Bryant does a little of everything to dispatch Jazz
What blew them away, though, was just how much he had a hand in everything.
Bryant didn't just score 38 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 109-98 victory in Sunday's Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference semifinal series.
He also dished seven assists and got big men Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom intricately involved, leaving the Jazz to figure out whether to choose rock or hard place for Wednesday night's Game 2.
"That's their team," said starting shooting guard Ronnie Brewer, one of the Jazz's primary defenders on the Lakers superstar. "Their first option might be Kobe. You shut that option down, he's gonna make a pass to somebody.
"And if you rotate well, they tend to move the ball really well," Brewer added. "They were throwing the ball inside to Gasol, the guy streaking to the basket. Their chemistry was really going for them."
All of which leaves the Jazz seeking a solution that may or may not exist.
"You have Kobe commanding so much attention, it opens it up for the rest of them," said Kyle Korver, Brewer's backup at shooting guard and another Bryant defender.
Bryant's 21 free throws made and 23 attempted Sunday both were a personal playoff high.
"You can't let him have 23 free throws. That's for sure," veteran small forward Matt Harpring said. "We've got to make him hit shots, and do our best to just stay in front of him and not foul him."
Much easier said that done, Brewer would attest.
"Their triangle offense, there are so many options in there," he said. "So a lot of times you get the ball in the post, and he's being physical with you, so you have to be physical back with him. Unfortunately they were calling it a little tough down there."
But, Brewer added, "You have to make adjustments, or read how they're gonna call it, and just make him work on the offensive end. I mean, he's a talented player. He's going to take a high number of shots. He's gonna take the ball to the basket aggressively. You just have to be ready every play."
And sometimes even that is not good enough. The search for adjustments, then, is on.
The Jazz did try to trap Bryant a bit in the second half, but coach Jerry Sloan is leery is leaving other option open.
"All you can do is be a team," said starting small forward Andrei Kirilenko, yet one more Bryant defender. "Team help — because he is such a good player it's very hard to guard him 1-on-1. The whole team is supposed to be motivated to help, and help the helper.
"Tonight we probably did a couple times a great job on Kobe," Kirilenko added. "But he passed the ball, and we didn't help the helper — so it was a dunk or an easy layup (from someone else)."
E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com
Recent comments
Hey all you Laker fans who weren't Laker fans two years ago.....
lebronMVP | May 6, 2008 at 12:43 p.m.
want some chees with that whine?!!...Don't hate the playa, HATE...
LakersForeLif3 | May 5, 2008 at 4:50 p.m.
I would bet anything that the same Laker fans that are calling Jazz...
BBFan | May 5, 2008 at 3:41 p.m.
