AP Kobe had the kind of big stat line we take for granted (but that the Lakers need right now). Jose Calderon had the second triple-double of his career. But Nicolas Batum’s balanced stat line wins the night.
Honorable mention to J.J. Hickson (24 points), Nick Young (30 in a losing effort, a lot in garbage time), Greivis Vasquez (23 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds), and James Harden (28 points).
Third Star: Kobe Bryant (34 points, 6 assists, four rebounds)
Kobe Bryant won the Lakers a game in Philly Sunday not because he scored 34 points, but because he scored 34 points on just 21 shots. It’s the trend this season — efficient Kobe. He shot 43 percent last season, it’s up to 48.2 percent this season. Why? He is getting 1.5 more shots at the rim per game while taking 3.3 fewer shots from 16 feet out to the arc (needless to say, you shoot a higher percentage at the rim than a long two). Also, he’s shooting 39.8 percent from three, which is well up from 30.3 last season. Sunday once again he looked strong running the pick and roll, making smart decisions when to attack and when to pass out of it.
Second Star: Jose Calderon (17 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds)
The Rockets continue to ask a lot more of Jose Calderon while Kyle Lowry is out… and if he happens to play well and boost his trade value while he’s at it, all the better. And Calderon certainly boosted that value on Sunday. He was 6-of-12 shooting but he was doing a little bit of everything, doing a good job hitting bigs who were flashing to the post and attacking (as opposed to a Raptor big man hanging at the three point line waiting for the ball… not to mention the name of someone who is injured). Just a good all around game from Calderon.
First Star: Nicolas Batum (11 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, 5 blocks)
The 5×5 isn’t just an oversized special order at In ‘N Out Burger, it’s also a heck of an NBA stat line — the last time a guy had a 5×5 game before Batum on Sunday was 2006. The last time a guy had 10 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks in a game was Jamaal Tinsley way back in 2001. Batum had not played well of late but broke out of it here showing the kind of all-around skills that led the Blazers to pay him $46 million over four years. It’s the kind of balance and play at both ends the Blazers need to pair in the perimeter with Damian Lillard.
