Thank the basketball gods, Kobe found a better pinkie-taping arrangement.
After 2 games of anemic point production with his ring finger taped to the dislocated pinkie on his right hand, he and presumably the Lakers trainer, came up with tape support that separated the fingers, so he'd have a more natural touch again, despite the injury.
Result: 36 pts., 10 rebounds, and a Lakers victory, making for a 4-2 record, with 3 games remaining on this extended road trip.
Lakers were double-digit outscored by the Orlando Magic in the 1st quarter, returned the favor in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, and were outscored by 7 in the 4th, with the net result being a 4-point victory.
Also quite notable was the great new Laker Pau Gasol's 30 pt., 9 rebound contribution, after a slight dip in production in the Lakers shoulda-won-this-one-too narrow loss to Atlanta the game before.
Double-digit scoring from D-Fish, Vlade, Lamar, and Sascha sealed the deal.
Shaq may get yet another lease on upper echelon playoff life with the Suns, if he doesn't irremedially slow their run and gun offense, but I wouldn't bet against the twin tower effectiveness of Gasol and Bynum, when the latter returns from injury rehab in about a month. Here's hoping Andrew readjusts pronto.
I see no reason the Lakers can't make the Western Conference Finals, and go all the way.
Go Lakers, and shut Shaq the hell up. Enough already. It's Kobe's turn again for another championship ring, not Shaq's.
Keywords: Andrew Bynum, Kobe Bryant, Orlando Magic, Pau Gasol, pinkie, Shaq
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