Korver pointed to another factor beyond the score sheet, the man who has catapulted the Lakers in just three months from playoff hopeful to championship favorite, Pau Gasol.
Kobe Bryant might be the league's MVP, but that prize might well have eluded him again had not Gasol come to the team in a February trade to replace injured Andrew Bynum in the starting lineup and give opposing defenses another threat to worry about.
"He is so long," said Korver of the 7-foot-tall, 250-pound Gasol, "that all they have to do is throw the ball up and he is going to catch it. He has the longest arms in the world. And if you commit everyone to stopping him, that is going to free everybody else up."

Utah teammate Deron Williams also pointed to Gasol as a key to the new-look Lakers.
"He's not a shot blocker," Williams said, "but when he gets in the lane, he sure makes you think about it."
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