| Top Four Lakers Topple Bucks Authored by Scott Essman - December 7, 2005 - 2:38 am

| Current Featured Columns | | The First Three Weeks of 2008-09 Now that we’ve had a little time to watch free agency unfold, along with the usual accompaniment of trades, let’s look at some of the key moves and how they impact the teams involved. Grading The Deal: W's Sign Maggette And TuriafThe Boom Dizzle era is over, and the Warriors quickly recovered by signing two nice pieces to complement their young core.
| |
Winning on the road hasn't been easy for the 2005-2006 Lakers. They had only won 3 road games in seven tries thus far. But in Milwaukee on Tuesday night, a little teamwork went a long way as the Lakers' best four players contributed equally in a 111-92 rout of the Bucks.
Chris Mihm, Smush Parker, Lamar Odom, and, naturally, Kobe Bryant were each effective in providing ample offense which overwhelmed the Bucks. Bryant scored 33 (his season average is a shade above 32), Odom contributed 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists, while Parker added 20 and Mihm scored 13.
When all four Lakers click like they did on Tuesday, their offense can be formidable. As has too often been the case this season, not all four players bring their A game on the same night. But Tuesday's game gives hope to Laker fans that a decent season is possible.
Perhaps the Lakers are getting acclimated to coach Phil Jackson's triangle offense. Or maybe they have encouraged each other in ways that only teammates know about. Either way, these Lakers (now 8-9 on the season) looked like the team that the organization envisioned game in and game out. Consistency seems to be the key word here as the team will need its top players to perform at their best all of the time.
Milwaukee's top player of the night was their franchise player, Michael Redd. Averaging 25.5 points-per-game this season, Redd went for 21 points against the Lakers. |