What Went Right:
• Newly crowned league MVP Kobe Bryant showed why he is more than worthy of receiving the award, busting the Jazz for 38 Game 1 points on an efficient 8-16 shooting from the floor.
• Luke Walton was a huge X-Factor in the Lakers’ sweep of the Denver Nuggets and it looks like Sasha Vujacic could play a similar role for L.A. in this series after scoring 15 points on 4-6 shooting to ignite the Lakers off the bench.
• As was the case all series against the Nuggets, the Lakers received excellent secondary contributions from Pau Gasol (18 points, 10 rebounds) and from Lamar Odom (16 points, rebounds), the latter of whom rebounded from a statistically sub par First Round Series.
• The Lakers demoralized the Jazz by their continued ability to get to the free throw line, making 38-46 overall, compared to only 30 attempts for Utah. Bryant alone made an all-time Lakers high 21-23 free throws.
• L.A.’s defense was on point from the opening tip until the closing buzzer, holding one of the league’s most patient, precise offenses to just 38% shooting from the field and even worse 21% from behind the three point line in 19 attempts.
• Although much of the pre-series talk centered on the Lakers’ game plan against one of the best point guards in the game in Deron Wlliams, the purple and gold responded by holding the Jazz guard to 14 points on a poor 5-18 shooting from the field.
What Went Wrong:
• Okur dominated the matchup at center against Gasol, muscling his way to a game-high 19 rebounds to go along with 21 points.
• Andrei Kirilenko’s defensive prowess was on full display in Game 1 as the lanky forward blocked five Lakers shots to go along with two steals.
• The Jazz manhandled the Lakers on the boards, outrebounding them by a whopping 58-41 margin, including 25 to eight in offensive rebounds alone.
RSS Feed
