Yannis' Lakers Journal

Can't beat Boston, Portland, and Atlanta but we can beat Detroit. That was a great win that this team needed pretty badly. Being 2 games over .500 is crucial going into a 3 game stretch where we have San Antonio twice. The Lakers have to build on this win and start building some momentum. They've got a good chance to get into the 7th, maybe even 6th seed, they just need to capitilize.

His stat line doesn't jump out at you, but it was a pretty good game from Smush Parker. He had the task of chasing Rip Hamilton around screens most of the night and did a pretty good job. He didn't turn it over and he hit open shots, the most important things that he has to do. Kobe Bryant was simply amazing tonight, like always. It's hard to talk about this guy without saying anything I haven't said before. Sasha had some good moments, but they were overshadowed somewhat by some stupid plays, including letting Chauncy Billups hit multiple 3s right in his face.

Lamar Odom was incredible tonight with 24 points, 5 boards, and 10 assists! That's what he's got to do for us to be a good team, and he knows it. Why he doesn't do it more often is beyond my comprehension, but hopefully he'll start to. It was a tough night for Brian Cook, who simply can't guard Rasheed. He had a solid 10 points, but he was simply a liability on defense. He's got Tim Duncan on Monday, so this may be another game where Kwame sees a lot of time. Devean George was huge today, playing great defense, while scoring effectively. Chauncy had 20 points in the first half but only 4 in the second, and some credit should go to Devean who guarded him during the 3rd and 4th quarter.

Chris Mihm played very well today, giving us someone to go to down low when we needed some points in the paint. He got some silly loose ball fouls that he's going to have to refrain from, but overall a very good game from Mihm. Kwame Brown was the unsung hero in tonight's game, shutting down Rasheed Wallace after he got off to such a hot start. Kwame pulled down 12 boards along with playing his very good defense, which is what we need him to do. We beat the best team in the NBA by 11 points while he scored only 3 points. We don't need him to score points, we need him to play defense and rebound. Hopefully tonight was an eye opener for him.

Lakers have to build on this, they've got to know that this is how they have to play in order for them to win. Lamar has to be aggressive, Smush has to be under control, Kwame has to play d and rebound, and we've got to play good team defense. The team defense was superb tonight, and that's why we beat the team with the best record in the NBA by 11.

|  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this