Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE
The post-Mike Brown era keeps looking better by the day. Whenever the official Mike D’Antoni era begins things should be looking up if the Lakers last two wins are any indication.
Almost by osmosis the Lake Show offense is flowing with tonight’s 119-108 win over the Houston Rockets their second straight game with 110+ on the scoreboard. When did that ever happen with Mike Brown in town?
Here’s a better question. How often did Kobe Bryant put an Oscar Robertson in the box score when the other Mike was coaching in Los Angeles?
Well, it happened tonight as KB24 ran the show in Magic Johnson-esque style dropping 22, 11 and 11. Quiet as kept Bryant is playing arguably the best ball of his career. His facilitator role is expanding in the absence of Steve Nash.
Of course Kobe’s trust issues are minimal when Dwight Howard is getting off for 28 and 13. Iron Man is starting to look healthier. He’s finally finishing at the rim the way only DH12 can. He’s also dominating in the paint with those freakish blocks.
The pleasant surprise is Darius Morris who is getting more and more relaxed in his role. 12 points, 5 dimes and only 8 attempts is a respectable line for any guard in this league. It’s too soon to expect Morris to have a line like that consistently but he’s not going to have many 30-minute games once both Nash and Steve Blake are back.
Whenever the D’Antoni era officially begins it will be nice if it coincides with the re-start of the Nash era. No word on exactly when either one of those guys is going to actually be on the bench. For now the Lakers are at least at .500 for the first time this year. 4-1 since Brown was sent packing and looking better by the day. There is still plenty of work to be done until championship talk can be taken seriously but at least there is something worth talking about now.