Interesting observation from Washington coach Ed Tapscott after the Lakers soundly defeated his Wizards on Thursday night. Tapscott, who was hired on an interim basis after Eddie Jordan got canned earlier this season, praised the Lakers’ unselfish play.

“You know what’s the most impressive thing about the Lakers? Tapscott said. “I watch Kobe Bryant, who is clearly one of the dominant scorers in basketball and maybe of all time, and I watched the way he made sure that every guy on the floor got shots.

“He shared the ball. He made sure (Pau) Gasol got the ball in his spots. When (Sasha) Vujacic came in, he made sure he got corner jump shots. He made sure (Derek) Fisher curled and got his shots.

“I watched him when he could have taken shots at any time (but) made sure his teammates got quality shots, so that they were into the game. That makes you run harder, rebound more, defend better. That makes everybody on the team participate with greater zeal when you have that type of unselfishness.

“I kept making that point to our young guys. Watch how they share the ball, even when the game is decided, so to speak, and you could go out there and look for your own numbers. They continued to share the ball and they were trying to get other guys shots.

“So that is very impressive team spirit that I hope our guys are impressed by. I certainly was.”