The Jazz went 9-for-9 from the foul line in overtime and outscored the Lakers 15-7 in the extra 5 minutes.

Deron Williams had 29 points and 14 assists, while Carlos Boozer scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and grabbed 12 rebounds. Mehmet Okur added 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Kirilenko finished with 15 points and five blocks — stuffing Bryant twice as the Lakers tried to rally in overtime.

Bryant finished with 33 points and 10 assists.

Game 5 is Wednesday in Los Angeles.

Utah was 40-for-76 (53 percent) and had a huge advantage at the foul line, making 37 of 45 free throws. The Lakers got only 25 attempts from the line and missed 11 of them. The Jazz reserves also dominated the Lakers’, outscoring them 39-16.

Los Angeles rallied from a 12-point deficit in the final four minutes to force overtime. Derek Fisher scored 10 straight for the Lakers and blocked a shot by Williams just before the end of regulation with the score tied at 108.

The Lakers struggled in overtime and didn’t score until a layup by Bryant with 1:10 remaining cut Utah’s lead to 112-110. Los Angeles almost forced the Jazz into a shot clock violation before Kyle Korver got off a shot from the corner just in time. The ball bounced off the rim right to Okur, who passed it back outside to Williams, and Utah was able to burn some time before Williams slipped a pass to Kirilenko, who dunked it while getting fouled by Lamar Odom.

Kirilenko made the free throw to put Utah up by five and the Jazz hit the rest of their free throws to clinch it.

Odom had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and Pau Gasol scored 23 and pulled down 10 boards. Fisher finished with 15 points, but no assists and got in early foul trouble.

Utah backup guard Ronnie Price also had a big game, despite finishing with four points and two assists. Price had to get four stitches for a cut over his right eye after he was flagrantly fouled early in the second quarter by Ronny Turiaf, who was ejected.

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It was the Lakers’ first loss this postseason.

Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinal is Sunday at Utah.

The win made the home teams 11-0 in the four conference semifinal series.

Deron Williams had 18 points and 12 assists for Utah, which atoned for two miserable performances in Los Angeles by taking the lead early in the second quarter and hanging on to it the rest of the way.

Kobe Bryant scored 34 points for the Lakers, who got within three points with 3:22 to play but never caught the Jazz.

Utah improved to 4-1 in the playoffs at home, where the Jazz had the league’s best mark in the regular season (37-4).

Utah’s offense was stagnant in the first two games, but on Friday the Jazz started hitting from the outside and moving the ball around enough to clear the inside for the layups their offense is designed to create.

Utah went 39-for-78 from the field (50 percent) and overcame Los Angeles’ advantage from the foul line. The Jazz took nine fewer free throws than the Lakers, but went 20-for-28 from the line and held off the late push by Bryant and the Lakers.

Los Angeles went on a 6-0 run to get within 95-92, then Boozer went to work. He hit a hook shot over Luke Walton in the lane to put Utah up 97-92, then Bryant lost the ball while falling and didn’t get the foul call he wanted. The Jazz used 23 of the 24 seconds they had on the shot clock and Boozer made a shot over Lamar Odom.

After Bryant missed a 3-point attempt, the Jazz got the rebound and went to Boozer again for a 101-92 lead with 1:57 left.

Walton hit a 3-pointer with 1:08 left to get Los Angeles within 103-97, then Bryant made two from the line to get the Lakers within four.

The Jazz missed again at the other end, but the Lakers bobbled the ball, too, and Williams crashed to the floor for a loose ball and forced a jump ball. The guard didn’t stand a chance against Lakers center Pau Gasol, but it ate up time and the Lakers turned it over again.

Utah forced 18 turnovers and outscored the Lakers 48-36 in the paint.

Derek Fisher scored 13 points for the Lakers, exactly one year after his dramatic third-quarter entrance for the Jazz in an overtime win over Golden State. Fisher had flown in from New York, where his daughter was receiving treatment for a cancerous eye tumor. He got a standing ovation in that game, but on Friday was booed with the rest of the Lakers.

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However, that smart play that won Games 1 & 2 was left back in L.A..

In this one it wasn’t the arena that made it rough on the Lakers it was the Lakers themselves. I’ve said it for a while that the only team that can beat the Lakers right now is the Lakers. Tonight proved that point to a T as the Jazz simply swooped in on terribly disjointed and abnormally vacant play by the Lakers on both ends.

The first play with Pau and Kobe in the 1st quarter was exactly how Pau can take his game to the Jazz. He played a passive role, setting a screen, simply rolling while letting the attention go towards Kobe, and then got the pass for the easy deuce. That’s how Pau can do major damage.

But, Pau again had trouble tonight when he tried to go up one on one with strength or with the Jazz pulling Kirilenko or Boozer down into the paint. The blocked shot in the 1st quarter only needed a slight head fake or better yet, a pass back out to the perimeter to reset. Pau has got to use his smarts to make the Jazz almost forget about him, instead of him trying to power through an already strong interior Jazz D.

In the 4th quarter when Pau did just that, made himself a quiet sideline kind of player, the Jazz got scrambled on defense. He has got to step back into the shadows just a bit attacking much more from the quiet weak side of the ball rather than trying to be the bullying go-to guy down low, which he simply isn’t.

Early on that’s what the Lakers had trouble doing, getting the passing game going. They had a quick lead, but it was off of passing sets. As soon as the Lakers get lethargic in their off ball movement, the passes begin to take a backseat to one on one play that got the shot clock down too far or gave the Jazz time to really get set in their defensive spots. The key to this series is movement on all fronts. If the Lakers begin to think they can play one on one offense with a maximum of one pass per set, this series will get extended far longer than it should.

Kobe as again brilliant baiting whatever Jazz player was guarding him into the foul on the shot. Kobe’s 2nd half was much more efficient, but most of all it much more thought out. There was more help off the ball (at times) but mostly, it was Kobe putting his head down and really taking control of himself as he looked much more like the slicing Kobe of the first two games. What Kobe needs to watch is forcing the action. That’s his one hitch in his game, pushing the ball too deep into the clock without cycling the ball through the rest of the team.

When Kobe is driving and kicking in rhythm the Lakers are all moving off of him. In this game (in the 1st half) the Lakers were in watch mode. Hen Kobe did get the ball inside there was little to no movement around him. When the Lakers did move (as Ronny did early on) easy shots opened up all over the floor.

Well, now that I mentioned Ronny, the guy played Boozer real well. He played him just as you should. His spacing on him was perfect. He gave up the 10 to 12 footer but never really let Boozer have any room to get around him to get the easy lay-ups. Ronny only got lost on double screens sets that got Boozer a little freer inside, but in large Ronny played real solid defense.

Vladi looked fairly alert on the defensive end tonight initially. As soon as Kirilenko was getting the ball on the perimeter, Radmanovic was pressed right up on him, giving him no room to do anything but pass. The problem with Vladi’s defense tonight was that as the game wore on, Radmanovic lost sight of his man more and more. You’ll see Vladi get yanked out of the game as you did in the 1st half tonight abruptly because of this reason. That non-defense on Kirlenko’s 3 in the 3rd quarter was inexcusable.

The Jazz were trying to push Lamar out of the post tonight, Odom had none of it. He made a much more concerted effort to hold his ground on the inside. There was no easy pushing out in this one. Odom had trouble in the first couple of games keeping his spot. That wasn’t so in this one. The problem Lamar had tonight though is doubling off of Okur far too much and often when it was unnecessary.

Derek had a real good game through all the muck. His defense on Williams was invaluable right now. Also though his defense running off the pas was spectacular. I don’t think he got enough shots in this one really. But when Derek did get a shot he made good decisions with the ball. In particular Derek did a great job moving off of Williams sand surprisingly enough around screens.

It was the help D once Derek did get screened out that really kept the Lakers from keeping the jazz from cutting through the paint at will.

One of the keys to the Jazz having a better run of it in the 1st half was Derek’s foul trouble. When Farmar has to come in to defend Williams, the Lakers are at an inherent disadvantage simply because of size in the backcourt. So when Williams gets around Farmar, as he has fairly easily this series so far, the help has got to come early and not off of the perimeter, ala Lamar coming off of Okur. The help can come from Kobe off of Brewer preferably, leaving the Jazz a mid-range shot here and there but not giving them the chance for Okur, who can be streaky as heck, to get it going from beyond the arc.

Another key was the Lakers surviving the worst 18-minute span they’ve played in this series so far without being blown out. With Kobe shooting minimal shots, several easy shots missed, some bad decision on defense by almost everyone, the passing game voluntarily disappearing, Farmar running some odd plays (like the quick lay-up towards the end of the quarter), the turnover infection and some other clunky play they came out of it only down by 9. That right there was a sign that even when the Lakers play far below the top of their game, keeping up with the Jazz, even in Utah, isn’t impossible whatsoever.

At 5.24 in the 2nd quarter the Jazz were out of fouls. From that point on, the Lakers shot a minimal amount of free throws. Due to the game being in Utah, you had to know the fouls wouldn’t come in bunches like they did in the first 2 games. However, the Lakers did a better job in the first 2 games taking advantage of a foul-crippled Jazz team.

In the 4th you once again saw a tandem of Pau and Odom shut the middle down with a block a piece. Like I said in the last game, its that firm footing and smart positioning kind of defense on the inside that will force the Jazz to become more of a jump shooting team.

WTF Of The Game: The Jazz having the nerve to freak out about Kobe’s hook in the 3rd quarter. If The Jazz got called for that in every game, these games would be 30-point blowouts in the Lakers favor. I don’t think I’ve seen the Jazz have one drive (outside of Deron Williams) where someone hasn’t thrown an off arm a Laker’s way.

So here’s the thing – you beat brawn with brains and tonight, the Lakers just didn’t play smart. They started out doing alright, but fell apart as the turnovers and stagnant footwork took over. The Lakers did everything they could to give the game to the Jazz and the Jazz took it.

When you look back on this game you can rest assured that the Lakers lost it for themselves far more than the Jazz just beat them. Everything that could go wrong did at some point, yet down to the last second the Lakers were still within serious striking distance.

That in and of itself is a big positive to build off of. You can’t expect the Lakers to play as dimwitted as they did tonight in Game 4. Every Laker now knows what the Utah environment is like and the rash of mistakes that plagued the Lakers throughout this game simply won’t (and can’t) happen again.

Don’t freak out, the Lakers are still up 2-1. Going undefeated in the playoffs just wasn’t going to happen, everyone had to know that. Sure its odd, since the Lakers haven’t lost in a month to see them drop a game, but it happens. This is the playoffs, its never easy. Losing this game may actually work to the Lakers favor. It shows them that they can’t skate through the West. No matter what the regular season records are, everyone steps up in the second season.

Game 4 is now the time for the Lakers to step it back up.

-Kobe Bryant

There’s no turning back now, NBA…this is no dream, and we’re not in Cleavland…David Stern himself handed the NBA’s 2007-2008 Most Valuable Player Trophy to none other than Kobe Bean Bryant. A night which even some of the most die hard Kobe Braynt fans honestly never thought would come. Not to mention a night that Kobe himself never thought would come in his illustrious career. A night that ended just as encouragingly as it began as our MVP led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 2-0 series lead with a 120 to 110 game 2 victory over the Utah Jazz in the wester conference semis Wednesday at Staples. In front of a sea of yellow t-shirts celebrating his accomplishment, Kobe did not disappoint. He dropped 34 points on 11 of 18 shooting and 11 of 12 from the charity stripe, grabbed 8 boards, and dished 6 - leaving, as he has all year, Jerry Sloan and the rest of the Utah Jazz pondering the answer to the league’s most puzzling question - How do you stop Kobe Bryant? Unfortunately for the Jazz, and the rest of the NBA, you don’t.

-THE MVP-
Kobe Bryant was magnificent on the night he was handed the trophy. it would seem that he can finally take his rightful seat upon the NBA throne it seemed they were prepping for bron bron. The Utah Jazz had every reason to be pumped up, and to believe they had a shot at stealing homecourt advantage. Yet even after giving the jazz added motivation with his proclamation playoff advancement, Kobe would not be denied. Anyone who has been following kobe’s career for any length of time should have known that this was the most likely outcome. No one shines under pressure more consistently than Bryant. He was literally unstoppable when he went into attack mode in the third period, scoring 12 on 6 of 7 shooting.

-THE STARTERS-
The bench didn’t put up insane numbers this outing, and this game is old so i’m just going to touch on the starters. Namely, Derek Fisher. Fish went for 22 on 7 for 10 against his former team, highlighted by 4 of 5 from beyond the arc and 4 for 4 from the stripe. he was also solid on the defensive end, continuing to disrupt Williams and coming up 2 assists and three steals to compliment 0 turnovers. Radmanovic accomplished nothing, while Gasol and Odom pulled together the rest of slack. Gasol added 20 points, 5 assists, 5 boards, and 5 blocks, while odom managed another double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds.

-THE QUESTIONS-
the Lakers were outrebounded, again, this time 41 to 47. Also again, the big glaring difference was on the offensive rebounding front as the Lakers grabbed 4 to Utah’s 16. Now, the problem isn’t with the lakers not grabbing a lot of offensive boards. As a team, we shot 57% from the field, and a scorching 63% from deep. The problem lies in our inability to keep them off the boards. Normally, i wouldn’t be concerned that this won’t be address by the time we make it to Utah, but the fact that this has been a trend in all six of our victories this postseason worries me. At the same time, you could argue the key word in that sentence is “victories.” We also managed to ring up 5 more turnovers than the jazz. These are the types of numbers that you can’t afford to see in the box score on the road. I imagine Phil and company are on top of this, but we will not continue to go undefeated this post-season if we don’t address the offensive rebounding, turnovers, and our overall defense - which has given up 98 and 110 in over the first two games.

-FINAL THOUGHTS-
Destined for the finals? Well, if you’re a superstitious personn, or just like to believe that history writes the future it sure looks that way. you don’t have to believe in fate, or even Zen, you just have to believe. Correct me if i’m wrong, but as “cocky” as some believe Kobe to be, i don’t remember him ever making all that many predictions. Off the top of my head i can only think of one, it took place on this night, and was about this team playing in June. More specifically, the NBA finals. One of the more popular stats that has been thrown around this post-season in regards to the lakers is, 39-0. As you probably well know, that is Phil Jackson’s record after winning the first game of a playoff series. Then there’s the lesser know leap year effect that has been touched on. 2008 is a leap year, and since 1980, all leap years have had something in common…

1980: Lakers Win the NBA Championship (4-2)
1984: Lakers lose in the NBA Finals (3-4)
1988: Lakers win the NBA Championship (4-3)
1992: Phil’s Bulls win the NBA Championship (4-2)
1996: Phil’s Bulls win the NBA Championship (4-2)
2000: Phil’s Lakers win the NBA Championship (4-2)
2004: Phil’s Lakers lose in the NBA Finals (1-4)
2008: ?

Either the Lakers or a Phil Jackson coached team has made it to the NBA finals.

Beginning with Summer ‘07, and, hopefully, ending in Summer ‘08…this year has turned out to be the most *insert powerful adjectives here* year i’ve seen in my many years as a basketball fan. I can honestly say this couldn’t have been more exciting or suspenseful if it was a hollywood screenplay. Its only fitting that setting be Los Angeles, the star the MVP, and the ending…well, there’s only one way this tale of tales can end. See ya in June!

-Game505

After reading Shaun’s article about Kobe Bryant, I was very disappointed in the public’s perception of Kobe and wanted to give a rebuttal. Although Kobe was never excused for his outburst, you were right in your opinion that all has been forgiven. That’s what we do, we forgive. It works out a lot better then holding a grudge. It’s a little ironic that after Kobe’s outburst this summer that the team responds by winning the Western Conference. Do you think that’s a coincidence?

Shaun knocks Kobe for his outburst last summer, when that outburst is what propelled the Lakers to new heights this season. To some it was insulting; to the Laker players and management it was motivation. Criticism is a byproduct of failure, and the Lakers had failed to improve and were stagnating. Shaun, what does a coach do at halftime if his team is down by 25 points? He yells at them, insults them and demands that they do better. That’s not much different then what Kobe did this summer.

What made the Kobe situation enfuego was that he went on the radio, and they asked him some pointed questions that he answered honestly. The interviewers knew they had the story of the year and kept digging and digging and Kobe kept talking and talking. Looking back, I’m sure Kobe wished he had done it differently, but he likes to leave the past in the past. The criticism of management and co-workers happens all of the time in the business world. The difference here was that it was Kobe Bryant, and everything he does is front page news.

What is most depressing about this article is the attempt to make Kobe into something he’s not. Shaun writes, “Even stranger, but understandable: Kobe hasn’t apologized for doubting his team or even uttered a simple “my bad.” The closest he came to one was when he said, after accepting the trophy: “This is a team award.” Then he made a passing remark about Kupchak and said nothing about Buss.

Kobe went into Mitch Kupchak’s office before the season started and made amends. As far as his teammates, he has made amends with them as well. He spoke to them directly, not through the media, which is what you want from a player. After the LA media threw Kobe under the bus, he really didn’t trust anyone and made few comments to the press in the aftermath, as they were ripping him on a daily basis. Did you expect Kobe to do a heart to heart with TJ Simers? Please. The real story here was how the players and management responded to the criticism; which was like total pros.

In regards to the Colorado ordeal that Kobe went through, everyone that doesn’t like Kobe will always bring that up. The shame of it is, when we tell the truth and everyone thinks we’re lying, it’s the absolute worst situation to be in. If you look at the facts in that case, it really appeared that the young lady was out for the money. It was another attempt to knock Kobe down and take away everything he has earned. He was guilty of infidelity, and to label it otherwise, is almost slanderous. If Kobe was telling the truth, and I believe he was, how awful it must be to hear people even mention that situation.

Through it all Kobe has remained loyal to his team, loyal to his family and loyal to his wife. He got married when he was extremely young, and appears to be enjoying being a father. How many NBA players stay their career with one team and one woman? It’s a very short list Shaun. Yeah he may be arrogant at times, but who wouldn’t be with the huckleberries in the media following you around on a daily basis since you were 15 years old. Congratulations Kobe, on fulfilling your potential as a player and a PERSON!

                           love your number 1 fan,

                                                            Ayesha

Bryant had 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists Wednesday night, and the Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 120-110 to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals and remain the NBA’s only unbeaten team in the postseason.

The series shifts to Utah for Games 3 and 4 on Friday night and Sunday. The Jazz had an NBA-best 37-4 home record this season, but one of the losses was by 11 points to the Lakers on March 20.

Bryant received his Most Valuable Player trophy from NBA commissioner David Stern in a brief ceremony before the game.

“I’m at a loss for words, I don’t know what to say,” Bryant said as the Staples Center crowd of 18,997 roared its approval and chanted M-V-P. “I love you guys so much. We’re going to play until June. Let’s get this party started.”

The 29-year-old Bryant was a runaway winner of his first MVP award, receiving 82 first-place votes and 1,100 points to far outdistance New Orleans’ Chris Paul in the voting of 126 media members. The results were announced Tuesday.

Following the presentation, Bryant’s wife and two young daughters gave him with a bouquet of flowers at center court.

Derek Fisher, who played for Utah last season, added 22 points, Pau Gasol scored 20, and Lamar Odom had 19 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 57.4 percent from the field and made 35 free throws—22 more than the Jazz.

Seven Utah players scored in double figures, led by Deron Williams, who had 25 points, including three 3-pointers in the final minute, and 10 assists. Paul Millsap added a career playoff-high 17 points and 10 rebounds, Mehmet Okur scored 16 points and Andrei Kirilenko added 14. Okur and Kirilenko both fouled out in the final minute.

Carlos Boozer was held to 10 points—all in the second half. He played less than seven minutes in the first half because of foul trouble.

The Jazz outrebounded the Lakers 58-41 in Game 1, but lost 109-98. They won the battle of the backboards again 41-37, but shot 44.6 percent while attempting a season-high 101 shots—33 more than Los Angeles.

The Jazz outscored the Lakers 11-4 to get within five points with just under six minutes to play. But a jumper by Sasha Vujacic, a 3-pointer by Fisher and a free throw by Gasol extended the Lakers’ lead to 105-94 with 4:26 left.

A three-point play by Kirilenko made it 107-99 before Bryant fed Gasol for a dunk with 2:40 to go, and the Jazz weren’t closer than six points after that.

The Jazz drew within nine points early in the third quarter before Bryant outscored them 9-4 by himself to make it 82-68. A 3-pointer by Williams with 1.5 seconds left in the third quarter trimmed the Lakers’ lead to 93-83.

The Lakers led 55-40 before Williams made a 3-pointer for his only points of the first half. It was 63-49 at halftime, and it might have been worse for the Jazz had Millsap not scored 13 points—three more than his previous playoff high.

Williams and Boozer combined to average 39.9 points during the regular season and 35.8 points in Utah’s first seven playoff games. They totaled three points in the first half of Game 2.

The Lakers made their first six shots, but trailed by one before Bryant scored six points and Odom added four during a 13-0 run that gave them a 25-13 lead. Boozer left with two fouls and Utah coach Jerry Sloan picked up a technical before Ronnie Brewer’s jumper ended the spurt.

The Jazz drew within eight before two 3-pointers by Fisher and a basket by Ronny Turiaf made it 33-18 at the end of the first quarter. Boozer was scoreless when he went to the bench again just 19 seconds into the second quarter after picking up his third foul, and didn’t return until the second half.

Source.

Regarded as the NBA’s best player for several years but never its most valuable, Bryant earned the honor at last on Tuesday after leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference.

He called the award a blessing and an honor and emphasized that he wants another trophy this year.

“It’s Hollywood, it’s a movie script. The perfect ending would be for us to hold a championship trophy at the end of it,” Bryant said at a news conference attended by his teammates, club officials, his wife and two daughters.

“This is an award I couldn’t have won on my own. I can’t thank these guys (his teammates) enough. These are my guys, these are my brothers. Let’s get ready for tomorrow.”

The Lakers try to take a 2-0 lead against Utah in their conference semifinal on Wednesday night. Bryant will receive the MVP trophy from commissioner David Stern before the game.

Bryant entered the season as the league’s two-time defending scoring champion. He had finished as high as third in the MVP voting twice—after the 2002-03 season, when he averaged 30 points for the first time, and last year when Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki won.

“I don’t know anybody who’s ever deserved this trophy more. I don’t know anybody who’s ever worked as hard to accomplish what he’s accomplished,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who had five-time MVP Michael Jordan with Chicago and was at the Lakers’ helm when Shaquille O’Neal won the award in 2000.

Bryant received 82-first-place votes and 1,100 points in the media vote. He was followed by New Orleans’ Chris Paul (28 and 894), Boston’s Kevin Garnett (15 and 670) and Cleveland’s LeBron James (1 and 438).

“I’ve said since two, three years ago that Kobe Bryant is the best player in the league,” James said before the Cavaliers faced the Celtics in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. “He’s been the best player the last five, six years. I’m glad he won it. His team had a great year, finishing first in the West.”

This season there was no denying the Lakers’ 6-foot-6 star. Los Angeles rose to the top of the West despite key injuries and following Bryant’s trade demands last spring when his team was eliminated in the first round by Phoenix for the second straight year.

Bryant averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.84 steals while playing all 82 games despite tearing a ligament in his right pinkie in February. He put off surgery until after the Olympics.

The knock on the 29-year-old Bryant had been that he didn’t make those around him better—not anymore.

“He’s deserving in this particular season with all of the question marks and everything going on coming into the season and the uncertainty,” teammate Derek Fisher said. “Not only did he statistically have an MVP type of season, everybody can reasonably say they were better this year because of what he did. He met the so-called criteria, elevating his teammates’ games.”

Word leaked last Friday night that Bryant had won the award.

Bryant, second in the NBA in scoring behind James, is the first Laker to win the MVP award since O’Neal. Other Lakers to win since the award was first presented in 1956 were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson—each three times. Abdul-Jabbar also won three with Milwaukee.

“I didn’t expect this award would come to me,” Bryant said. “I’m surprised. I’ve played pretty well in other seasons. Our team hasn’t been as good. Things just fell into place.”

Bryant and O’Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive championships, from 2000-02, and a berth in the finals in 2004. The Lakers hadn’t won a playoff series since until sweeping Denver in the first round last month.

Bryant and O’Neal were often at odds during their eight years together. Assistant coach Brian Shaw, who played for the Lakers from 1999-03, has noticed a big difference in Bryant.

“He’s a much better teammate now than he was in the championship days. That’s a credit to his maturation. There were definitely times when he was not a good teammate. No one worked harder than he did. The same is true today,” Shaw said.

“In terms of connecting with his teammates off the court, he didn’t do that very much. Now, from what I hear, he goes out to dinner with them all the time. Who knows? Maybe he likes these teammates better than us,” Shaw added with a laugh.

Bryant has said this was his best regular season and his most enjoyable— very different from his feelings last spring. First, he challenged the Lakers to upgrade their roster, then demanded a trade.

Things quieted down and Bryant said all the right things during training camp until Lakers owner Jerry Buss said he would listen to trade offers. That upset Bryant again, but he promised he would focus on basketball once the season began.

And so he did.

After a 9-8 start, the Lakers put it together. The most obvious upgrades were Fisher and Pau Gasol, acquired Feb. 1 from Memphis. The Lakers already had Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic—all former first-round draft choices—when Bryant had his tirade last spring. All three, especially the 20-year-old Bynum, showed great improvement, but the 7-footer hasn’t played since injuring his left knee Jan. 13.

Another talented newcomer, Trevor Ariza, has been sidelined since breaking his right foot Jan. 20. Gasol missed nine games late in the season because of a sprained ankle.

Through it all, led by their MVP, the Lakers kept winning. And now they appear to have as good a chance as any team to win another NBA championship.

I expected a bit of rough start in the 1st quarter but the Lakers did exactly the opposite, coming out with a focus that wasn’t too much unlike a team with a greater goal in mind. The biggest difference in the Laker game from the outset was the defense of Derek Fisher.

For a guy who’s had some serious trouble keeping up with the speedier guards in the League Derek did a fantastic job of staying in front of Williams. Of course being the guy who mentored Williams as he came into the league doesn’t hurt, but nonetheless, there were few times that Williams out and out beat Derek off the dribble. When Derek did have trouble keeping up with Williams (often on a lateral run) Derek did well in getting around traffic to at least have a presence or a hand in his face afterwards.

Offensively, Derek played like a point guard today. There were few times he settled for the jumper as a first resort which was beyond great to see. There were plenty of times Derek saw a small opening and got the ball moving further into the paint than he has in a long time. The best of these plays came when he worked a great screen and roll / a simple give and go game with Pau. Derek was in top form dishing and moving, bringing Williams with him off the ball allowing Pau quick and plenty of room to operate on Utah’s softening low post defense.

Pau had a bit of an off game actually. What he did do well is what he excelled at his whole career, being in the right place at the right time and having his hands ready. There was one shot clock crunching possession where Pau bobbled the ball in the low post but other than that you’d have been hard pressed to find Pau not ready for anything that came his way this game. That’s the thing with Pau, for his shortcomings in the low post strength department, which got exploited by Boozer today; his mobility today had the Jazz a bit ragged as to whom to run to the low post to cover his post work.

Pau’s movement off the ball had some confusion in it today, as one timeout with Brian Shaw, Kobe and Lamar giving him pointers as to where to move would attest to. It seems of all the players that had a bit of a rough adjustment to this series, Pau had his moments of uncertainty. Then with all that said, Pau still played a good game. It wasn’t an historic performance, but his style of game is something the Jazz may have trouble contending with in conjunction with guarding Lamar.

Speaking of Lamar, the guy just couldn’t buy any love from the refs. Granted, a lot of his calls came from some late rotation on his part, but for the most part the physical game that Lamar has developed since Pau’s arrival was never really allowed to get any momentum. Next game Odom will be well served to watch his diving down to help on Boozer on the post. When he gets caught up on the mid-range defensive game, he was dragging getting himself into a decent post help position.

Then, just like Pau, Lamar didn’t have the game of his life, but yet it still managed to have an impact. Lamar did a real good job of making the Jazz pay for their attention to Pau on the high post, especially in the first half. There were a couple drives along the baseline, opened up by the attention paid to Gasol that Lamar really cashed in on. His finishes were strong on the offensive end. In Game 2 he will hopefully not back off of his rebounding ability due to the calls thrown his way.

Radmanovic played an unusual one. His shot was in and out, but he didn’t get many attempts as the Jazz were looking to crowd Vladi at the earliest chance. What Vladi did well today is what he does well most times, making other parts of his game have some kind of impact. His defense on the post against the Jazz was highly suspect, and Sasha’s massive amount of playing time in the 2nd half will show that. But what Radmanovic was in the mix down low today. He was keeping himself at least aware of where plays were heading and did a good job hustling to help on loose ball situations.

The under the radar key matchup in this series, as far as the bench goes at least is the Harpring Walton matchup. Due to Luke’s cold / upper respiratory infection he wasn’t the killer he had become in the Nuggets series. But Luke did a good job neutralizing Harpring today. When the Jazz’s bench unit tried to get something going via cuts through the paint and some pushing into the low post through Harpring, Luke was having none of it. Though he did do his fair share of reaching due to being a touch slow with his footwork, he kept the Jazz’s bench from ever getting going.

Aside from Luke’s understated performance one big standout today was Sasha. The guy was on the mark today. This is what makes the Lakers so dangerous – the possibility of having a different guy come off the bench and have a big game very night. Today was Sash’s turn./ In fact this series could be a big turn for Sasha. Today he had some good battles with Korver as they both attempted to keep up with each other. What made Sasha a touch more unpredictable was his willingness to put the ball on the floor today. Simply by getting the ball into the paint the one strong drive he had (with the great ball fake and the lay-in) Sasha put the Jazz on their heels against him.

He took great advantage of the green light he had from range, hitting some seriously dead-eye shots when the Lakers needed them most. In that key run during the 2nd quarter when the Laker bench just out hustled the Jazz, Sasha (along with Luke) played an integral role. That role was played well because of choice shot selection off of sharp off ball movement by Sasha. Though most of his long shots won’t be argued against at this point, Sasha had every shot in rhythm today.

In fact, that’s where the Lakers excelled offensively. There were few shots, made or missed that were taken out of the context of the offense. When the Lakers did start shooting off one pass, or forced post shots during the 3rd the Jazz caught up. But, a big change with this year’s team is their ability to correct these mistakes without letting them snowball into a loss.

That ability to right the ship has been a growing development for this team over the last couple of season, but this game showed just how far they’ve come, as it never really felt like the Lakers were out of control of this one. Even when the Lakers let the Jazz get within 4 at about the 5 minute mark in the 4th, there was never a sense of panic.

That control had a good deal to do with Kobe and his calm steady leadership today.

Kobe played this game with an absolute perfect balance of individual and team play. Once again, he got the team rolling early with some seriously amazing passes both in traffic and off of drive and kicks. When Kobe wasn’t pushing the ball down the Jazz’s throat, he was using himself as a decoy. With Kobe being as unstoppable as he can be, on e big dividend comes from the overage defensive attention paid to him. Today the jazz had no choice but to double him quick on the post. Once that double came, between the movement of the Lakers to their pass option spots, the cuts they ran along the weak baseline defense of the Jazz and Kobe being able to see these moves as they happen, there was little hop for the Jazz.

The absolute key moment in the game, when you knew the Jazz got put on the ropes was the 5th foul on Kirilenko (followed shortly by the 5th on Boozer). After that it was so satisfying to finally see the Lakers, via Kobe’s strong inside play take Boozer out of the game. It all played off of Kobe as the control got greater in the game, the Jazz’s frustration grew. No matter what run the Jazz went on, the Lakers had an answer. With Kobe on the court that answer found its way into the game through every player on the court. That right there is why he’s the MVP. He simply had the Jazz on a string today while managing the game from all points on both ends.

Of course the defensive boards have got to be taken care of better. The Jazz won’t shoot as poorly as they did today, and giving them that many 2nd chances again will be tough to overcome. On the positive side, the Lakers will also not be as rocky as they were at times. You have to expect that Pau will have a bigger game, Lamar won’t be in as much foul trouble and the Lakers will now know that Jazz are looking to clog the lane on every shot.

There also has to be earlier help on drives. The Lakers were late in rotating to the middle especially on drives. From that late rotation there was a lot of hip bumping and reaching fouls that were completely unnecessary.

The Lakers have also got to body u on Boozer early in sets. They were playing one on one with Boozer being deep in the paint too much. There has to be some kind of movement into help positions to keep Lamar and Pau from getting cheap fouls again. Boozer is tough customer in the post, but today the Lakers let him bully his way deep too much. The size of Lamar and Pau should give more trouble to Boozer and Okur. The Jazz are a good inside team, but there’s no reason for the Lakers to back down as easily as they did at times today.

Lastly, the Lakers saw today how much refs favor the aggressor. The Lakers have got to turn the tables, maybe taking some early fouls in the process, but overall show the aggression to the boards and defense through the middle the Jazz showed.

It wasn’t perfect for either team, but when all is said and done the Lakers got the win. Barring some major magical re-adjustment from the Jazz, the Lakers should be able to sharpen their play for Game 2. For now, winning this first one was huge. The rust has been shaken off and in doing so the Lakers strike the first blow in what is sure to be an increasingly physical series.