‘He’s a very White Swan. I need him to be more Black Swan.’

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I don’t know exactly what Kobe meant by that, but I guess he wants Pau Gasol to stop being so F’ing soft and start kicking some ass, the way he did in the first month of the season and the 2010 Finals. It worked last night against Houston, as the Lakers needed both Gasol and Odom’s best to top the Rockets in overtime 114-106.

Bryant was his usual self, with 32 points, averaging 37 points during the Lakers last three games. Gasol scored 26 points and grabbed 16 rebounds while Odom pulled a 20-20.

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They don’t always need to be at their best, but Gasol, the real problem with the Lakers during the last two games (10.5 points, 37.5% from the field) needs to be in this state of mind every night. Stop settling for fade aways, semi hook shots while being pushed away. Just drive and hit somebody.

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A few miles north LaMarcus Aldridge made a very strong push for his All-Star cause, leading the Blazers with 40 points (career high) in their 99-86 win over the San Antonio Spurs, handing the Texans their 8th loss of the season. Aldridge (21.4 points, 9.1 rebounds) is having the best season of his career, doing everything he can to make the Brandon Roy injury matter less than it should. And he deserves a spot on the Western bench come the All-Star game.

And the funniest moment of the night was Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins acting like two jerks. Well, Rondo’s career has pretty much proven he is not the nicest person in the world, so no surprise. Cousins is also doing well en route to becoming a very unpopular figure.