If Mike Brown’s Lakers were a publicly traded stock then their value would be trending upwards. Admittedly it is difficult to get a true beat on any team in the early stages of this shortened season. And we can’t read too much into consecutive wins over a sleepwalking Utah team or a defenseless New York squad.
None the less the prospects are looking better for Coach Brown’s hoops philosophy.
Tonight the Lake Show put together their best offensive outing of the Mike Brown era. They still have yet to eclipse the century mark but 99 points on 52% shooting is a good sign. Again, it is encouraging but more or less expected against any team coached by Mike D’Antoni. It amazes me the Knicks’ coach is even allowed to keep the ‘D’ in his name cause there never is any team he’ll ever coach.
Of course any defense will looks terrible when Kobe Bryant is on like he was tonight.
Bryant continues his impressive if not improbable play early in the season. Each night you think you’ll see some sign of Bryant’s wrist holding his game back. So far he’s proven the wrist to be nothing more than another obstacle. It might get in KB24’s path but it doesn’t deter him from staying on course.
Tonight Bryant was locked in. Another efficient night was highlighted by some of your typical Kobe offerings. Well, typical in that superhuman kind of way.
Kobe’s game-high 28 came on 10 of 17 shooting and featured some highlight reel moments like Bryant’s four-point play on a 35-foot bank shot. When Kobe wasn’t dropping daggers from deep he was abusing any Knick that dared to stand in his way. Renaldo Balkman found himself in a couple of Mamba’s memorable moments. He committed the foul on the 4-point play and was left standing stiff when Bryant nailed a sick turn around in the corner.
It was just one of those nights when all the opposition could do was hope Bryant would miss.
When there were any missed shots it was usually because a Knick took it.
Coach Brown’s team is starting to play that intense defense we’ve been waiting to see. New York shot 31% as a team which is saying something considering the brand of ball D’Antoni likes to play. Naturally Carmelo Anthony got his but beyond that only two other Knickerbockers hit double digits.
The good news is that the Lakers are slowly but surely rounding into a something that resembles a very competitive team. The better news is that they’ll be getting Andrew Bynum back before the New Year. We’ll see Drew on Saturday as the curtain goes up on the official roster of the 2011-12 Los Angeles Lakers.