Some post-game thoughts (Lakers edition)

And the Lakers' streak of futility at the Rose Garden continues . . .

• That stat line of the night: Brandon Roy scored 32 points on just 11 shots (he was 9 for 11).  Kobe Bryant also had 32 points, but he took 37 shots (he was 14 for 37).  Advantage Roy.  That is called efficiency, folks. 


• Just about everyone had a good night for Portland.  Andre Miller was aggressive all night, scoring 17 points and adding 7 assists and 3 boards.  Showing no hard feelings from yesterday's spat, Nate put Miller back in down the stretch, despite the fact that Jerryd Bayless was playing well.  Miller responded with a beautiful backdoor pass to Roy for a layup to effectively seal the game.  


• Jerryd Bayless only played 21 minutes tonight, but he made the most of them, scoring 21 points and adding 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and a block.  He started out the game shooting lights out, making his first 5 shots.  All of them should have been three pointers, but on four of them, Bayless had a toe on the line.  My guess is that the coaching staff is going spend some practice time with Bayless going footwork drills.  Quibbles aside, though, Bayless had a solid night.  In the second half he repeatedly drove to the hoop and drew trips to the foul line.  He took 12 foul shots in 21 minutes.  That's Bayless at his best. 


• Martell Webster had yet another solid game.  His shot was off (6-17, 2-10 from 3-point range), but he still managed to score 14 points and pull down 8 rebounds.  More importantly, though, he capably guarded Kobe Bryant all night, played 46 minutes, and played with energy every second he was out on the court.  


• The other guy who played with a lot of energy was Dante Cunningham.  Nate played Cunningham ahead of Pendergraph in the rotation tonight, apparently because he thought he matched up better with Lamar Odom.  Dante had 7 points, 5 rebounds, and a block in 18 minutes of play.  He finished with the highest plus/minus of any player (+16) which is impressive given how few minutes he played.  Dante seems to consistently finish with a solid plus/minus. It's got to be his defense.  


• Juwan Howard continued to play like he's ten years younger, finishing with 8 points and 10 rebounds.    


• Lamarcus Aldridge is the only Blazer who had an off night.  He wasn't bad; he was just quiet.  He wasn't very aggressive, settling mostly for outside shots.  He finished with 8 points and 8 boards.  He did have 4 assists, though, all of them nice ones.  I don't think LMA is back to 100% on that ankle.  


• As seems to always be the case when the Lakers play in the Rose Garden, they just got out-hustled tonight.  The Blazers, despite their small frontline, out-rebounded LA 42 to 38.  They also got more fast break points (10 to 2).  Most telling, though, was the free throw disparity.  The Blazers shot 39 foul shots compared to 10 for the Lakers.  Part of that was that the Blazers were more aggressive.  Part of it was that the Lakers made a number of dumb fouls early in each quarter, putting themselves in the penalty and giving the Blazers a lot of extra foul shots.  


• Watching the Blazers handle the Lakers yet again, it makes me wonder what might have been had the Blazers managed to get past Houston in the playoffs last year.  I really think the Blazers could have given LA a run for its money.  We've always matched up well against those guys.