Every morning, we’ll give you five things from the night before in the NBA to start your day.
1: Kobe giveth…
You don’t see many 3-for-20 shooting nights out of Kobe Bryant. Actually, you don’t see any 3-for-20 shooting nights out of Kobe. That has never happened before.
Kobe got a lot of praise for setting Andrew Bynum up for a game-clinching shot against the Boston Celtics a week ago, but he did quite the opposite this time around. Andrew Bynum was 12 for 14 from the field and 9 for 12 from the line last night, and Pau Gasol was 8 for 12 from the floor as the Lakers big men combined for 51 points and 21 rebounds. Meanwhile, Kobe was 1 for 6 in the fourth quarter with a pair of assists.
Kobe has pretty much been THE reason the Lakers are any good this season. But every once in a while, he gets too caught up in taking over and carrying the team that he misses an opportunity to step back and let someone else do the job for him. Bynum and Gasol should have combined for 60-something points in a win… instead the Lakers lost at home to the Utah Jazz
2: Will Fisher meet the Lakers again?
He will if this happens:
Twitter / @ESPNSteinLine: Sources say Thunder, who h … via kwout
Fisher will get a job somewhere, but only because his name is Derek Fisher. He has drawn interest from the San Antonio Spurs as well. Most point guards with his numbers don’t get much of a sniff when they hit the waiver wires. But Fisher (a) has the pedegree to make people believe he can stil come up big when it counts and (b) has inside knowledge of the LA Lakers that some teams may feel benefits them.
I know the only real inside knowledge you need is “stop Kobe”… but still… signing Fish can be a competitive advantage if you are looking for an edge. However, an almost 38 year-old averaging about 6 points and 3 assists a game isn’t going to be a difference maker. If you’re wondering if he’d be a fit on your team, just know you’re signing this guy mostly for his intangibles. You can’t expect much from him on the floor anymore.
3: HIGHLIGHTS!!!
Donte Green with the reverse put back
Jeremy Pargo with the poster dunk on Kevin Seraphin
John Wall puts an alley oop on Marc Gasol’s head, and gets the foul to boot
4: Line of the Night: Michael Redd – 25 points, 2 rebounds
At first glance, that looks like a rather pedestrian line. A lot of guys have 25 point nights. But a lot of guys don’t do it in 19 minutes on 10-for-13 shooting (3 for 5 from 3) to lead the Phoenix Suns past Houston. Redd, claimed off the scrap heap because everyone thought his knees were too shot to be effective anymore, scored 15 straight points for Phoenix in a second quarter stretch. The Suns have now won four in a row, and are just a half game out of the eighth, and final, playoff spot out West.
5: You can quote me on that
“People keep telling me when I’m involved we’re a tough team to beat; I want to involve myself,” Bosh said. “So I had conversations in a non-crazy type way.”
–Chris Bosh, on talking to himself during last night’s win over Orlando
“You have nights like that every now and then. I couldn’t make a shot. … You try to just hang in there, get some stops down the stretch and try to muck up the game.”
-Kobe Bryant, on his 3-20 shooting night
“It’s frustrating, but nothing personal against J.J. I think we were both frustrated and took it out on each other when we should have took it out on the other team. So both of us made mistakes and both of us feel bad.”
–Kevin Love, on an argument he had with teammate J.J. Barea during last night’s loss to Sacramento
