscored the opposing bench... sweet. I feel we should give credit Powell. Without him, I can only imagine how even more awful the bench would be. Fish says Powell and Shannon seeked advice from Kobe and Fish on shooting. It certainly shows. Powell definitely added more range to his game and Im not shocked because I remember that when Ron got a tour of Staples Center (when he was signed), Powell was seen in his practice gear.
Anyway, great win tonight.
you're right about Powell. I'm always critical of him because of his bad defense, but tonight he was solid. We know about his shooting ability, but its his defense and playing without fouling that concerns me.
About Kobe's stats, i wanted him to get like 4 assists and and another steal but it doesn't matter cause he just did what was necessary to get the win, and that was to exploit the mismatch. No doubt in my mind he could've ended up with 2 steals EASY.
hey, at least Kobe's FG% shot up to 48% from this 1 game. thats krazy if you thing of it. it went from 44% to 48.
Great points made. Especially the one you made, Clutch, about Kobe playing the passing lanes less tonight. I do think he played em less to focus on offense and having Drew and LO in the middle certianly helped if Kobe gambled and lost. Makes sense when you think about it.
Great to see both a C's and Nuggs loss. PHX beat Boston, and Miami beat the Nuggs raising both Wade and Nash's stock in the MVP race. My early vote went to Melo, but after tonight, I got Wade leading the pack, followed by Kobe.
_________________ "I just wish more people would celebrate Kobe. I really do. We spend so much time trying to tear him apart and I think we're missing how great he is" - Doc Rivers
Thanks Relive. I also enjoyed the losses by Denver and the Celtics. Steve Nash and Wade leading their teams to a good start is impressive. Nash is getting old but he is such a smart player. Lets see if their teams can keep it up.
_________________ "Ron Artest has a look in his eye that is very scary right now"
Mike Breen
Looking at the last two years at the matchups between these two teams, at Bynum going down with a knee injury against MEMPHIS, us acquiring Gasol from MEMPHIS, Bynum once again getting injured playing against MEMPHIS, i'm just happy nothing happened today except a win.
Oh, and also Kobe passing yet another milestone, by dropping 41 points (2nd consecutive 40+ game, and 3 out of last 4 games), going over 24000 points and getting #16 on AT list, and Iverson looking like a grampa on the floor. I felt like I was watching Jordan in a Lakers jersey. It's really amazing to see how one player can fill the place of two major bigs, and to lead the team to a 16-point win.
JUST AMAZING
_________________ Hey Kobe, that Dream shake is a Nightmare for the opposition. Keep sleeping!
Kobe reaches 24,000 points, leads Lakers past Griz
LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant scored 41 points while becoming the youngest player to reach 24,000, leading the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers to a 114-98 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night.
Ron Artest had 19 points and seven assists in the fourth straight win for the defending NBA champions, who played without injured big men Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.
Lamar Odom managed just three points before fouling out on his 30th birthday, but Bryant carried the Lakers while reaching his latest scoring milestone 38 days before Wilt Chamberlain did. With a second-half surge, he even overtook Grizzlies guard Allen Iverson for 16th place on the NBA's career scoring list.
Iverson had eight points in 22 minutes coming off the bench in his third game with Memphis. Before the game, the 10-time All-Star said he didn't fully understand the controversy over several barbed comments he made earlier in the Grizzlies' road trip when he said he didn't want to come off the bench or be part of a rebuilding team.
Rudy Gay scored 22 points — just two in the fourth quarter — and Zach Randolph had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who are winless on a four-game road trip that ends Saturday night against the Clippers.
The Lakers opened a stretch with 14 of 16 games at home by beating Memphis for the fifth straight time overall and the fifth in a row at Staples Center.
Before punctuating his night with two beautiful fallaway jumpers in the final two minutes, Bryant became the 17th NBA player to scored 24,000 points on a second-quarter basket. At 31 years, 75 days old, Bryant needed every bit of his head start from skipping college to beat Chamberlain to the mark.
Bryant scored exactly 41 points for the third time in four games, giving him 99 career 40-point games. Bryant scored 15 points in the third quarter while the Lakers turned a halftime deficit into a 12-point lead, and he added 10 in the final period while the healthy Lakers held on.
Bynum sat out after straining his right elbow in Wednesday's win at Houston, while Gasol missed the chance to play against his brother, Marc, the Grizzlies' starting center, because of a strained hamstring that's kept him out all season.
Odom struggled in Pau Gasol's place, and DJ Mbenga had 13 rebounds but little offensive success while starting for the first time in his three seasons with the Lakers.
NOTES: Mbenga, the Congolese 7-footer, had started just two games in his entire career, getting one start in each of his first two NBA seasons with the Dallas Mavericks. ... The Lakers honored John Radcliffe, their longtime scorer, by presenting a championship ring to his wife, Carolyn. Radcliffe, who had held his job since 1961, died during the summer. ... Bryant is responsible for the three highest-scoring performances by an opponent in Grizzlies history, including a 60-point game in March 2007.
D.J. Mbenga made the most of a rare start on Friday, finishing with five points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in a win over the Grizzlies.
He started in place of Andrew Bynum, who is day-to-day with an elbow injury, but will only hold fantasy value if Bynum and Pau Gasol (hamstring) remain out.
Games like this really make Bynum look better off with the 2nd unit. Kobe's shooting well over 50% playing exclusively at the post this season, and there's no reason why he shouldn't be there every game.
Gasol and Odom have versatility, and Bynum is exclusively a low-post player. Mbenga's love for the high post jumper actually fit Kobe's game plan perfectly. Bynum limits Kobe's post opportunities making him a jump shooter. We all know how efficient the "jump shooting" Kobe is.
Games like this really make Bynum look better off with the 2nd unit. Kobe's shooting well over 50% playing exclusively at the post this season, and there's no reason why he shouldn't be there every game.
You have to remember Memphis is the leader in points allowed by their opponents. Kobe looked spectacular last night, but there will be nights where he will face much stiffer and bigger competition and players who will actually play some defence against him.
_________________ "you know what would look good on you?"
Good win, and bigger than i expected. Kobe was amazing (again), Artest is on the flow since two or three games, and finally we got something good from the bench unit; Mbenga made a gret job at the D-end, and Powell posted solid stats too, as even Farmar did. We were lucky to play against Memphis without Pau & Drew...they're the worst D-team in this League.
Congrats to Kobe for another reached milestone...now, i hope Pau & Drew will come back for the next game (hopefully, Pau will do it).
_________________ Magic, best basketball player ever
Theblakmamba
Post subject: RE: D.J. Mbenga: Mbenga hauls in 13 boards, blocks four shot Posted: Nov 07, 2009 - 11:45 AM PST
Big-Time Laker Fan
Joined: Oct 04, 2008 Age: 16
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Anyone get a sense that Mbenga is the new Shawn Bradley, since hes always getting highlight dunks on him haha. im just joking though, Im glad he had a good game, and showed what hes capable of doing everytime he gets a chance to play
Kobe has been playing like if he was in mid season form. I don't take away any of the promps Kobe gets by saying that the Grizz are the worst defensive team in the nba. He has done it to other teams as well. So no hate for Kobe.
I notice that his foot work is a lot better this year then in previous years. I was wondering if that is what he learned when he went to visit the Dream.
Looking at Kobe last night, I tried to draw a comparison to Jordan and honestly, I really believe that Kobe was playing better then Jordan. He was something to see and I watch Jordon through out his career and he was good, but Kobe can do it all.
LOS ANGELES
Kobe Bryant was just being Kobe Bryant when he scored 41 points against Memphis on Friday. It wasn’t anything new. He’s scored 41 points two other times this season.
Still, his dominating play in light of the Lakers’ injury situtation was impressive. He took over in the post, where Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum normally roam but sat out because of injuries and did not count a 3-pointer in his game-high total.
In fact, he didn’t even attempt a long-range shot.
“For the most part, he wa the only one scoring,” Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay said. “He was hitting some tough shots. We played pretty good defense on himi and he hit tough shots. What more can you ask for?
“Kobe was Kobe tonight. What is that, like eight straight shots or something like that, he had? It’s tough. When he’s on like that, it’s tough for any team.”
*i must say, Kobes post game is as sweet as it can be right now, he takes Mike's approach in being a post game player and being effective in the paint now that he is late in his career, just spectacular and so unguardable*
Thanks Hakeem Olajuwon! your moves look awsome if not perfect on Kobe, no one does it with swagger and style like him!
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