Magic have no answer for Bryant-Gasol tandem
SATURDAY'S LAKERS BEAT
The two combined for 66 points Friday night by primarily running a series of pick-and-roll plays that Orlando could not defend.
ORLANDO -- Under NBA rules, locker rooms are supposed to be open 10 minutes after the final buzzer sounds. For every minute after that, more and more reporters start sweating, the horror of a rapidly approaching deadline hovering over them.
There was a whole lot of sweating going on Friday night at Amway Arena after the Lakers outlasted the Orlando Magic, 117-113. Orlando Coach Stan Van Gundy used his 10 minutes and then some. He talked to his players, he reviewed the game tape and, when he finally came out to meet the media, he rubbed his face and exhaled before finally saying, "We had a very rough loss."
There might be a trend here. Locker rooms all over the league may keep that "do not disturb" sign on longer than permissible after playing the new-look Lakers.
With center/forward Pau Gasol, acquired in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies last week, and Kobe Bryant both operating at peak efficiency for the first time, the Lakers were able to overcome a franchise-record, 44-point first quarter by the Magic.
In Gasol's first two games in purple and gold, Bryant was hampered by a dislocated right pinkie. Friday night, Bryant had 36 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and Gasol had 30 points and nine rebounds.
So what does Gasol add to the Lakers?
"[Friday night] he added everything," Van Gundy said. "He was the guy who I thought beat us. We couldn't contain him at all. When you run him in pick-and-rolls with Bryant, it is a very difficult thing. Gasol slips, he is able to catch the ball on the move and not only make shots, but make passes. . . . It's very, very difficult. And then, when you are also working so hard to play Bryant, it becomes even more difficult."
Magic forward Brian Cook, a Laker until he was traded in November along with Maurice Evans for Orlando's Trevor Ariza, sees a different team than the one left.
'When they get Andrew Bynum back [from a knee injury]," said Cook, "they are going to be an even bigger team, a long team. They will be able to stretch the court because they are going to have some long wing spans. When you play them, you've got to go to your 'A' game."
Even Orlando center Dwight Howard, who has been having a dominating season, had to admit it is very difficult to defend the two-pronged attack now at the Lakers' disposal.
"If Kobe is having a bad night -- which never happens -- they've got somebody else," Howard said, "who can step up and put the ball in the basket. That makes it very tough. If you get too focused on Kobe, Pau can hit the outside shot, he can put the ball on the floor and he is a great post-up player."
And here's a really scary thought for opposing teams. Sometime before the regular season ends, the 7-foot Bynum is expected to return, making this a three-pronged attack.
steve.springer@latimes.com
