The Highs
The Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom Show
The frontcourt duo simply dominated tonight's game. Pau Gasol finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Odom finished with 18 points, 17 rebounds and five assists.
In addition, the two combined to shoot 18-29 from the field in Friday night's victory. If Gasol and Odom continue to play this consistently, especially on the same night, the rest of the league will be ducking for cover. Not to mention, Laker fans may forget all about Andrew Bynum.
Stellar Bench Play
The last two or three seasons, the Lakers were always thought of as having a deep bench. I always thought this was somewhat false, especially with Andrew Bynum missing so many games.
I know it is early, but so far the Lakers may finally be living up to their deep bench label, with the additions of Steve Blake and Matt Barnes.
On Friday night, the bench contributed 25 points in 60 minutes. Not only did they contribute points, they showed good energy and hustle when they were on the court. Matt Barnes led the bench players with 11 points, while Shannon Brown had eight and Steve Blake had six.
The bench will look even more satisfying when Odom goes back to being the sixth man.
Kobe's Movement
During the offseason and into the exhibition season, much was made about the status of Kobe's surgically repaired knee. In eight exhibition games Bryant shot 24-85 from the field in limited minutes. Fans believed he may not quite be up to snuff due to his knee surgery and would be required to play shor...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
