Pre-Game Report: Lakers vs. Jazz

Written by: Brian Chettanapanich

Los Angeles Lakers' Pau Gasol (R) of Spain and his coach Phil Jackson speak during a practice session attended by basketball fans in Barcelona October 5, 2010. The Lakers will play against Barcelona in an NBA Europe Live basketball game at Palau Sant Jordi on Thursday. REUTERS/Albert Gea (SPAIN - Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)


Last Sunday night, the Lakers took on the Utah Jazz as part of the Staples Center Shootout.

Key points to Sunday’s game:

– Kobe Bryant started to show his old “Black Mamba” form again hitting a majority of his shots with 14 points in the third quarter.

– Pau Gasol gave an A-effort game with 28 points and 4 blocked shots.

– Lamar Odom has been showing he can replace center Andrew Bynum for the first few months of the regular season coming up with 15 rebounds and averaging 8.8 boards per pre-season game.

– Surprisingly, forward Derrick Caracter didn’t get to play.

– Lakers shot a horrible 39% from the field

– Devin Ebanks received his first NBA technical in the 4th quarter. Ebanks reacted to a foul by swinging his arms down after the call and got T’d up for it. The officials are taking this new technical rule way too far.

For the Tuesday night game, the Lakers look to improve their pre-season record to 3-2 (not counting the Barcelona game). They must limit their 3-point attempts. Everyone on the team loves shots from downtown, but only Ron Artest is showing an ability to consistently knock them down.

The Lakers shut down Utah’s frontcourt last game and limited Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap’s shot attempts.

Shannon Brown is impressing many fans with his shooting range these past few games.

The Lakers MUST stop rookie Gordon Hayward. He single handedly gave Utah the win with 26 points, shooting 80% from the field, and hitting 10 out of 11 free throws.

On a final note, Deron Williams may play Tuesday night (strained right calf). Sasha Vujacic (concussion) and Luke Walton (hamstring) will likely be held out of this game.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz
Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 – 7:00 PM PST
TV: KCAL
Radio: 710/1330 AM ESPN Radio

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