The big question going into this one was would Kobe Bryant play or not on that badly sprained left ankle? Well Kobe did his usual magical quick rehab trick to help his Lakers beat Orlando 97-84 at Staples Center on Monday night avenging last month’s 14 pt. loss in Florida. Bryant looked and felt better than expected scoring 16 points in his almost 31 minutes of action but it was big Andrew Bynum who was the player of the game with 10 points, 18 rebounds (11 in the first quarter) and 4 blocked shots including the one in my picture above that sent Dwight Howard’s close-in shot into the stands. So it was only appropriate that right after the game I go directly to ‘Superman’s’ coach Stan Van Gundy, who you never need to ask too many questions of to get enough postgame sound to write a mini novel…as in his 1 minute 37 second opening statement…

Stan Van Gundy:

So we media types then had to wait until after 11pm for Kobe’s postgame thoughts due to his need to get treatment on the ankle, but it was worth it as I got several good comments and some laughs from ‘The Mamba’…

Kobe Bryant postgame vs. Magic:

A nice way to end a long night where the Lakers improved to 10-1 since the All-Star break that I just can’t let Kobe forget about, no matter how much he tries!

And the rest of the Lakers’ locker room was all smiles including Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher who each had plenty of praise for their newly regenerated big man and Bynum was the first to respond to why he’s become such a dominant force in the paint since the All-Star game?…

Lakers postgame locker room talk with Bynum, Odom, and Fisher:

Did you catch Fish calling his Lakers great? Sounds like a 3-peat in the making as long as those knees and ankles remain intact…and that mostly means you, Drew! And you should see the looks I’ve received from the media types when I compared Bynum’s play as of late to how Bill Russell helped the Celtics in his heyday? I’m not comparing rings or leadership, just what he’s doing in the middle…rebounding, defense and intimidation! So you doubters out there, listen and learn from someone who’s seen them both play and not just read about it, ok?