The Good:

• Whatever Phil Jackson Said at Halftime: He chalked it up simply getting back to the fundamentals of the offense, but maybe he threw in a Gipper speech or offered everyone a free Wii, because the Lakers rebounded from a terrible second quarter (see below) and laid the wood to Indy in the third.  The aforementioned 35-19 score was highlighted by everything the Lakers didn't do in the previous 12.  They moved the ball.  They cut.  They found the open man.  They made the extra pass.  The quarter got off to a strong start, with two easy L.O. lay ups, then got better as D-Fish nailed a 17 footer.  Kobe got hot, Walton made some great passes, and LO stayed active.  Overall, the Lakers shot 65% for the quarter, had nine dimes on 13 buckets, and took good care of the ball (two TOs).  On the other end, they kept the Pacers in half court sets, and hassled them into a 32% mark from the floor.  Sure, Indy missed some easy looks, but overall, the Lakers cranked up the defensive intensity.  It helps when you put the ball in the bucket, for sure. 
• Andrew Bynum:  Very active early, Bynum had 12 points at the end of the first, and 21 at the half.  He finished with 23, on 8-11 from the floor, with 13 boards, and four blocks.  7-9 from the stripe, to boot.  There were some hiccups, but overall his impact on the game was very strong.  With that sort of line and a robust +30 for the night (yes, +/- doesn't exist in a vacuum, but +30 is snazzy no matter how you slice it), it was another very good effort from Drew.  He made some nice plays on Jermaine O'Neal, who presents a unique challenge for Drew because he spends so much time facing up.  JO made some nice plays early, but Bynum adjusted well as the game went on.
• Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Especially in the Second Half:  Kobe struggled early, finishing 2-11 from the floor in the first half, and D-Fish wasn't much better (1-5).  But both made some massive plays for the Lakers in the second half. Kobe came out of the half on a tear, drilling two threes, hitting a couple more shots from the floor, and scoring 12 points overall.  In the fourth, 24 went back to distributing, notching three of his six total dimes.  Fish hit three monster shots from downtown over a two+ minute stretch in the fourth, which helped the Lakers quash Indiana's dream of a miracle comeback before it could gain too much traction.  Overall, it was a nice game for Kobe, who didn't dominate the scoring column but still made his mark in critical situations in the second half, both shooting and distributing.
• Lamar Odom, Luke Walton: Neither one was a star, but both quietly had a positive effect on the game.  Odom powered the team early in their third quarter reawakening, and finished with 13/13/3, while Luke overcame a very shaky start to finish with ten points, four boards, and a very nifty seven assists.
• Trevor Ariza: Only 17:42 of run, but still, he pitched in with six points, five boards, and two dimes.  It's becoming clear that at least a couple times a game, Ariza does something that sticks out.  Tonight, it was a sequence with about 30 ticks left in the third, when Ariza made a nice, quick, crisp entry pass to Drew, who dunked on O'Neal for the and-one.  Then, when Bynum missed the FT, Ariza out-jumped at least two Pacers to tip the ball out and give the Lakers possession.  Those add up over the course of a game.
• "Coby Karl replacing Kobe Bryant": In general, when these words are heard, as they were tonight, it's a good sign.  (Or, I suppose, a really bad one, but let's stay optimistic.)

The Bad:

• The Second Unit: They were on the floor twice, and didn't do much either time.  In the second quarter (an admittedly miserable one for the Lakers) the reserves allowed a ten point lead to shrink to six before they were yanked halfway through, mostly because they couldn't put the biscuit in the basket, if I might borrow a hockey cliche.  But their really ugly stretch came to kick off the fourth.  Starting the frame with an 18 point lead and staring at a busy week, PJ hoped to keep the starters on the bench, and ride the seconds through to the end.  No such luck.  The Pacers opened the quarter with a 13-2 run, fueled by six TO's, forcing Phil to call timeout and bring the starters back in at the 6:16 mark.  Two points and six giveaways in under six minutes.  And it wasn't just bad luck keeping the ball out of the hoop.  The group struggled to get a clean look.  Yeah, two main cogs of the unit were out (Vlad, Sasha), but still, not a good effort.
• Jordan Farmar: 1-8 from the floor, he struggled to run the offense with the reserves.  Granted, with Sasha and Vlad out, the Lakers did run a more points-challenged unit, but overall it wasn't his best effort.  A little too much dribble.  Three steals, though, which is always good to see.
• The Second Quarter:  The offense checked into the Hotel Stagnant, as player and ball stopped moving.  The result?  Four TOs, a 35% mark from the floor, and a ton of easy run outs for the Pacers.  The indifferent work on that end spread to the defensive side, too, as it often does.  The Lakers, who turned a terrible first three minutes of the first into a 10 point lead by the time it was over, allowed Indiana to get back to within two heading into the break.  Indiana wasn't necessarily outplaying them, the Lakers just stopped doing what gave them the lead in the first place.
• Javaris Crittenton: Three turnovers in ten minutes, most prompted by The Critter simply trying to force the issue more than he needed to.  The road to consistency is a long one.  On a positive note, I'm getting better at spelling his name correctly.   

The Out of Left Field: 

• Kwame Brown:  He was a bit a mixed bag tonight, with a few mental lapses and four PFs in only 13:28 of run.  But I've never seen Kwame play as aggressive offensively as he did tonight.  Time and time again, Kwame faced up to the hoop, made a dribble move, and worked towards the hoop.  The results weren't always pretty on an aesthetic level, but in spots they were effective, as 54 managed to get to the line a few times and forced Indiana to pay attention to him.  On the other hand, his eight points came with four turnovers, not exactly a great ratio.  But overall, it was nice to see Kwame try to create his shots, especially facing up.  He'll never be a particularly smooth player offensively, but down the road an increased willingness to be part of the offense will force other teams to man up on him, which helps create space on the floor for everyone else.  A face up game could also (dare to dream) make it easier for Brown to play a little four, which would be a major boon to rotation flexibility.

AUDIO: Phil obviously wasn't thrilled with how the seconds performed, plus plenty of good stuff about the upcoming roadie.  Fish and Walton had some good words about what went wrong in the second and early in the fourth.  Incidentally, I also learned that Walton, who grew up in San Diego, never experienced postgame orange wedges as a young athlete.  Is this just a Midwest thing?  Where once the game is over, the team mom brings over something to drink (juice was always popular, particularly Hi-C and Capri Sun) and some orange wedges?  C'mon, people!  Help me out. 

• Phil Jackson: Download phil_jackson_1.5 postIND.mp3
• Andrew Bynum: Download andrew_bynum_1.5 postIND.mp3
• Luke Walton: Download luke_walton_1.5 postIND.mp3
• Derek Fisher: Download derek_fisher_1.5 postIND.mp3

BK 

Some copy from Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and Pacers Coach Jim O'Brien, who threw some serious props in the direction of Andrew Bynum and Mitch Kupchak.  Kobe also had some praise for the third year center.  I asked him if Bynum has gotten to the point where, as the cliche goes, he "demands the ball."  As it turns out, not so much, but The Mamba digs the brains on display from the youngster.  Odom also had an interesting thought about the advantages coming from the core players having been together a while.  Sort of shows why patience, while often exasperating, can be necessary when it comes to building an effective team.

KOBE BRYANT

On Bynum keeping the team in it during the first half while his fellow starters were mostly cold.
"He's doing a great job.  He's staying consistent and coming out, playing hard and giving us maximum effort.  That's what we need."

On the importance of the back to back shots he hit immediately after being reinserted into the game, bumping a dwindling 7-point lead back to 1.
"It's more for us to understand that we took a blow from them, but I'm gonna go out there and throw an uppercut and let them know that this is our game."

On displaying more of a killer instinct against weaker teams than last season.
"We're playing for something much more important and special.  We're keeping our eyes on the prize.  it doesn't matter if we're playing a sub .500 team."

On what "10 games over .500" (the Lakers' current status) would have sounded like to Kobe coming into the seasons.
"It sounds like nothing to me.  Our goal is win a championship.  It's not to be ten games over .500, so it's important for us to continue to move forward.  The guys here understand that.  We're not playing for five seeds or four seeds.  We're trying to get to that top level.  That's what our focus is."

On this stretch of wins being a nice step, but nothing too big
"You gotta take little steps, but you can't be all proud and puff your chest about it.  It's a nice accomplishment.  It's a step in the right direction.  But it's not what we want."

On whether Bynum has reached the point where he's demanding the ball yet
"I don't think he's at that position yet.  Like I said, the buckets that he gets come off lobs and him being able to read the defense, which a lot of young centers don't know how to do.  A lot of them stand there and clog up the lane, but he understands how to space himself out and allow the defense to develop and then get easy opportunities.

On that being as impressive in some ways as setting up his own shot beginning with the ball
"It shows I.Q.  A lot of players wanna catch it and pound it.  He understands how to space out and let the play develop and then get the easy one."


LAMAR ODOM

On Kobe and Derek Fisher being cold in the first half, but finding a way to take the game
"Whether we're hitting shots or not, we gotta find a way to win.  Andrew's playing great.  He's dominating the inside and moving the ball and everybody's getting involved the ball.  It's fun to play like that."

On whether this team is playing its best ball over the last few years
"We're ten games over .500, so maybe.  But two years, we had (Phoenix), one of best teams in the NBA down 3-1 (in the playoffs), so we still have some improvement to make.  Hopefully, we can focus throughout the long season and advance into the playoffs."

On whether the team has a different focus this season against sub .500 teams
"When we're older and I don't mean the age of the players, I mean as a team, we have time together.  Putting in years together.  That helps your focus.  We know what to expect from each other."


PACERS COACH JIM O'BRIEN

On what makes the Lakers starting lineup tough to defend
"I think Fisher, Kobe, Bynum and Lamar is what makes their starting lineup very difficult for us to handle."

On Andrew Bynum's marked progress this season
"My hat is off to Mitch Kupchak for not making a move.  He saw what he had.  He is just a terrific talent and a huge presence inside.  You can't guard Kobe one on one and when you hold someone or bring someone over to help, they just drive to the front of the rim.  He seemed like he was eight feet tall to me tonight.  His development is a credit to him, their staff and the whole organization.

-AK