After their first win of the season, the Lakers credited each other for their victory, one in which they had 28 assists, a season high.
It was a tale of two halves. In the first half, the Charlotte Hornets had 9 offensive rebounds and got to every loose ball. “In the second half we were the aggressor”, Byron Scott noted, without much emotion, once the game was over. “We just did a lot of good things defensively and I thought our guys stayed in it. Jeremy was more aggressive. Booz was more aggressive. Guys weren’t looking to just get the ball to Kobe and get out the way.”
Nov 9, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Jeremy Lin (17) drives to the basket as Charlotte Hornets guard Gary Neal (12) gives chase in the second half of the game at Staples Center. Lakers won 107-92. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jeremy Lin praised Kobe Bryant, the facilitator. “Kobe did a really good job. He commands so much attention and pressure and he was throwing unbelievable passes, skip passes, reading the defense and that was what was able to free us up. Booz played out of his mind as well.” Jeremy Lin’s aggressiveness is more involved than just getting to the basket whenever he wants. “It’s not just going out and driving every time. You still have a job, you have to run a team and make everyone happy. That’s your job to figure out the puzzle.” He thought for a moment and then added, “but the ball flowed more. People were moving. If you look at the shots I got it wasn’t out of shots I created for myself.”
“We spaced the floor”, Kobe reminded everyone. “We made a conscious effort to post Booz. There are things we can do better. We did positive things. I think the momentum comes from wanting to get better. We have to get much better at setting picks off the ball and getting easy opportunities.” Kobe was analytical when he talked about the mental challenge of being relentless and playing in Los Angeles for a celebrated team. “It’s a lot different playing here than for other organizations. The win at all costs is not familiar around the league. Success is winning the division or winning the Western Conference and that doesn’t fly around here.”
Wesley Johnson credited the defense and how hard his teammates played. “We tried to make reads off of one another. The defense (on Tuesday) we have to have the same intensity level. Keep that mindset on defense.”
“It’s just one win”, Ed Davis admitted. “We just got to take this positive energy into Memphis. It’s definitely going to be a grind out game. It’s going to be a low scoring tough game.” In Sunday night’s game, Ed Davis made all of his shots. “I know my game. I know my limits. I just try to be as good as I can be when I’m in there. Jeremy is more a screen roll than Ronny but Ronny is always looking to pass the ball so it’s just me being in the right place at the right time and the ball just falling in my hands.” He concluded, “this is baby steps. We have to build on it tomorrow in practice and prepare for Memphis and get ready for that fight down there.”