Kobe was ridiculous!
His 3rd quarter was unconcious....fun to watch, too!! Giricek started roughing him up a little bit, Kobe was still rising and nailing. He was 9-9 from the field, 10-10 from the line, 30 points (3 points shy of the record -- Iceman breathes easy). He also had some really nice passes. Great game from him.
Other Lakers that impressed Maurice Evans (he's really good), Jordan Farmar (how in the heck did he pick up the triangle that quickly), Luke Walton (he was always smart, now he's confidant), and Ronny Turiaf (hard-nosed energy guy with hands and can finish).
I also gotta mention Bynum: WOW maybe right that all Bynum will be is a good journeyman ala Robert Parish but he's wrong about the kid's moves. Now all I saw were fourth quarter garbage minutes against Utah's bench but he got the ball twice in the low post and impressed with solid footwork (including a double spin in traffic) and a soft touch.
Utah really had a bad game and Lakers shot the lights out but their was one player that impressed the heck out of me. Once again, limited 2nd Q minutes and some 4th Q garbage minutes, but I love what I saw of this guy: Paul Millsap!! Great knack for getting to the ball, quick off his feet (especially on the second jump), active defender (if not technically sound), and was a great finisher. No matter how bad the pass was, or awkward the angle, the guy put it in the basket. What a 2nd round FIND!! At this point I'm in favor of benching Jarron Collins completely to make room for Millsap. They need to start giving him 25 minutes per night and making him the focus of the second unit, I think he's really that good.
He didn't have a good shooting day but I like the way Deron Williams plays the game.
Andrei Kirilenko played OK but couldn't quite get the lift he's used to getting and it showed badly on a couple Kobe maneuvers.
Boozer looked sound (though still jump-shooting too much), Okur looked lost (until Boozer sat down), and Ronnie Brewer was awesome in the passing lanes.