There was a great deal to like about the Lakers’ play during their 20-point victory over the young, inexperienced and injured Washington Wizards on Thursday night. The Lakers put on something akin to a clinic while leading from start to finish.
Washington coach Ed Tapscott said he hoped his players were watching closely because he believed there was a lot to learn from the play of Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, starting with their willingness to share the wealth.
“You know what’s the most impressive thing about the Lakers? I watch Kobe Bryant, who is clearly one of the dominant scorers in basketball and maybe of all-time, and I watched the way he made sure that every guy on the floor got shots,” Tapscott said. “He shared the
ball. He made sure (Pau) Gasol got the ball in his spots. When (Sasha) Vujacic came in, he made sure he got corner jump shots. He made sure (Derek) Fisher curled and got his shots.”I watched him when he could have taken shots at any time (but) made sure his teammates got quality shots so that they were into the game. That makes you run harder, rebound more, defend better. That makes everybody on the team participate with greater zeal when you have that type of unselfishness.
“I kept making that point to our young guys: ‘Watch how they share the ball, even when the game is decided, so to speak, and you could go out there and look for your own numbers.’ They continued to share the ball and they were trying to get other guys
shots.”So that is very impressive team spirit that I hope our guys are impressed by. I certainly was.”
Bryant had 11 points, five assists and four rebounds against the Wizards.
Too many options: The Lakers have burned opponents for trying to double-team either Gasol or Andrew Bynum in the low post, according to Bryant. The Lakers are willing to exploit the situation, and it doesn’t matter whether Gasol or Bynum gets the open shots.
“To be honest, it’s all about how the defense is playing,” Bryant said. “We went through a stretch where teams felt like they could double on Pau, but we made them pay. Now, they’re trying to do the same thing with Andrew, so we’re making them pay.”
One man’s opinion: TNT commentator Kenny Smith cast his vote for the Lakers as the league’s best team over the first half of the regular season. The Lakers reached the midway point with their victory Wednesday over the Clippers.
“The Lakers are just a smidgen better and I think there has been an overall (sense of) urgency from the Lakers that you normally don’t see from those guys,” Smith said during the network’s broadcast of the Lakers-Wizards game. “They usually come on late in the second half. (But) there has been some urgency in the first half (of the season).”
