November 2010 Archives

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Lamar Odom went right to the heart of the Lakers' troubles after they fell to the Memphis Grizzlies tonight and suffered only their second three-game losing streak since Pau Gasol was acquired from Memphis on Feb. 1, 2008. Here's some of what Odom had to say after the Lakers fell to 5-5 in their last 10 games:

"Defense takes unity. We're a lot closer than we're showing on the court as a team. We're used to getting stops and talking, the energy picks up as a team. And we let teams hang around us. I watched teams almost start to give up before the game. Like, our first 11 games, I watched teams come in our gym or us go places and they almost gave up and then we kind of took our foot off the gas and we gave them confidence and we've started losing to teams I really felt like we shouldn't be losing to.

"I don't feel like they've beaten us to where we don't know what to do or how to match up or anything like that. I think we have to get back to how we were playing as a group. Because your energy picks up, your focus picks up and the game comes really easy. Everybody shoots it well enough and passes well enough to make it really easy. A lot of the teams we were playing wouldn't even get close to it. I've seen it. Earlier in the season. We were kind of toying with them a little bit."

The Lakers have issues in the wake of their two-game losing streak, and Pau Gasol's heavy workload is the biggest of them. He played 45 minutes, 30 seconds two nights after going 44:54 during the Lakers' loss to the Utah Jazz. He scored 13 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and added three assists and three blocks tonight. But he looked fatigued at times and was frustrated by the Pacers' tight defensive coverage on him. Things aren't likely to get better for him when the Lakers face his younger brother, Marc, and the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. Lakers coach Phil Jackson made it clear tonight the team will not sign a free agent to serve as backup until Andrew Bynum is ready to play next month. Theo Ratliff could be out up to six weeks after he had knee surgery. Gasol has no backup and his team-leading average of 39:04 is not going to go down any time soon.

The Lakers were halfway to an embarrassing defeat tonight, with the Indiana Pacers dragging them yawning and snoring through the first half at Staples Center. Both teams played as if stuffed with Thanksgiving turkey. The Pacers were only slightly better at shooting, passing and rebounding, so they led. The Lakers shot 39.5 percent; the Pacers shot 44.4 percent. The Lakers had 19 rebounds; the Pacers had 25. The Lakers had 12 assists; the Pacers had 12. Kobe Bryant had 18 points and Lamar Odom had 10.

Andrew Bynum wants to make his season debut three weeks from now. "That's just me," he said after a rigorous on-court workout this afternoon at the Lakers' training facility in El Segundo. "The training staff and other people may see things differently. I don't have a target. I just want to be back within three weeks. That's my personal goal." FYI: the Lakers play the Raptors in Toronto on Dec. 19, three weeks from Sunday.

SALT LAKE CITY -- This was one the Lakers had in their pockets, then suddenly got it swiped. Kobe Bryant went on one of his electric fourth-quarter runs, scoring 14 consecutive points to give the Lakers a 96-91 lead with 2 minutes, 32 seconds remaining. They didn't score again, though, and the Utah Jazz rallied to win behind some determined play. Bryant ended up with 31 points, but didn't get a lot of help in the fourth quarter. Pau Gasol went scoreless after scoring 21 points in the first three quarters. Ron Artest missed a couple of big shots, including a 3-pointer from the corner that would have given the Lakers a lead. He also fumbled a rebound out of bounds at a key moment late in the game. Deron Williams had 29 points for Utah, including the tying 3-pointer. Next: Indiana on Sunday.

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Lakers built a 19-point lead over the Utah Jazz in the second quarter, but couldn't hold it. They shot a scalding 13-for-19 in the first quarter, but then slumped to 4-for-21 shooting in the second quarter. It wasn't a winning combination. Pau Gasol scored 11 of his team-leading 13 points in the first quarter. Kobe Bryant added 11 points by halftime. Deron Williams scored 11 points for the Jazz in the first half.

Oh man, when will these people learn? Lakers coach Phil Jackson has raised mind games to an art form during his Hall of Fame career. He jabbed the Miami Heat on Tuesday by suggesting if the team's struggles continue, then team president Pat Riley might fire Eric Spoelstra as coach. Jackson likened it to a similar situation in Miami in 2005, when Riley replaced Stan Van Gundy early in the season.

Van Gundy, now coaching the Orlando Magic, responded to Jackson today.

"To second-guess another coach and comment on a situation he knows nothing about, I think, it's inappropriate and it's also ignorant," Van Gundy told reporters. "I don't mean that commenting on Phil's intelligence, he's obviously a very smart guy. I mean it as ignorant -- he doesn't know what that situation was and he doesn't know what that situation in Miami is now.

"I don't think that, unless their relationship's changed drastically, that he and Pat talk on a regular basis. So I doubt he would have any insight ever on what's going on in Miami."

Here's what Miami's Dwyane Wade said: "The only thing surprising about it is a coach saying it about another coach in this league. I expect that from someone else to say it, but not another coach. It's unfortunate. But I guess Coach Jackson has earned the right to say what he wants, and he continues to exercise that right."

Too funny. Don't these dudes get cable? Or read a newspaper?

The Lakers have the NBA's highest average ticket at $95, according to a survey of the league's 30 teams announced today. The two-time defending champions raised ticket prices by 2.1 percent overall. The New York Knicks had the second-highest prices at an average of $89 per ticket. The Boston Celtics were third at $69. The Memphis Grizzlies had the league's lowest average ticket at $23, a drop of 3.9 percent.

Further, the Fan Cost Index, which takes into account the prices of four average-price tickets, two small draft beers, four small soft drinks, four regular-size hot dogs, parking for one car, two game programs and two least-expensive, adult-size adjustable caps, shows the Knicks with the most expensive night out at a game, with a cost of $506. The Lakers are second at $489, followed by Boston ($393), Miami ($380) and Chicago ($365).

The Lakers improved to 13-2 to start the season by winning a game they might have lost if not for their depth and resourcefulness. In the end, their second unit enabled them to pull out a victory over Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls. Shannon Brown scored 21 points and Steve Blake and Matt Barnes sparked a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter. Blake made a pair of 3-pointers and Barnes hit one. Lamar Odom also scored 21 points. Rose scored 30 points for the Bulls and also had five rebounds and eight assists. The Lakers' backups outscored their Chicago counterparts, 39-10. Next: the Utah Jazz on Friday.

The evolution of Shannon Brown continued in the first half tonight. Brown scored 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting in 14 minutes in a reserve role. The Lakers would have been lost without him. Kobe Bryant added 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting, but the rest of the Lakers were out of sync. Derrick Rose led Chicago with 16 points and seven assists in the half.

Andrew Bynum will undergo an MRI exam Tuesday on his surgically-repaired right knee, which will be compared to MRIs taken last month and two months ago. Bynum also is scheduled to begin to intensify his workouts this week, adding jumping and lateral movement to his routine. If all goes well and he suffers no setbacks in the next week or two, he said he should be ready to practice with his teammates. In other words, it's going to be a while longer before he makes his season debut. "I just want to be healthy," he said.

Pau Gasol couldn't miss tonight, scoring 28 points on 10-for-10 shooting. He also made all eight of his free-throw attempts. He grabbed nine rebounds and added five assists, and he didn't play a second in the fourth quarter. The Lakers thumped the Warriors, defeating Golden State for the 11th consecutive time. The Lakers have won four in a row after their two-game losing streak. Kobe Bryant added 20 points, Lamar Odom had 15 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds and Shannon Brown scored 17. Next: Chicago on Tuesday.

"It was a good positive night," Gasol said. "I wasn't thinking about it during the game. I was just trying to capitalize on the good passes of my teammates and opportunities. I'm always trying to be efficient and effective at all times."

Wilt Chamberlain holds the Lakers' franchise record by making 14 of 14 shots during a game March 11, 1969 against the Detroit Pistons.

The Lakers hammered the Golden State Warriors en route to a 29-point lead by halftime. They have scored 40 of their points in the paint, including 22 on fastbreaks. They are shooting 65.9 percent (29-for-44). They have 20 assists. Pau Gasol scored 20 points on 8-for-8 shooting against the hapless Warriors. Kobe Bryant has 13 points.

The Lakers went 3-0 on their trip to Milwaukee, Detroit and Minnesota and weren't really threatened in any of the three games against subpar competition. They did not escape unscathed, however. Ron Artest has been suffering from a sore back. Pau Gasol sprained his ankle Friday. Shannon Brown got poked in the eye. Lamar Odom continues to play with a sprained left thumb that made it difficult to control the ball in his dominant hand. Lakers coach Phil Jackson gave the team a day off, calling off today's scheduled practice.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Kobe Bryant appears in a commercial for a video game called "Call of Duty: Black Ops." He is seen shooting a weapon with the word Mamba on it. Jimmy Kimmel is in it, too. There are a bunch of explosions and people are firing off guns left, right and center. At the end, the words "There's a soldier in all of us" appear on the screen. It's raised a few eyebrows around the NBA, which has a strict anti-gun policy (see: Arenas, Gilbert).

Bryant reacted with disdain when asked about the commercial tonight.

Here's the conversation ...

Reporter: "This commercial you did, this Black Ops thing ..."
Bryant: "That's some silly (stuff). Next. I guess that's the end of the questions."
Reporter: "I don't mean to put a judgment on the question ..."
Bryant: "That's silly."
Reporter: "Why?"
Bryant: "Next question."

Later, Bryant and the reporter talked quietly in a hallway outside the locker room.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Lakers won the battle of the ex-Bruins, with Matt Barnes scoring 24 points on 7-for-7 shooting plus seven rebounds and six assists in 25 minutes. Kevin Love of Minnesota was held scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting. He also had seven rebounds.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Kevin Love did not score and had only three rebounds in the first half, which helped to explain why the Lakers were leading the Minnesota Timberwolves by double-digits at halftime tonight. Then again Darko Milicic scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the first half to keep the Timberwolves close. Michael Beasley also scored 12 points for Minnesota. Kobe Bryant scored 13 and Matt Barnes had nine for the Lakers.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Ron Artest said he hopes to try out for an NFL team once his playing days in the NBA are done. He said he believes he can be a tight end. He also said he might consider boxing, too. "I'm definitely going to try," he said before tonight's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. "The worst thing that could happen is they say, 'You suck.'" Artest laid out his plans to a pack of reporters. Lamar Odom, seated nearby, was incredulous. He asked Artest, "What are you going to do?" When Artest told him, Odom said flatly, "No, you're not."

MINNEAPOLIS -- Keep a close watch on Lamar Odom of the Lakers and Kevin Love of the Timberwolves, a pair of power forwards who are at the top of their games to start the season. Odom is averaging 14.9 points on 58.8 percent shooting plus 10.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists despite playing with a sprained left thumb. Love, a former UCLA standout, is averaging 18.9 points, 14.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists despite playing on a last-place team. Love's 31-point, 31-rebound game last week against the Knicks is the single best performance of the season so far. The Lakers are 10-2 and the Timberwolves are 4-9, so it shouldn't be close. Odom and Love will keep it interesting, though.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Not exactly a news flash, but Coach Phil Jackson said today the team isn't good enough defensively to win the NBA championship without center Andrew Bynum. Here's more from Jackson: "I don't think so. We have to shore it up another way than just relying on size. We've been talking to our players about being too porous as a team."

Asked about the importance of bringing Bynum back from knee surgery at the right pace, Jackson said: "We understand what Andrew brings to us and also we have to value his return and do it the right way. It looks to me like we're just going to have to say we want this to be right. We want him to last for the whole season. We don't want to rush this."

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Not to put too fine a point on it, but the Lakers whipped the Detroit Pistons tonight because: 1. They ran an offense and the Pistons didn't. 2. They played something resembling defense and the Pistons didn't. 3: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom made sure the Lakers wouldn't mess around and let the Pistons gain confidence. They led and the rest of the Lakers followed for a resounding victory. Bryant scored 33 points, Gasol had 25 and Odom added 15 points plus 14 rebounds.

Next: Minnesota on Friday.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Kobe Bryant is halfway to a monster game tonight against the hapless Detroit Pistons. He has 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting in the first half. It's uncertain if he will play enough in the second half to reach 40 or more points. He scored almost at will against the undersized Pistons, who lost Rip Hamilton to two technical fouls in the first half and then appeared to lose Tracy McGrady to a sprained ankle. McGrady returned near the end of the half after the Pistons said he might be finished for the night.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Andrew Bynum moved a couple of tentative steps closer to returning to the practice court (next week maybe?), but still couldn't say when he would make his 2010-11 debut. He sounded fairly sure he would be practicing with his teammates by Thanksgiving, but playing in a game for the first time since undergoing offseason knee surgery remains a mystery. "I don't know yet," he said before the Lakers' game tonight against the Pistons. "I have to no idea. If these workouts continue to go well, hopefully, I'll be on time. But if I get soreness or something like that, I'll have to slow down a little bit."

MILWAUKEE -- The Lakers ended their two-game losing streak by defeating the Milwaukee Bucks tonight for their ninth victory in 11 games to start the season. Kobe Bryant scored 31 points, grabbed seven rebounds and added three assists for the Lakers. Shannon Brown scored 21 points in a reserve role and Pau Gasol had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Brandon Jennings scored 19 of his 31 points for Milwaukee in the first half. Next: Detroit.

Ron Artest scored seven points in only 17 minutes, 30 seconds amid speculation that he was injured. Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Artest wasn't feeling right, but declined to elaborate. Artest said he would have to check with Jackson before responding to reporters' questions about his fitness. He said he would play in Wednesday's game against Detroit.

MILWAUKEE -- The ex-Clipper Factor is in full effect tonight. Matt Barnes, Steve Blake and Lamar Odom of the Lakers are former Clippers. Milwaukee's Earl Boykins, Keyon Dooling and Corey Maggette played for the Clippers, too. None of them had the impact that Brandon Jennings had on the game in the first half. Jennings scored 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting for the Bucks.

MILWAUKEE -- Playing at UCLA has its rewards well beyond the obvious ones. Just ask former Bruins standout Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who, as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports today, got his introduction to Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant in a few pickup games at UCLA. Mbah a Moute will guard Bryant tonight. "I was fortunate enough to be at UCLA when we had a lot of pros come in (during the summer)," Mbah a Moute said. "To play with those guys, Kobe, Paul Pierce, Baron Davis, you name it. It was intimidating, but it was more fun. Those guys were our role models because we saw them on TV."

MILWAUKEE -- Theo Ratliff underwent surgery on his left knee today and will be sidelined a minimum of four to six weeks, the Lakers announced. Team orthopedist Steve Lombardo performed the 30-minute procedure this morning. Ratliff played eight games and averaged 0.3 points and 1.6 rebounds before missing the last two games because of tendinitis. The Lakers could use Andrew Bynum's services right about now, but there's no firm date for his return to the practice court after he underwent offsesaon right knee surgery.

MILWAUKEE -- Lamar Odom and Theo Ratliff underwent MRIs today, which revealed Odom has a bone bruise in his right foot and Ratliff needs arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Odom will play Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Lakers will learn more about Ratliff's recovery time after Tuesday's surgery. Also, Steve Blake's stomach ailment, which kept him from playing in Sunday's loss to Phoenix, is over and he'll play Tuesday.

MILWAUKEE -- I gave this some serious thought on the flight here today, and I think the NBA's crackdown on complaining about referees' calls or non-calls is a wise move. So far, though, the referees aren't letting the players get away with anything. Nothing. Every wave of the arms or vocal outburst, no matter how brief, is grounds for a technical foul.

Keep your hands up too long, it's a technical. Grumble about a call, it's a technical. The rule needs to be tweaked a bit. Lamar Odom shouldn't have been T'd up late in Sunday's game for yelling, "And one," after he believed he had been fouled. It seemed a little harsh given the closeness of the score and the late time in the game.

There have been a few other instances around the league when the referees have gone too far. NBA commish David Stern wants an end to the whining and complaining. OK, fine. But this is an emotional game and the players should get a chance to vent a little for a second or two. No one wants a running words between players and referees.

The constant complaining is pointless and should be curbed, but when a player shouts after a play and then shuts up, that should be the end of it. The punishment has to fit the crime. In the case of Odom on Sunday, the punishment did not fit the crime. Odom had a beef (it looked like he was fouled) and he should have been granted a moment to air it.

I don't think I'm wrong here.

The Phoenix Suns torched the Lakers tonight, making a franchise-record 22 shots from beyond the 3-point arc. They also came up one shy of the NBA record set by the Orlando Magic in January 2009. In the process, the Suns exposed a weakness in the Lakers' game: perimeter defense. Jason Richardson scored 35 points on 13-for-20 shooting, including 7 of 10 from behind the 3-point line. Channing Frye scored 20 points on 4-for-9 shooting on 3s. Steve Nash had 21 points and 13 assists. Kobe Bryant scored 25 points, grabbed nine rebounds and added 14 assists for the Lakers. Pau Gasol added 28 points and 17 rebounds, but it was all but lost in the flurry of Suns' 3-pointers.

The Lakers got plenty of easy baskets in the first half of tonight's game against the Phoenix Suns, scoring 38 of their 53 points in the paint. They also outrebounded the Suns, 25-16.
They didn't lead at halftime, however. The Suns seemed willing to trade two points for three in the first half. Phoenix made 12 of 20 shots from beyond the 3-point arc (60 percent). They were 21 of 42 overall (50 percent). Jason Richardson led Phoenix with 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting, including 4 of 5 on 3s. Lamar Odom had 15 points and Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant added 14 points each. Bryant was the only one of the two to shoot a 3. He was 1-for-2. He also had seven assists and five rebounds and a triple-double was possible.

Backup guard Steve Blake came down with an upset stomach and was not on the active roster for tonight's game against the Phoenix Suns at Staples Center. His absence figured to open some playing time for Sasha Vujacic, who has hardly played at all this season. Lakers coach Phil Jackson has used four guards in his rotation, and Vujacic has been No. 5.

Andrew Bynum's return to the practice court remains uncertain, but he did shoot baskets on an adjacent hoops while his teammates went through their practice today. Later, he went through some rehab exercises as the rest of the team headed to the showers or the weight room. Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he expected Bynum to participate in some drills with his teammates soon, but not before the team returns from a trip to play Milwaukee on Tuesday, Detroit on Wednesday and Minnesota on Friday. It's also not clear how much longer it might be before Bynum can make his 2010-11 debut. Jackson said last month it might not be until Thanksgiving, but Thanksgiving is coming up fast.

Not exactly earth-shattering news, but TNT commentator and former NBA superstar Charles Barkley likes the Lakers. He said after the Lakers' loss Thursday to the Denver Nuggets: "They have the best closer (in Kobe Bryant), they have the best big man (Gasol). This is the best Lakers team with the addition of (Matt) Barnes, (Steve) Blake and Theo Ratliff. This is their best team." Presumably he meant during the last few seasons. it would be hard to top the talent and depth of the championship teams of 2000 through '02 or the sustained excellence of the Showtime Era title winners of the 1980s. Then again ...

DENVER -- The streak is dead. The Lakers learned a painful lesson about closing out games tonight, when they lost for the first time in nine games to start the season. The Denver Nuggets took them apart in the fourth quarter, capitalizing on runs of 16-0 and 11-0. The Lakers took too many 3-pointers to suit Coach Phil Jackson and they couldn't stop Ty Lawson or Carmelo Anthony in the fourth quarter. Denver outscored the Lakers, 33-19, in the fourth quarter while shooting 60 percent to the Lakers' 29.2.

"That is what they do," Kobe Bryant said of the Nuggets. "We know this team very well. We know what they are capable of doing. Ty Lawson is very good at that, J.R. (Smith) is obviously, too, so we are not surprised by that."

Of Anthony, who scored 32 points, Bryant said: "That is a bad boy."

Bryant scored 34 points on 11-for-32 shooting.

DENVER -- Kobe Bryant went into tonight's game against the Denver Nuggets needing 17 points to reach 26,000 for his career, the 12th player in league history to reach the mark. He also would have been the youngest, at 32 years, 80 days, faster than Wilt Chamberlain (32 years, 114 days). Bryant hit the milestone when he scored on a short turnaround jumper in the opening moments of the second half. He scored 13 points in the first half.

DENVER -- Hard to figure out what to make of the first half tonight. The Lakers shot enough bricks to build a house, but still managed to lead the Denver Nuggets. Kobe Bryant scored 13 points on 4-for-15 shooting. Ron Artest had 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting, the only Lakers starter shooting above 50 percent in the first half. The highlights of the game so far included a driving dunk by Shannon Brown and a wild brawl in the stands. Several unruly fans were ejected from the arena by some late-arriving security personnel.

Here's what Derek Fisher said during his postgame rant after the Lakers beat the Timberwolves on Tuesday for their eighth consecutive victory to start the season:

"The way we played tonight was irresponsible and it was reckless and it was disrespectful. I can't get any clearer than that. There was an air of complacency of arrogance of 'we don't have to play as hard as the other team to win' that I didn't like tonight. That goes for all of us. That doesn't mean that we're going to play perfectly every night or that we're going to win all 82 games, I'm not that optimistic. But it didn't have to be that way."

Reporter: Is this going to be addressed to the team?
Fisher: "I don't know. But I guess we'll read it and hear about it tomorrow. We just finished and so obviously my emotions are higher now than they might be tomorrow, but that's just how I feel about it. It didn't have to take place the way that it did. It wasn't the right way to play the game. I think prior to tonight we've done a fairly good job in respecting each opponent and each game for what it presents. Tonight we didn't do that. It's that simple."

Reporter: Did any stat jump off the page at you?
Fisher: "I don't even have to look at a stat sheet. I don't know what the numbers are, what the stats are, we just didn't play the game they way it was supposed to be played. It has nothing to do with the opponent. I've said that before. I don't care who we play, there's a certain type of basketball that we have to play in order to be who we are and that's not how we played tonight. regardless of who the opponent is, you have a higher chance of losing if you play the way that we played tonight. We can't do this against anybody. It doesn't matter what the records are ..."

Eight-and-oh, but hardly perfect. The Lakers hard their share of flaws during their victory tonight over the Minnesota Timberwolves. They didn't play with enough effort to please Phil Jackson, who gave the team the day off Monday and figured a clunker might be in the works. Kobe Bryant didn't sound too concerned after scoring a season-high 33 points. "We don't take much out of it," he said after making 12 of 28 shots. "The regular season is just about powering enough wins, just trying to get better, and tonight we did that." Former UCLA standout Kevin Love scored 23 points and grabbed a career-high 24 rebounds, but the Timberwolves still lost their sixth consecutive game and fell to 1-7 to start the season.

Ho-hum, the Lakers held a modest lead by halftime tonight. Kobe Bryant scored 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting, and there was no way the Minnesota Timberwolves had anyone capable of stopping him. He seemed destined for a big night when he scored 11 in the first quarter. Bryant scored the Lakers' final eight points of the first half, helping them to a six-point lead. The Lakers had their hands full with the Timberwolves, however. Kevin Love, the former UCLA standout, had 12 points and 11 rebounds in the first half.

Pau Gasol recorded his fourth career triple-double tonight, scoring 20 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and adding 10 assists during the Lakers' seventh consecutive victory to start the season. He was simply too much for the Trail Blazers to handle in the paint.

Or as Kobe Bryant put it after the game: "He made incredible plays out of the double teams. He made all the right plays, depending on what the defense was doing. You've got pick your poison with us, and you've got to make a choice. We have so many weapons."

Said Portland guard Brandon Roy: "Pau is a monster. I think he almost had a triple-double at halftime. He's catching that ball, he's passing it, and they basically gel and hit the open man. They're hitting the open man every time, Kobe does not have to spend much energy and they don't even have (injured center Andrew) Bynum, so they're loaded."

Let's face it, the Lakers are going to lose one of these days. They had to scramble to beat the Chris Bosh-less Toronto Raptors tonight at Staples Center to improve to 6-0 to start the new season, and the good times won't continue unless they start playing better defense. Defense and rebounding go hand-in-hand, and the Lakers didn't stay in front of anyone tonight and got hammered on the boards, 49-31. Pau Gasol, who averages 11 rebounds, didn't get his first until midway through the third quarter. He finished with seven rebounds to go with 30 points. Next: the Portland Trail Blazers visit Staples Center on Sunday night.

"We always got to work on stuff," Kobe Bryant said after he had 23 points. "You can't go through a year playing perfect basketball. You still got to work on things. It's just about geting a win and just moving on, and just continuing to get better."

The Lakers scored at will tonight at Staples Center. So did the Toronto Raptors, which probably had Lakers coach Phil Jackson peeling the paint off the walls in the locker room at halftime. He hasn't been satisfied by the Lakers' defense so far this season, and their latest effort was as bad as they have played in 5 1/2 games. Pau Gasol had 14 points in the first half, Steve Blake had 12 and Kobe Bryant had 10. Leandro Barbosa had 15 for Toronto.

SACRAMENTO -- Kobe Bryant scored 27 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for his first triple-double since Jan. 21, 2009 against the Clippers and the 17th of his career. He had 25 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists going into the fourth quarter of the Lakers' 112-100 victory over the Kings tonight. He then got a rebound in his first minute or so after returning from a rest on the bench to start the final period. He said he doesn't care about easing fears that he's not 100 percent after undergoing offseason knee surgery. "I don't give a (bleep) if it settles it or now," he said. "I'm 100 percent."

SACRAMENTO -- Kobe Bryant continued to put any concerns about his offseason right knee surgery to rest, scoring 20-plus points in the first half for the second consecutive night. He had 21 points in the opening half tonight against the Kings, one night after he scored all of his 23 points in the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies. Bryant made 6 of 10 shots and also had six rebounds and eight assists in only 20 minutes.

SACRAMENTO -- Andrew Bynum has graduated from running on a treadmill to running on a track, but he's still not ready to run on a basketball court, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said before tonight's game against the Kings. "So he's getting ready for the next season, track and field season," Jackson joked. Jackson couldn't say when Bynum, who had offseason surgery on his right knee, could be fit enough to return to the court, however.

SACRAMENTO -- Nobody in Lakers history played as many minutes as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who logged 37,492 during his Hall of Fame career in purple and gold. Until tonight, that was. Kobe Bryant needed to play two minutes against the Sacramento Kings to pass Abdul-Jabbar to become the franchise's all-time leader in minutes. In addition, Bryant began the night 12 field goals shy of Jerry West's club record of 9,016 in his Hall of Fame career. Bryant is first or second on the Lakers' all-time list of games (second), minutes (second), steals (second), field goal attempts (second), free throws made and attempted (second), 3-pointers made and attempted (first) and free throw percentage (second).

Bryant has played a team-record 15 seasons with the Lakers, one more than Abdul-Jabbar, West and Elgin Baylor spent with the franchise. Magic Johnson played 13 seasons with the Lakers. Derek Fisher is in his 12th season with the team, joining Michael Cooper and James Worthy. Byron Scott is next with 10 seasons.

Research courtesy the Lakers' crack media relations department.

Kobe Bryant scored all 23 of his points in the first half and played only 25 minutes, 46 seconds. Pau Gasol had 21 points and 13 rebounds and played only 28:57. Lamar Odom had 17 points and eight rebounds and played a team-leading 34:14. Derek Fisher scored eight points in 23:24. Ron Artest had five points in 23:38. Winning tonight at Staples Center, defeating Memphis and improving to 4-0 was all well and good, but the big story was the fact that the Lakers' starters played only limited minutes. They should be well-rested when they face the Kings in Sacramento on Wednesday night.

Based on the early returns, this reporter is projecting the Lakers will beat Memphis handily and maintain their unbeaten record after four games. The Lakers matched their season high for points in a half from last season while shooting 58.1 percent. Kobe Bryant went off in the first half, scoring 23 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Pau Gasol had 15 points and eight rebounds and Lamar Odom had 11 points, four rebounds and four assists. The Lakers led by as many as 29 points in the first half. The Grizzlies missed their first nine shots.

Kobe Bryant said today he would like to join Team USA for the 2012 London Olympics. He was a guest with United States coach Mike Krzyzewski on Coach K's radio show and said, "You guys want me there, I am there and I'm ready to defend. And then when you guys need me to put some points on the board, I'll do that too."

Bryant was part of the Redeem Team that won gold in the 2008 Beijing Games.

Pau Gasol was named the player of the week in the Western Conference today. Boston's Rajon Rondo earned the honor for the Eastern Conference. Here's more from the NBA's press release: "Gasol led the Lakers to a perfect 3-0 week, averaging 25.3 points on .525 shooting from the field to go with 10.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists. Gasol opened the season with a 29-point effort in a home win over the Rockets.He also recorded a double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds in a win over the Warriors on Sunday night."