After splitting the first two games of their six game road trip, the Lakers beat the Wizards 103-89 Tuesday night. While a win against the Wizards is nothing to brag about, this one should allow Lakers fans to rest a little easier. For starters, Andrew Bynum made his season debut, after recovering from off-season knee surgery. Bynum played a total of 17 minutes, scored seven points and added two blocked shots.
Bynum’s return could not have come at a better time. Pau Gasol has been left to play extended minutes early in the season because of injuries to Bynum and Theo Ratliff. Here is an example of how the presence of Andrew Bynum helps the team. The last four games, Gasol has played 40, 43, 45 and 42 minutes. Tuesday against the Wizards, Gasol played 30 minutes. Bynum’s return will get the team’s rotation back to championship form, reduce minutes for Gasol and if Tuesday’s game was any indication, give the rest of the team more confidence.
Tuesday’s win against the Wizards was the Lakers’ most impressive victory in awhile. After the Lakers started the season 8-0, they have played average basketball. The Lakers have went 9-7 over their last 16 games, before Tuesday’s blowout win against the Wizards. The last 16 games have included the team’s first four game losing streak since the 2007 season, and sloppy wins against teams such as: the Nets, Clippers, and Wizards.
The Lakers looked more like the back to back champs on Tuesday night. After being outscored 24-22 in the first quarter, the Lakers outscored Washington by 16 points, over the course of the next three quarters, en route to a 14 point victory. While the final statistics could have been a little prettier, the Lakers finally took care of business against an inferior team. Kobe led the team with 24 points, on 7-13 shooting from the field. Lamar Odom added another stellar game, scoring 18 points and grabbing ten rebounds. In addition, Shannon Brown chipped in 16 points off the bench.
The Lakers continue their six game road trip tomorrow night in Indianapolis. The Pacers beat the Lakers last month in Los Angeles 95-92.
Joshua Sexton is a lifelong basketball fanatic, who watches as many games as possible. In addition, He has played and coached the game at the high school level. He has recently started writing about the game of basketball.
