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Lakers take out frustration on Hawks
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Kobe exploded in the Lakers' win over the Hawks Sunday night.
It's not good to play the Los Angeles Lakers after a loss, especially after they were embarrassed on their home court Friday.
The unfortunate recipients of the Lakers' wrath were the Atlanta Hawks, who lost to the Lakers Sunday night, 118-110. The undersized Hawks were out-manned and outplayed by the Lakers in pretty much all facets, but managed to put together a fourth quarter run to make it interesting. Kobe Bryant, who thought he was going to get some rest, came back in to close the game and finished with 41 points.
Here are my five thoughts:
Dunk you very much. It looked like the Hawks were going to give the Lakers a game until a dunk contest erupted midway through the third quarter. Unfortunately for the Hawks, only the Lakers got the memo. Everyone seemed to get in on the act...Kobe had three, Artest had two, Bynum had three or four. It literally looked like a round of "can you top this?" I give the title to Kobe, who ended the third with an emphatic double-pump reverse. Not only was it fun, but it allowed the Lakers to open up a 20-point lead.
Sharp shooting. You know after Friday's loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the Lakers were going to come out strong on offense. All the dunks helped of course, but the Lakers shot well from the field. They got stagnant at times, and the return of Pau Gasol will help that, but the fast breaks made up for those missing points.
Can you put Kobe back on me? Hawks All-Star Joe Johnson was on pace for 72 points after the first quarter (looks ridiculous, but then you realize Kobe actually scored 81 in a game...what a joke). After Mike Woodson inexplicably sat Johnson for most of the second quarter, he returned to find that Ron Artest was guarding him instead of Kobe. Ron bodied him up and forced him to get rid of the ball, and Johnson scored only six points in the second and third quarters combined. One of the reasons the Lakers were so high on Artest is that Kobe no longer has to guard the other team's best perimeter player every game. It worked wonders for the Lakers tonight. After the game, Ron talked about the "strategy" behind him taking Johnson instead of Kobe:
I told Kobe 'Lemme get him' and he said 'yeah'...[Kobe] don't wanna be babied, you know? So I gotta actually say 'Kobe, I got him.' Because he'll wear himself out, into the ground, into the dirt.
It's taken a long time, but it appears as if Kobe finally trusts another player to shut down the opposing team's stud.
Rest assured...or maybe not. The Lakers built a huge lead going into the fourth which allowed the bench to get in. More importantly, it allowed Kobe and the starters to rest for the whole period. Unfortunately, the bench allowed the Hawks to cut the lead to 14, forcing ALL of the starters back into the game. If the Lakers want to be healthy for the playoffs, it's essential for the bench to hold big leads against inferior teams.
Baby Bynum growing up. I know, I know. The Hawks don't have a guy over 6'9" on their roster. But boy does Andrew look confident. He's making strong moves inside and, even though his shots aren't falling, he's not getting discouraged. He can still make some improvements defensively (he's allowing way too much interior scoring), but offensively Bynum looks as confident as ever. Phil Jackson said after the game that he thinks Bynum had a rough time, but the sign of a good player is coming up with production even when you struggle:
I thought [Bynum] was mired in mud a lot of the time tonight, you know things just didn't work out and he ends up with 21 points.
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