Lakers vs Rockets (11/18/12)

The end to the Bernie Bickerstaff era was proclaimed a bit prematurely. Lakers fans certainly didn't mind as the Lakers notched another win. This time they defeated the Houston Rockets 119-108. Head Coach Mike D'Antoni watched from the locker room and received treatment from Laker trainer Gary Vitti. Again the team looked much more comfortable in D'Antoni's "fun & gun" offense. It's kind of bizarre, as typically teams accumulate more turnovers when they run a more uptempo offense, but the Laker did a good job limiting mistakes.

Steve Nash and Steve Blake were still sidelined with injuries. I know Lakers Nation can't wait to get Nash back, but the silver lining of their injuries has been the play of reserve guards Darius Morris and Chris Duhon. Especially Morris who is a young player that is starting to get "it". Because of his age his development is critical to the Lakers' future. Even better if he can contribute now.

Notables:

The Good:
- Dwight was dominant from the tip. Blocks, dunks, rebounds, and intimidation. He brought it all tonight.
- Darius Morris & MWP had solid contributions w/ 12 and 15 pts respectively
- The Mamba strikes again! Kobe messed around and got a triple double (22pts, 11reb, 11ast) in his "facilitator" role with Nash out. He's been a broken record on my Good Notables list this year.
- Ball movement. Not just moving the ball willy nilly, but EFFECTIVE ball movement that leads to easy baskets or trips to the foul line.

The Bad:
- Transition defense was lacking at times, but overall the effort was there
- Garbage time unit gave up too many points

Overall, good solid game from the Lakers and a historic night for the Spanish Wonder Pau Gasol. He reached 15,000 points and became only the 10th foreign born player to accomplish it. Congrats Pau!