In last night’s beating of the Seattle Supersonics, the Los Angeles Lakers played a game that not only resulted in a win, but also showed lots of potential for whats to come. The box score was absolutely amazing!

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers in scoring but seven of his teammates also reached double digits. Surely enough, with Kobe only putting up 23 points and the team scoring a massive 130, the points had to come from somewhere, but lets take a look at how the contributions occured.

The Laker starters put up some great numbers:

• Kobe Bryant: 23 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists (only 30 minutes)
• Derek Fisher: 11 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists (24 minute; split time evenly with Jordan Farmar)
• Lamar Odom: 13 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists (29 minutes)
• Ronny Turiaf: 13 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists (27 minutes)
• Vladimir Radmanovic: 13 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals (38 minutes)

The starters, besides Radman, only played about 30 minutes. The reason for this was because the bench came in at the end of the 1st and the 2nd quarters and showed Phil Jackson that they can handle this game against a lower level opponent.

The bench added the following:

• Jordan Farmar: 14 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists (24 minutes)
• Sasha Vujacic: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists (15 minutes)
• Luke Walton: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists (23 minutes)
• DJ Mbenga: 8 points, 2 rebounds (21 minutes)
• Coby Karl: 2 points, 2 assists (5 minutes)
• Ira Newble: 2 points, 1 rebound (4 minutes)

An 11 man rotation is an amazing thing in the NBA, considering teams like the Phoenix Suns are playing only about 7 guys on average. When I first looked at the box score I started gathering a bunch of thoughts. Here are some ideas that I pulled out of the game:

• Phil Jackson felt that even with a big win for the Lakers it would be beneficial for Vladimir Radmanovic to get some playing time and continue the positive momentum he’s been building. He has been doing a great job in putting together a solid game on the offensive end but Phil has also noted that his defensive game has significantly improved as of late. Jackson commented on the play where Pau Gasol got injured and he made it clear that Radman was not in the offensive position he was suppose to be in at the moment which is one of the causes for the injury. Radman has picked up practically every detail of the triangle offense and is clearly beginning to excel in the system. He is finally doing what is necessary to create plays for himself, not only from beyond the arc but also driving through the lane and putting in easy layups.
• Sasha Vujacic has been playing amazing basketball in the last few weeks/months. Sasha has been rewarded with lots of playing time as of late and he has done a great job in subbing in for either the point guard, shooting guard, or small forward positions. Phil Jackson has declared Sasha as the 2nd best defender wearing purple and gold.
• Jordan Farmar has been splitting the playing time with Derek Fisher recently. Although Fisher is the starter and the team co-captain, there is no real trend to whether Farmar or Fisher will finish the game off when it is close. I think that both have become superb players, with Fisher being slightly more of a mental leader on the floor, and Farmar becoming more of a physical/play-making leader. Depending on who happens to be having the better shooting night (because the point guard of the triangle offense is a shooter, not an assist machine), that player will be in the game in the clutch. It’s very nice to have two equally strong and capable point guards on one roster.
• Ronny Turiaf has stepped up big time and has shown very impressive signs of his clear understanding of the triangle offense. He has now led the Lakers in assists in the last two games. Phil Jackson also had a comment for this: in the triangle offense, the post player will often draw defenders and leave an outside shooter, or two, wide open. If Turiaf plays the center position correctly, he should be able to rack up the assists one after the other.
• The Lakers had 36 assists on 51 buckets last night. This is a season high in assists for the team and it is really an amazing stat. Sharing the ball has often been a criticism of this team, considering Kobe is a play maker who creates his own shots.
• Overall, great shooting night from everyone throughout the game at 60.7% fg% and 52.2% 3pt-fg%. The Lakers have been taking, in my opinion, a bit too many three point shots as of late, but hey, if they are making 50% of them, go for it!

The Los Angeles Lakers currently hold the #1 spot in the Western Conference with a record of 47-21. Phil Jackson set a goal of 50 wins before 20 losses, but that obviously went out the window as soon as Pau Gasol‘s injury struck the team. The next two games are another back to back against the Golden State Warriors, which has become known as the “home-and-home back-to-back” apparently. They are a strong team, but if we can manage to win both games, then we can potentially set the Denver Nuggets up to take over the eighth spot and a much easier opponent for us, compared to Golden State (more to come on this topic soon).

I can’t take it anymore, please bring on the playoffs…. NOW!!!