LA Times LAKER REPORT Bryant Defense Has Fallen Off By Mike Bresnahan Times Staff Writer March 23, 2005 SALT LAKE CITY — Kobe Bryant has been an NBA all-defensive team member the last five seasons. The streak very well could end there. Bryant has not been immune to the defensive problems that have attached themselves to the Lakers this season. In the last two games alone, ordinary players have hit Bryant for season-highs: Reserve guard Ronald Murray had 25 points Sunday for the Seattle SuperSonics and Gordan Giricek scored 22 Tuesday for the Utah Jazz. Bryant often is guilty of reaching for the ball instead of sliding his feet. He has also gambled and gone for steals, unsuccessfully, more often than in the past. "He just kind of shakes his head or says he was trying to get something going or whatever," Coach Frank Hamblen said. "There are times to gamble and times when not to gamble." Bryant's gambles haven't paid off. He is averaging 1.32 steals this season, down from 1.75 last season and 2.21 in 2002-03. Against Utah, Bryant had 25 points in the first half, but Giricek had 14. Giricek had been averaging 8.3 a game before Tuesday. "It's never about mano-a-mano, especially against a team like Utah," Bryant said. "Somebody's down screening, somebody back-picks, [other players] have got to be able to read what's coming." The Laker defense has suffered as a whole. "We watch film and we talk about it," Hamblen said. "It's just a mind-set. In the past … one of the reasons why we were so successful winning, we had guys that played defense and covered for another. If a guy gambled, if a guy made a mistake, then there was always somebody there. We always had Shaquille [O'Neal] in the middle. We don't have that now." *** People always say that Kobe's a better defensive player than T-Mac. Well, maybe defense isn't so easy when you have to carry an entire team and the big dog isn't patroling the paint for you.
Kobe is not bad hell any team would take him in a heartbeat BUT 1 player can't win ballgames.....He has no help. lakers are smart they tank the rest of the games and get into Draft position...
lol, someone on a jumpshooting, pass the ball around team i guess got a few open shots out of it and now kobe sucks? losers who don't take you one-on-one are going to have nights when they get some shots and hit them while you're helping other people and nights when they don't regardless of the defense of the player guarding them. did kenny smith light up penny hardaway in game one of the finals when he hit 7 3's or did he just get open looks b/c penny was busy helping others and rotating? not that kobe hasn't probably fallen off some with his increased offensive load, but he still plays pretty good D in the short spurts he can manage it. every time he really gets after a guy it's amazing how well he sticks with them and pressures them.
Bryant is a good player. But i think his defense is not as good as the last couple of years, because now he doesn't have shaq to help him if he lets his man get past him. It is much easier to guard somebody when you know a good shot blocking center is watching your back
Statistically he's still one of the best in the league, but like most individual accomplishments in the NBA, it doesn't mean anything if you're not winning.
Defensively, a good big man behind you is absolutely essential for good perimeter defensive. And offensively, Kobe has to carry too much of the load he doesn't have the energy to play intensive defense now. Some people thought TMac wasn't as good a defender as Kobe. Now Kobe knows what a good big man in the middle (on both ends of the floor) can do wonders to your game.
Shaq, the real MVP. He leaves LA, Bryant can't shoot (terrible shooting percentage) or play defense, the team falls out of the playoffs. He goes to Miami, they have the best record in the league and Dwayne Wade is now a 'superstar' after not even winning Rookie of the Year last year.
Bryant and T-Mac shoot 42%, still terrible? Bryant plays defense, statistically he holds his man down, but the Lakers are losing so it doesn't really matter. Wade was the most underrated rookie in a long, long time wasn't his fault he came in the league the same year Lebron James did. Shaq doesn't make either of those two, they're both special players without him, all he does is make their teams title contenders while Bryant and Wade will have to push (ed) them over the top and make them champions. You'll see, Shaq will always do his thing but the Heat won't win the championship if Wade doesn't raise his game up higher than it's ever been.
Kobe's missing Shaq in three huge ways, and they're all contributing to his slide: -->Defensive presence in the middle. -->Made it easier on the offensive end by drawing defenders away --> Bryant, under Phil's direction, could save his energy to close out games Without O'Neal, Bryant has, over the course of the season, been getting worn down. He used to be Mr 4th Quarter, but more and more he's lost his legs during games and can't help the Lakers down the stretch (see: last night vs Utah and St Pattys day vs Miami). He hasn't dropped out of the NBA's top ten by any stretch, but his TO are higher than they've ever been in his career, and his steals per game are the lowest they've been since he's been a starter. I think he'll be fine in the long run. His assists, to his credit, are at a career high. He wasn't ready for the load this year, he's still stubbornly trying to do things his own way (Hamblin isn't batting an eye at criticizing him, unlike Rudy), but I would expect him to adjust. The roster will change significantly over the next two summers and they'll find themselves. It's easy to kick them while they're so low right now, and most of us have relished the opportunity, but I don't see Kobe and the Lakers going through the pains that the post-MJ Bulls have. Evan
Well what do ya know. This is starting to look like how TMac was treated by the media the last couple of seasons. I hate Kobe but he is a damn good player. Besides, it doesn't matter how good a one-on-one defender you are, if your teammates don't help out like they should, your defense looks worse. The last few years, when a player did get by him, Shaq and co. would be there to help out and block the lane. Kobe could play tighter and more aggressive due to this as well. Now, no one is worried about taking the ball straight to the basket against them and Kobe has to play more off of his guy so that to not allow him to drive. The Lakers are quickly turning into the Magic-West with Kobe trying to do everything on his own and resulting in losses.
Kobe is hard to rebuild around. He kicked out Shaq, a monster who most other players would give their right nut to play with. He can't play with Odom, a player who was one of the most active and unselfish players in the Olympics. If you were an all star free agent would you go to the Lakers?
Kobe, WELCOME to Tracy McGradys world of a few years ago... Things dont always pan out like you had thought... "I'M LOVIN IT" Now we only need to get Tracy them rings....
Nope, and don't get me wrong; I detest Kobe. No one I root against more. I think Kupchak is going to swing some trades, and they have ample bait. Odom's a blue chip that could/should be dealt for an All-Star. George, Atkins, Slava, Butler, Cook, and Jones are decent bench guys (Atkins isn't a starting-caliber point despite his scoring) with short contracts that would be easy to package. And while they had to give up their #1 pick (would have been in the high teens) to Boston, they do have a usable young center in Mihm. That's huge. He may not be an All-star, or close to it, but he's still a legit 7 footer that's not hapless. Puts them ahead of half the league. They aren't a FA player anyway, not so long as they're over the cap (and they are for the next couple of summers unless Grant gets traded for an expiring deal - not happening). They probably could be a player in the MLE market. Younger guys trying to make a name for themselves might be confused enough to think that being a Bryant buddy will up their exposure. But again, I think the bulk of their progress will be via trade. Evan
I like and respect Odom. But what kind of players do you think the Lakers can trade Odom for that will immediately help the Lakers deep into the playoffs? I think Kobe needs at least a premiere post player like Yao Ming, Amare Stoudamire, Ben Wallace, or Jermaine O'Neal to get back into serious playoff contention. I don't think the Lakers can get those players with a Odom+Butler package. And without Jerry West, I really don't think the Lakers will be able to pull of any great deals in the future.
I would say it's very very important as a general rule. But I'd also say it is possible to be a shutdown perimeter defender without a great big man behind you, just really difficult. Doug Christie and Scottie Pippen did it. Vlade and Chris were never really shot-blocking presences, and neither were Rodman and Longley.
I'm not talking about a trade that will make them instant contenders. That's going to take time, like any other franchise. But back to being a playoff team is doable. They could use a combination of guys and get involved in a S&T, for example. SAR, Sam Dalembert, and Tyson Chandler come to mind. Kurt Thomas could be available, and the Knicks need SFs. Indiana might move Artest. None of those are neccessarily something I'd expect, but they're plausable. If Kupchak makes the right moves via trade, he could slowly reshape the roster with guys that complement Bryant (I don't think guys like Peja, Allen, or Redd qualify, for the same reason I thought the Bryant-Odom tandem would be less than ideal: Kobe will dominate the ball and shots like Iverson, no matter the teammates). Evan
Kobe's going to hard pressed to make the All NBA Team this year with the guards that are playing great this year.... Nash Wade Lebron Iverson Kidd Marbury Arenas Allen and others are just to name some but i don't think he is in the top 6 as far as guards go to make the NBA 1st, 2nd, or 3rd
Evan, I see what you're saying. Tyson Chandler may be worth the gamble. At this point I think the Lakers need to take some chances. I guess I always think of "rebuilding" as rebuilding to a championship contender. As a Laker fan during the Jerry West era that is what I always expected of this organization. Lakers were a championship contender with Shaq. Now they got Odom, Butler, and Grant. Decent pieces, but the current team is not a championship contender or even a conference title contender. We did not get enough pieces back for Shaq, and I blame Kobe for that. Since it would be impossible to get back into championship contention via trades, we would have to rely on Kobe's charm to attract players via FA. *sigh* Thanks for listening to my rants.
