Kobe Bryant doesn’t have to do it all anymore and it’s made the Lakers a better overall basketball team.  He has played in 31 games this season and he’s averaging 36.5 minutes, 26.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game.  With Andrew Bynum, Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom helping out Bryant he hasn’t been as selfish as he has in the past and that’s a good thing for the Lakers.

The Lakers have lost cener Chris Mihm for the next 3-4 weeks with a sore Achilles. He has played in 19 games (5 starts) this season and he is averaging 13.3 minutes, 4.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. He is only shooting 36.9% from the floor and 64% from the free throw line so far this season. The Lakers will just have to give Andrew Bynum more playing time now and that should be a good thing for them.

The Lakers have not had much time for rookies Javaris Crittenton and Coby Karl to play yet but they like both players for the future. Crittenton has played in 10 games so far this season and he is averaging 5.6 minutes, 2.1 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. He is shooting 50% from the floor which is pretty solid. He will battle Jordan Farmar in the near future for the starting point guard job. Coby Karl has only played in 2 games this season and he is averaging 2.0 minutes, 1.0 point, 0.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Karl is a smart player along the lines of a Luke Walton.

The Lakers shot 50% from the floor last night and that was a big key to their victory. Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers with 50 points and 7 rebounds. Bryant is only the second player in the history of the NBA to score 50 points or more in 4 straight games. Lamar Odom also had a solid game with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.

The Lakers improved to 37-32 on the season with this win. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2007032303