SALT LAKE CITY — Three thoughts on the Jazz's easy 109-82 win over the Los Angeles Lakers from KSL.com's Utah Jazz beat writer, Andy Larsen.

1. Jazz take advantage of Lakers' non-effort

The Jazz played better than they did in their last two games, both losses, but the Lakers didn't really try to win this game.

The Lakers are a mess. They've reverted to a Kobe Bryant Farewell Tour traveling squad, a bunch of backup singers following around one famous old rocker losing his voice. Bryant was awful tonight, with five points on eight shots in his under 15 minutes of play. That's just on the offensive end — on defense, he doesn't bother trying anymore, except for occassionally gambling (and losing) on steals, which just puts him out of position.

And yet he's still somehow more impactful than Roy Hibbert, who has transformed from one of the NBA's best players (ranked 22nd in the NBA by ESPN in 2013) to one of its worst. Hibbert is horrendous now. His offensive game (he once scored 29 points against the Jazz, and used to average 13 points per 36 minutes) is now completely gone.

And his defensive game is not anywhere near where it should be. He's now allowing opponents to shoot 48.8% near the rim for the season, which is about the same as non-rim protectors David Lee and Spencer Hawes. The Lakers gave up 120 points per 100 possessions while he was in the game — ugly.

It was a glorified practice session for the Jazz, who easily took advantage of the Lakers' susceptibility to every sort of action the Jazz ran. By halftime, the worry was whether or not the Jazz could keep their focus level high enough to not start slipping on their habits.

As Quin Snyder said, "I felt like we really wanted to play well going into the third and to pay attention to detail. We wanted to continue playing the right way in the third quarter, and it's harder to do that when you have a big lead."

2. Rudy Gobert back

Rudy Gobert had his best game since returning from injury, scoring 18 points, getting 18 rebounds, and blocking the Lakers five times in just 30 minutes of play. He was dominant tonight, though as previously mentioned, his opposition was easy. Both the points and rebounds were season-highs for Gobert.

That's a good sign, as Gobert had struggled in the Jazz's previous two games in finishing around the rim. It seemed he was lacking a little bit of explosion, and in fact, he looked like he was favoring his non-injured leg at times. Gobert told me after the Jazz's loss to Sacramento that he felt a little pain in that knee for a short period.

Tonight, though, he said he was pain free, and he looked like he was jumping much higher for both boards and points. He had a ferocious alley-oop finish in the third quarter, and picked up 72 percent of rebounds that came within 3.5 feet of him, a very good percentage.

Snyder also explained that his teammates were getting more and more used to playing with Gobert. "He's a unique player. You have to play to his strengths. You can throw the ball a little higher when you lob it to him, which means it doesn't get tipped as easily. You shouldn't bounce pass it to him. If a guy drives, don't foul, because he's coming over."

That trust reflected in the number of touches Gobert got: 58 total touches of the ball, most on the team. Gobert says he plays better when he has more of the ball in his hands, and tonight was another example of that.

In sum, Gobert did something no other Jazz center has done in 25 years:

Rudy Gobert tonight became 1st Jazz player since Rich Kelley (4/5/79) to post 18/18/5 in game, 7th time ever for Jazz (per @eliassports) — Utah Jazz PR (@UtahJazzPR) January 17, 2016

3\. Kobe Bryant speaks pregame =============================

Kobe Bryant spoke pregame to an assembled crowd of about 40 media from Utah and Los Angeles. He had a lot to say, and the press conference went about 15 minutes.

The most newsworthy item was Kobe's declaration that he won't be participating in the 2016 Olympics, preferring to stay on the sidelines. ''If they want me to come down and speak to the guys, I will, but that's about it,'' Bryant said. Some were worried that he might go instead of a more deserving player in 2016, but now another spot has opened up.

Bryant also talked about his run-ins with the Salt Lake City fans over the years:

Here's Kobe's full response when I asked him if he had memories of the Utah crowd over the years: pic.twitter.com/WhUYLNUqUY — Ben Dowsett (@Ben_Dowsett) January 17, 2016

He also acknowledged that ownership, coaching, and broadcasting weren't passions of his, were things he had dabbled in but found he didn't love as much as basketball. Now, though, his business ventures have given him that same sort of passion, and he'll be excited to move to the next stage of his life.

Look, I hated Kobe Bryant for most of my adolescent life. In particular, the Lakers' three straight years of eliminating the Jazz in the playoffs stabbed me in the heart each time. But Kobe's veteran persona, primarily thoughtful, honest, and open about his own past and future, has been fascinating.

That 15-minute press conference was probably the most interesting I've seen an active athlete in person. Sure, his farewell tour has basically ruined the Lakers' 2015-16 season, but those moments are still a lot of fun. I'll miss Kobe, at least for that.

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