Shooting guard Kobe Bryant won the MVP Award for the NBA Finals for the second time in his career last night. He played in 7 games (all starts) in the NBA Finals for the Lakers and he averaged 41.1 minutes, 28.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game. He won the MVP Award despite only shooting 40.5% from the floor but that’s nitpicking as he was the best player on the floor in this series. Bryant played in 23 games (all starts) this post season for the Lakers and he averaged 40.1 points, 29.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been going up against a tough Utah Jazz team in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs, but they have a 2-0 series lead.  The Lakers have taken control of the series thanks to Kobe Bryant putting a ton of pressure on the Jazz.  Kobe has really picked up his play this round and as helped the Lakers take a 2-0 series lead.  Through two games, Bryant is averaging 30.5 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks.  He his shooting 54% (22/41) from the field and 94% (17/18) from the line.  The Lakers have also been doing a great job slowing down Jazz star point guard Deron Williams.  Williams was perhaps the best player of the first round, but the Lakers have slowed him down some.  In round one he averaged 25.8 points, 11.3 assists, and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 49% from the field.  In two games against the Lakers so far, Williams is averaging only 19.5 points, 8.5 assists, and 1.5 rebounds on just 36% shooting.  With Kobe on top of his game right now and with Williams struggling some, the Lakers should feel very confident going into game three tomorrow in Utah.

A lot of people were starting to jump on the Oklahoma City Thunder bandwagon after the Los Angeles Lakers lost two straight to the Thunder, including a 110-89 blowout loss in game four.  Those people got a reality check in the Lakers 111-87 blowout victory in game 5 last night.  I don’t mean to take anything away from Kevin Durant and the Thunder, who have shown they belong in the playoffs, but after the Lakers went up 2-0 they kind of went into cruise control against the young Thunder.  The Thunder proved they aren’t a team that will just roll over and let the Lakers breeze through the first round, but the Lakers are still the much better team and they proved that last night.  Kobe Bryant only scored 13 points on 4-9 shooting, so it wasn’t like Kobe took over and had one of those nights were nobody could stop him.  He did show off his defensive prowess though, shutting down the Thunder’s super athletic point guard Russell Westbrook.  Last night it was a Lakers team that showed off their depth and dominance, with 10 different players scoring and five in double figures.  They held the Thunder to 37% shooting and got 21 points off of 17 turnovers, while holding Durant to just 17 points on 5-14 shooting.  The Thunder definitely deserve some respect, but for the people that thought they were actually going to upset the number one seeded defending champions in the first round need to wake up.  I expect the Lakers to wrap up this series in game six and they are still my favorite to win the 2010 NBA Championship.

Not everyone can get the ball for the Lakers and starting point guard Derek Fisher does not have a problem with that. He has played in 77 games (all starts) for the Lakers and he is averaging 27.2 minutes, 7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Fisher’s shooting is off this season as he is only hitting 38.4% from the floor and 34.9% from three point range. I have a feeling that Fisher will hit some big time shots in the playoffs starting in a couple of weeks as he always does.

Starting small forward Ron Artest has fit in very well with the Lakers this season. He has played in 66 games (all starts) for the Lakers this year and he is averaging 34.1 minutes, 11.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Artest has behaved all year long and he is still playing at a very high level defensively. The hunger for a NBA Championship has gotten Artest focused and motivated to be a team player making him a huge asset to the Lakers.