Scary game, Kobe has a lot of pride and that could work against the Jazz. If they pull this one out under these circumstances (second game of a back to back, team wide shooting funk, Lakers with an embarassing loss to Jazz fresh in their minds) THEY WILL BE THE BEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE.
Really, the only advantage that LA has is at the shooting guard(obviously).
I think the Jazz have 'em at every other position.
As long as Kobe doesn't score 81, the Jazz should win this one...
They mustn't be afraid of Kobe, but I don't think they are. As cyco said, we got the aces on all the other positions. We just have to let Kobe do his thing and shut down the rest.
They mustn't be afraid of Kobe, but I don't think they are. As cyco said, we got the aces on all the other positions. We just have to let Kobe do his thing and shut down the rest.
I think Kirilenko and Odom are pretty even. They're very different players in the sense that one is more defensive oriented and the other is more offensive oriented. They are both inconsistent in they're own ways. But I think we tie there.
Other than that you got us by far at PG, SF, and at center you guys have the edge due to Okur's versitility but a year or two from now bynum might have the edge.
I think Kirilenko and Odom are pretty even. They're very different players in the sense that one is more defensive oriented and the other is more offensive oriented. They are both inconsistent in they're own ways. But I think we tie there.
Other than that you got us by far at PG, SF, and at center you guys have the edge due to Okur's versitility but a year or two from now bynum might have the edge.
Not to be a stickler, but you can't forget about the Booze.
Scary game, Kobe has a lot of pride and that could work against the Jazz. If they pull this one out under these circumstances (second game of a back to back, team wide shooting funk, Lakers with an embarassing loss to Jazz fresh in their minds) THEY WILL BE THE BEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE.
Thoughts?
Embarassing loss?
Final - Nov. 24, 2006 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total
Los Angeles Lakers 26 27 35 20 108
Utah Jazz 29 21 32 32 114
If you think that was an "EMBARASSING LOSS" then you must be flopping like an epileptic trout on an arizona highway tonight!
The Jazz are doing good but the season has just begun.
Another quote called the team "ACES" at their positions. Most people in the U.S. have never heard of these so called "ACES". Once again, they are playing good but ACES?............. please!
As a Warrior fan, I want to see the Lakers loose, but come`on, they are decent and evidently can hand out a whoopin 5x worse than they take.
Really, the only advantage that LA has is at the shooting guard(obviously).
I think the Jazz have 'em at every other position.
As long as Kobe doesn't score 81, the Jazz should win this one...
I guess you were kind of right, considering Kobe had 53 points at the end of the 3rd against the Raptors when he scored 81 and he had 52 at the end of the 3rd tonight, I guess he could have easily have gone for 80 again.
Give Kobe groupies some big numbers and they're happy as little kids on christmas.
And I didn't say we got "aces" on all positions except SG, far from it. I just wanted to point out we are better than the Lakers on every position except SG. Which, in the end, turned out didn't matter, and wasn't true anyway, as AK is still struggling.
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 30 (AP)-- The Kobe Show is back.
Looking completely recovered from offseason knee surgery, Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 52 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 132-102 rout of the Utah Jazz on Thursday night.
He made all nine shots from the floor and was 10-for-10 at the foul line in his highest-scoring game since an 81-point outburst against Toronto on Jan. 22 last season. He had 30 points in the third quarter, tying his own team record set during a 62-point effort against Dallas on Dec. 20.
``I felt great. I felt explosive,'' Bryant said. ``It's just about trusting my knee and trusting my legs. And after tonight, I know I'm at that point right now where I feel like I know it's going to be there.''
Coach Phil Jackson did something completely out of character when Bryant left the court for the final time: He gave the Lakers' star a high-five and hugged him.
``It's great to watch Kobe have a great night like that, but I thought our defense stepped up, too,'' Jackson said.
Bryant, whose relationship with Jackson has been rocky at times, said, ``We have such a great relationship. And when I play, I play to please him. So if he stands up (on his surgically repaired hip) and gives me a high-five, then I know I've done my job.''
Bryant, who topped the 50-point plateau for the 12th time in his career, made 11 shots in a row beginning just before halftime and extending through the third quarter. He finally missed when he drove and looped a shot that bounced off the back of the rim with 7:44 left in the game, shortly after he had returned to the floor with the Lakers up by 20.
Jackson said Bryant, who led the league in scoring with a 35.4 average last season, looks as if he's almost fully back in form.
``It's a combination of things he did tonight,'' Jackson said. ``He used his explosiveness, maybe not as dramatic as in the past, but there's still plenty of fire there.''
With Bryant hitting from all over the court, the Jazz began fouling him almost every time he was even threatening to shoot.
Utah coach Jerry Sloan said he didn't think there was anything the Jazz could have done.
``He caught the ball and got on a roll; he just made whatever he caught,'' Sloan said. ``Players like that, they get on a roll and I don't think there's much you can do.
``We had a guy in Milwaukee (Michael Redd last Saturday) score 57 on us, and he got 52. We're having a difficult time trying to guard that position.''
The Jazz still beat Redd and the Bucks 113-111.
Bryant finished 19-of-26 from the floor and 12-of-15 from the line.
He missed the first two games this season as he worked his way back from the surgery, and was averaging 24.1 points going in against Utah.
Led by Carlos Boozer's 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Utah lost for the third time in the last four games after starting the season 12-1. Deron Williams had 13 points and nine assists for the Jazz, whose 13-4 record remains the league's best.
Lamar Odom had 14 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers, and reserve Maurice Evans added 17 points.
Bryant's third-quarter outburst had the fans chanting ``MVP!'' and gave the Lakers clear command with a 95-73 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. His 30 points were three off the NBA record for a quarter set by San Antonio's George Gervin in 1978.
After a tight first quarter, Bryant made a pair of free throws to cap a 7-0 run for a 43-36 lead in the second after the Jazz got stuck on 36 for more than 4 minutes, ending when Andrei Kirilenko made one of two free throws 2:21 before halftime.
Los Angeles outscored Utah 24-14 in the quarter and was up 53-41 by halftime. Bryant scored 12 second-quarter points.
Notes: The Jazz beat the Lakers 114-108 on Friday in Utah, outscoring them 32-20 in the fourth quarter, including a 7-1 run to end it. Boozer had 31 points and 16 rebounds. Bryant had 27 points in the loss, but just two in the final quarter. ... The teams meet just three times this season, only once in Los Angeles. ... Utah had lost two in a row, to Golden State and Orlando, before bouncing back to beat San Antonio on Wednesday. ... The Staples Center crowd cheered Utah's Derek Fisher, a member of three NBA champions with the Lakers, when he entered the game late in the first quarter.
Copyright 2006 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited
True... we should've let Kobe have his 50, or 70, or 80 or whatever and shut down everyone else. We still scored over a hundred and that would've been enough. People are saying it was Kirilenko's or Brewer's or Giricek's fault for allowing Kobe that many points. I think Kobe woulda got 50 anyway if it was LeBron or T-Mac or Ray Allen guarding him with the way he was shooting. It was a poor defensive effort by the entire team.
Gm#17 11/30 @ LAL
