LOS ANGELES LAKERS
by ClipperSteve of Clips Nation
Recap Rewind: Lakers, Lakers, Lakers.... Hmmm.... Let's see, what's been happening with the Lakers this week? Seems like there was something important.... They've won 5 straight, so that's good. Lamar Odom and Luke Walton are back from injuries and playing well. I think that about sums it up. Nothing more to see here, folks. Move along. Move along. Oh wait! This kid Kobe Bryant is pretty good too. After scoring 65 and 50 in wins over Portland and Minnesota, Kobe entered the week on a scoring binge for the ages. The up-tempo, no-defense Memphis Grizzlies seemed to be the perfect next opponent, and sure enough Kobe went for 60 in the Lakers' 121-119 win, becoming only the fourth player in NBA history to score 50 or more in three consecutive games (the other three are named Chamberlain, Baylor and Jordan). Only Wilt has gone for 50+ in more than three games, so Friday's game against the Hornets in New Orleans was an opportunity for Kobe to do something even MJ never did. Did anyone really expect him to miss that chance? He scored an even 50 in the 111-105 LA win. Against the Warriors on Sunday, he scored 17 of the Lakers' first 24 points and appeared to be on his way to another 50+ night. But Golden State put two and three defenders on him the rest of the way, and he ended up with only 43 in the Lakers' 115-113 victory. The Lakers dominated the boards in this game 63-33 (Lamar had a season-high 19) to overcome 26 turnovers.
Notable news: Before we get to the scoring binge, let's look at the returns of Odom and Walton. Lamar has led the team in rebounding six consecutive games, averaging 11.5 rebounds per in that span. Meanwhile Walton has led the team in assists three of the last 4 and averaged almost 8 per since returning full time. The importance of these two players to this team cannot be overstated, even with Kobe carrying half the scoring load. OK, so half is an exaggeration. Over the last 5 games, Bryant has scored 268 of the teams 572 points, about 47%. He has averaged 53.6 points per game, taken almost 35 shots per game (making 52.6%) and 14 free throws per game (making 91.5%). To put this in a little perspective, Sasha Vujacic has scored 269 points this SEASON (in 63 games); Bryant has scored 268 in 5 games. Bruce Bowen of the Spurs has SHOT 60 free throws as a starter in 69 games; Bryant has MADE 65 free throws in 5 games. Of course lost in all this are the Lakers defensive problems. In 12 games in the month of March, opponents have averaged 110 points per game. The five-game winning streak has come at the expense of five teams below .500 by an average of 4 points per game; it remains to be seen if the yes-to-Kobe, no-to-defense formula can work against quality opposition.
Fast Forward: The 50+ streak has ended, but the 40+ streak lives on. Last-place Memphis doesn't figure to be much of a deterrent on Tuesday. But you can be sure that Jeff Van Gundy and his walk-it-up, in-your-grill Houston Rockets will be geared up to stop number 24 on Friday. That will be worth watching for the Battier-chasing-Bryant subplot alone. Next Sunday it's the Kings and Ron Artest, so Kobe is definitely going to have to earn his points in that one as well. Kobe is now the leading scorer in the league (he's boosted his average from 29 to 31 in five games), and the way he's going seems assured of his second-consecutive scoring title.