Tonight, Kobe Bryant scored 34 points in a two-point loss to Orlando. He was 12-30 from the field. The game was a microcosm of where the Lakers are this season: if Kobe shoots a ton and makes his shots, L.A. wins. When he shoots like he did tonight, they lose. Indeed, in games where Kobe shoots 24+ shots, the Lakers are only 12-10. In all other games, they are 34-8 (and 4-1 w/o Kobe).
"WHEN I SHOOT THIS MANY TIMES, WE'RE AVERAGE!"
Granted, Kobe has won some games at the buzzer, and like I say, when he hits his many shots, he can carry the team. In fact, when Kobe gets 40+, the Lakers are 7-1, and he shot no fewer than 26 shots in each of those 40 point efforts. That also means, though, that when Kobe shoots 24 or more times and doesn’t get to 40, the Lakers are 5-9.
In tonight’s game, the Lakers were down at the end of the game; in their last three possessions, the Lakers ran three iso plays for Kobe. He hit a three, hit a two (toe on the line) and missed a potential game tying jumper. Most would not have made the three — a defender was all over Kobe– and few could come back and hit the other deuce. Still, though, basically the end of the game was all about Lakers players getting out of the way and watching Kobe play for them. That is not a great formula for building a cohesive team or for building late-game confidence for any players not named Kobe.
Even in press photos, Gasol and Bynum cannot wrest the ball from Kobe.
It is this flaw that will lead my prediction about the Lakers to come true: they will not repeat as champs.
No Comments so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.