Here's more from this week's NBA recap.
A Look at Kobe's First Week Back in NBA Action
The most talked about achilles outside of the Iliad was put to the test this week as Kobe Bryant returned to NBA action for the first time since his injury last spring.Though, predictably, there was significant rust, Kobe’s game improved as the week progressed.
In his first game back against the Toronto Raptors, Bryant’s shot was less than impressive, going 2-9 from the field. He also had an astounding eight turnovers.
Kobe was able to contribute in other ways, as he collected eight rebounds and finished 5-7 form the charity stripe in 28 minutes of action. The Lakers ultimately fell to the Raptors. When speaking to reporters after the game, Kobe graded his play an "F".
On Tuesday versus the Phoenix Suns, Kobe was seemingly back in his scoring rhythm going 6-11 from the field and hitting all eight of his free throw attempts for a total of 20 points. Bryant contributed little other than scoring, netting only three assists and two rebounds. The Lakers again came up short
Kobe was playing an awful lot of point guard in these games, as the Lakers remain without Jordan Farmar, Steve Blake and Steve Nash. Playing out of position with a lot of new teammates is certainly not the easiest situation for the 35-year-old shooting guard.
On Friday, the Lakers faced the Oklahoma City Thunder and Kobe was assigned the task of guarding 25 year-old Russell Westbrook. Kobe limited Westbrook’s scoring to 19 points on 7-19 shooting. But ultimately, the Thunder guard finished with a near triple-double, adding 12 assists and eight rebounds.
Meanwhile, Kobe struggled to get his shots, attempting only six for the game. Playing the de facto point guard, Bryant had seven turnovers (bringing his total to 18 through his first three games). No. 24 netted 13 assists, but scored a grand total of four points as the Lakers were blown out by OKC.
This marked the first time that Kobe scored in single-digits twice in a three-game span since his second year in the league in 1998.
On Saturday , Kobe finally got his first win this season, as the Lakers topped the Bobcats in Charlotte, 88-85. It was also the first game where Kobe actually looked like the player we’ve come to know. Bryant finished the night with 21 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
Though he is still a work in progress, and his team might be looking at another big trade in its future, Kobe seems to be on the right track. Time will tell if he can help the whole team get back on track for a playoff spot in the ultra competitive Western Conference.
Indiana Pacers Top Miami Heat at Home
Prior to facing off against the Heat, Lance Stephenson said that this would be like a championship game in December. That might be overstating things a bit, and both Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade reminded Lance that championships are not won in December, unless you’re talking about women’s collegiate volleyball (which we are not).
In the first meeting between these two teams since last year's playoff match-up, the Pacers once again used their size advantage on the inside against the smaller, thinner front line of the Heat. The Pacers established Roy Hibbert early on the offensive end, as he finished the game with 24 points, leading Indiana.
The matchup of the night was between a perennial MVP candidate and an emerging one. LeBron James was tasked with guarding Paul George, and though effective, it did seem to take a toll on his offensive game.
James finished the game with a stout stat line of 17 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. George was limited to 17 points, four rebounds and three assists, and didn’t score his first basket until midway through the third quarter.
The Heat jumped out to an 11-point lead after the first quarter of play, but the Pacers were able to close the gap and trail 47-40 at halftime. The Pacers got their first lead on with about eight minutes left in the third quarter on an untraditional 3-point play by Hibbert.
It was a tough, physical, low-scoring, fundamentally-sound basketball game, and the interior presence of Roy Hibbert and David West (41 points combined) were enough to help the Pacers overcome an off night from their budding superstar Paul George.
The Pacers won, 90-84
Luckily, for all NBA fans, these two teams face off again on Wednesday in Miami.
Pau Gasol Unhappy in Los Angeles
Recently, Gasol once again voiced his displeasure in how he is used in Mike D’Antoni’s offensive scheme. Essentially, the core of Pau’s complaint is that he is being underutilized in the post. The post game is not a feature of D’Antoni’s offense, and it never has been.
It is no secret that traditional post players find it difficult to excel playing D’Antoni-ball, and the fact that Gasol is voicing his displeasure seemingly as an excuse for his poor play as of late points to an unhappy camper in LA, and that seems to be irking his coach.
When D’Antoni was asked about Pau’s complaints, he replied, “...it's up to them (Laker big men) to put themselves in the play. The more energy you bring to the game, the more you're going to get the ball. That's always been the case, and if you don't have the energy, then you probably won't get the ball much. So, if they supply the energy, they'll get the ball and then we'll go from there."
This is an eerily similar situation to the one the Lakers faced with Dwight Howard during his brief tenure in LA. The nightmare scenario for the Lakers would be if Gasol’s time in LA ends in the same fashion as Howard's: with the Lakers having nothing to show for losing their big man in free agency.
If Gasol is this unhappy, would he be willing to sign an extension to stay in LA when the season is over? If the Lakers think that he won’t resign, then the smart move would be to trade him before the deadline and get some players in return.
If they don’t trade Pau and he ends up walking this summer, then the Lakers will have committed the same error twice in consecutive seasons. It would be a rather inauspicious start to the Jim Buss era.
The Lakers organization seems to think that with all their impending cap space, they might not need to trade Gasol in order to maximize his value to the organization. Equally valuable to them is the cap space that will be cleared once his contract expires. The Lakers will possibly be able to sign two max contract players to pair with Kobe if Gasol's contract is allowed to expire.
It seems that, one way or another, that Gasol won't be a Laker this time next year.
The question remains is where will he end up and what will the Lakers be able to get for him?
Trail Blazers Go On 3-Point Shooting Attack
The Blazers fell two makes from tying the all-time NBA record for 3-pointers made in a game shared by the Houston Rockets (they hit 23 threes in a game against the Golden State Warriors last February) and Orlando Magic (put in 23 against the Sacramento Kings in January of 2009).
