Bryant returned to the game after the injury occurred, and ended up playing the rest of the game. You could tell that he was using his left hand as much as he could. Remember, this is the same hand that he injured his pinky on a couple seasons back. We know he’s tough and that he will play through it. The question is how will it affect his jumpshot? I guess we will have to wait and see.

1. The Incredible One Legged 3-pointer Buzzer Beater

As if Kobe has not had enough amazing buzzer beaters to win games in his career, he entertained us with yet another one last Friday evening against the Miami Heat. Down by 2 points with seconds to go, Kobe launched a running 3 pointer off one leg, over defender Dwyane Wade at the buzzer to win the game. Truly one of the more difficult game winning shots in league history.

2. The Lakers are 16-3

The Lakers have quietly achieved the best record in the NBA up to this point, even though star forward Pau Gasol was out with a hamstring injury for 10 or so games. They have also managed to achieve this record while still integrating newcomer Ron Artest into the lineup. Something that will still need some more time. The Lakers have played the majority of their games at home thus far, and many of those games have also been against sub .500 teams. So the challenges of the regular season mostly lie ahead for these Lakers.

3. Artest Says Kobe Is Making Him Better

In a recent interview, Ron Artest said “Kobe gets up for everybody. He’s actually making me a better player, feel like I’m better now than I was ever. He’s just always going for blood. And I learned that now. That’s what I’ve been doing now when I’m out there.”

The last thing the league wants to see is a new and improved Ron Artest! Ron brings many unique skills to the Lakers. And with his competitiveness and toughness, I think he will be the X factor for the Lakers winning another championship this season.

4. Sporting News Poll Says Kobe Bryant Is The Best

We already know Kobe Bryant is the best player in the game, and has been for quite some time now. But media outlets such as Sporting News have to put together polls taken by hall of fame basketball players in order to satisfy the haters. Well the poll was taken. And it’s official. Kobe is the best! A total of 62 first place votes with the nearest being Lebron with 34.

Sorry Kobe haters. What other ammunition do you have if any?

5. Kobe’s Advice to Lebron, Or Lack There Of

Kobe was recently asked in an interview if he had extended or would be willing to extend any advice to LeBron James for playing with Shaq. Here was Kobe’s response. “I clearly know, but I’m not saying nothing,” Bryant said. “That’s something that I had to do.”

So what did you do?

“I figured it out,” Bryant said. “That’s something that [James] needs to do. I won’t give him advice.”

Did James call you for advice on O’Neal?

“I won’t give him none. I’ve given him enough already.”

Gotta love that response. Kobe’s not interested in helping anyone or anything who might stand in the way of another championship. Especially if that person is Shaquille O’neal. You gotta believe as a Kobe fan that Kobe is very motivated about getting to that fifth championship before Shaq does.

At some point during the 3rd quarter, Kobe Bryant took the ball baseline where he was met by two Piston defenders. Somehow he managed to twirl in the air and throw the ball over this shoulder and into the basket. Rather than me try to explain this crazy and amazing shot by Kobe, check out the video here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

All in all, good win for the Lakers. Taking care of business at home and against a sub-par team. And holding yet another team under 100 points. That is what the championship teams do.

It was really strange watching Trevor Ariza go up against the Lakers. I must say as a Laker fan that I miss Trevor Ariza and what he did for us! I wish we could have somehow kept him and got Ron Artest at the same time. I know i’m greedy. But hay! Do you blame me?

Poor Shane Battier

Seriously I feel bad for Shane Battier sometimes. I really like the guy. I like how he plays, his leadership, his hustle. But it just seems like Kobe Bryant is so good that he’s able to mess with him. The entire night, Kobe was working from the post just like he learned from the summer time with Hakeem Olajuwon. The bigger Shane Battier still couldn’t stop the Kobe attack even with a different offensive approach from Kobe Bryant.

We are used to seeing Kobe taking Battier off the dribble, since it’s assumed that because he’s a little smaller than Battier then he can take him off the dribble. Instead he posts him up all night and goes for 41 on the second night of a back to back. Amazing!

Other than that, the rest of the Lakers starters looked good. The bench was still okay, but not good enough to Laker standards. Especially if they want to win another championship this season. Andrew Bynum apparently hurt his elbow towards the end of the game. We’ll have to stay up to speed on that and hope that it’s not another annual Bynum major injury!

Go Lakers!

What a close and crazy game it was last night in Oklahoma City. The Lakers went up against the young and exciting/up and coming Thunder headed by scoring machine Kevin Durrant. The Lakers got off to a great first quarter, then things got tight after that. They ended up winning in overtime 101-98.

Kobe Bryant was sick with the flu and still ended up with 31 points in 46 minutes of play because the game went into overtime. Bynum had a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Ron Artest came up huge with Kobe’s rest on the bench during the 4th quarter and ended up with 20 points, 6 assists, and a game high 5 steals.

I thought the Lakers looked good. They are still sloppy on offense at times. But holding the young Thunder under 100 points on their home turf shows that the Lakers defense has improved this year.

Let’s not forget, the Lakers are still without their second best player Pau Gasol due to a hamstring injury. On top of that Kobe Bryant had the flu. And they still came away with this win.

I think this win showed a lot of character for this Laker team. Something I think we can expect to see all year long.

Kobe Bryant had one of those games where he scored over 40 without you really being aware of it during the game. It’s crazy how he can go out and just do his thing sometimes, and the next thing you know he’s got 40 !

A key moment in the game came when coach Phil Jackson switched matchups and put Ron Artest on Joe Johnson. Joe got hot early in the first quarter with a quick 21 points, and was then frustrated the rest of the night with Ron Artest chasing him everywhere.  Artest’s defense looked very very good.

The Lakers are now 2-1 on the season and will be playing in Oklahoma against the Thunder on Tuesday.

Kobe Bryant had an odd night. One that is just rare and as a Laker fan you just have to forget about it, because you probably won’t see anything like it for a couple more seasons. Kobe shot just 6-19 from the field, ended up still with 20 points but easily could of had 35 or 40.

Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum were horrible. Man I can’t wait until the big Spaniard gets back and healthy. I don’t think I’ve ever had as great of an appreciation for Pau Gasol than I do now. He truly is the second best player on the team and has such a big influence offensively and defensively.

Ron Artest could have had a better game, but he was on the wrong side of 3 really horrible calls by the officials. It was very disappointing to see the officials just take Ron Ron right out of the game like that.

Shannon Brown was incredible again tonight. And I also thought that Josh Powell gave the Lakers some good minutes. But Sasha, Farmar, and Walton were bad. I really don’t like watching those 3 guys play right now. They just can’t cut it.

All in all, expect Kobe to gather the troops and get this Laker team regrouped and re-focused.

Lamar Odom had a fantastic game with 16 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, two blocks, and two steals. He seems to be performing at another level this year. Many people are attributing it to his new marriage. I disagree. I think the championship run from last year really boosted Lamar’s confidence. And we are seeing the Lamar Odom that we are supposed to see.

Again not the prettiest of games, but a win is a win. And don’t forget, the Lakers second best player (Pau) didn’t even play. When he gets back, expect the offense and the defense of the Lakers to be run more smoothly. Go Lakers!