Is he becoming too unselfish? He was one assist away from his third triple double tonight. ESPN was showing highlights of the game and they showed a whole bunch of highlights of Kobe passing to his teammates but they end up missing the shot. They only scored 70 tonight in a losing effort to Cleveland. I think he had 15 or so.
It's good to see him developing a great all around game...c'mon...he's still averaging 26.6 ppg...and he's rebounding better than ever before. I can't believe you're saying that him adding unselfishness to his game is detrimental. Once Shaq is back...damn, the league is in for trouble (though i am rooting for the Kings and Rockets to overtake them).
What I meant was that with Shaq out, shouldn't he be taking more shots than he did and take over. His team wasn't hitting so he should have just say screw it and took over.
Kobe probably realized, unlike some Rockets, that even if he took over they would still lose. One man dominating and the rest sucking isn't gonna make it.
That's just dumb. There were so many oppurtunities that Kobe could have easily scored in that game but he gave the ball up. If your teammates aren't making wide open shots, then how is passing the ball to them making the situation better. Sometimes the cream needs to rise to the top for a team to win a game.
So what you are saying is Kobe is a dumbass for passing up open shots for himself? Nope, that's called "live and die with the team". A dumb idea is to shoot all you want, ignore your teammates, refuse to involve them and end up with a loss. An equivalently dumb idea is to play one on five and expect to win. One has to pass teammates the ball even when they shoot like crap in the hope of them turning it on through "involvement" and that's the only way to win. Seems like it's not only the Rockets but also some fans who just don't get it!
Panda, you couldn't have stated that better. Kobe decides to take over certain games and he's flamed. He decides to play Jason Kidd and gets flamed again. The kid just can't get a break. The fact that he's barely 24 and that damn good is just awe inspiring. This reminds me of Rockets pre-championship era. It was just Dream and 11 other guys named Moe. Walker is a poor excuse of a power forward or center or whatever he is. Kobe set up some nice plays only for him to play Mr. Butterfingers. The Euro, Slothy Medi-I-am-better-than-God-vinko, is horrible, period. Fisher sure doesn't play like a point guard although he does hit some of those shots once and awhile. George is the only half way decent guy on that team and he's thanking Kobe for at least 75% of his success. I can't wait til Shaq comes back and end this mess.
and i'm not bashing kobe for this game, he's got a crapload to carry for the lakers while shaq is gone and he just had 2 unbelievable games and almost popped in another triple double. could he have been more aggressive, sure. but he ain't the reason they lost. however, i am very very happy they lost. i hate the lakers.
Kobe said for the whole preseason about believing in the team philosophy. He's following through with what he said. I think he's beginning to realize that putting faith in his teammates will give them trust and confidence in the team philosophy in the long run. After all, the regular season is a wash to them anyways...
I am hardly Kobe's biggest fan...that said, it does seem a little like he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. I have actually been very impressed this year with his individual play, but also feel that my eralier supposition that he couldn't carry a team of lesser players to the crown by himself anymore than Carter of McGrady could, contrary to the declarations of some of his more ardent fans. I think three things are clear so far this year... 1) Kobe is a helluva player. 2) Shaq is the reason they win consistently. 3) Both of them get the calls.... EIther way, IF Kobe is playing too unselfish, which I doubt, then that's better than playing too selfish. The first may lose you the odd game, the second loses you teammates...
Maybe Bryant wanted to take over the game but Cleveland's defense was too good to give him any opportunity.
You guys call him too unselfish when he's passing it off every play and saying that that's why they lost...tonight he takes 47 shots...scores 41 points...and guess what - THEY STILL LOST. He's a great player, his unselfishness and his scoring ability both are great, but he really needs Shaq there to put the Lakers in the playoffs.
The lakers don't have a lot of talents besides Shaq and Kobe. In fact, everyone else on the team is a role player. Without Shaq, they are just a mediocre team.
By Tim Brown, Times Staff Writer BOSTON -- Kobe Bryant took 47 shots Thursday night and the Lakers were only too glad he did. They lost and Bryant took 47 shots and the only question later was why he hadn't taken a 48th, because maybe that would have fallen and maybe they wouldn't have lost another game. They lost to the Boston Celtics, in overtime, by 98-95 before a FleetCenter crowd that first booed Bryant's every touch, and then gasped, and then covered its eyes. Standing amid a lineup that wouldn't shoot straight, Bryant made 17 shots and scored 41 points, most isolated on a wing against Paul Pierce, 18 in a frantic third quarter that saw the Lakers come back from what once was a 17-point deficit. For six games, Bryant's game has lurched from shooter to facilitator and back, settling finally in a taut second half in which the Lakers led with a minute left in regulation and again early in the overtime, only to lose both leads. Afterward, Bryant said he did not regret his choices, as he had in a season opener in which he took 29 shots. "It is what it is," he said. He made eight of 13 attempts in the third quarter, then three of 15 in the fourth. He missed all eight three-point attempts. Only three Los Angeles Lakers had attempted more shots, including Elgin Baylor, who took 55 in a game 41 years ago. Bryant's 28 second-half attempts tied Baylor's record for a half. Bryant's last shot, a heave from the left side to tie the score with time running out, hit the side of the rim. He grimaced and walked the length of the court, while confetti fell around him, and Celtics hugged behind him. Pierce scored 28 points. Tony Delk had 26. Pierce had scored on a step-back three-pointer to give the Celtics a 96-93 lead in overtime and then Bryant had made a 15-foot turn-around. Delk made two free throws with 9.3 seconds left for a three-point lead, and finally Bryant stood out on the left side with time dwindling away, having missed his first seven from that far, and no one doubting he'd shoot it. "There's a limitation to what you can do," Laker Coach Phil Jackson said after the rest of the Lakers made 20 of 48 shots. "I was telling the team that he carried us back into the ballgame. You've got to stop going to the well all the time. The well will run dry eventually. Somebody has to start contributing." Jackson did not disagree that Bryant had little choice. After the Lakers scored 70 points in Cleveland, they shot 32.5% and scored 35 points in the first half against the Celtics. Open teammates are nice and all, but they're fairly useless if they can't make a jump shot, and so arrived Bryant at the second half. For the better part of four games, Bryant took the floor, leaving Shaquille O'Neal on the bench, with the intention of setting up shots and spit-shining the triangle offense. After consecutive triple-doubles and a close encounter with a third, Bryant took back the basketball. "Tonight it was really out of necessity," Bryant said. "We were down 15 points [at halftime]. I think a lot of my teammates were discouraged and looking for direction to put the ball in the hole. We weren't shooting the ball very well. It was my job to come out and instill confidence in everybody else that we could come back and we can make shots and we can win the game." It became Bryant's game, without question, and he took it to Pierce and the Celtics without a second thought. A week and a half before, he was criticized for taking those 29 shots against the San Antonio Spurs. This time, he missed 30. Jackson said he would have been surprised if 47 shots weren't a message from Bryant to his teammates, that if they weren't going to make shots and the team was going to score 70 points again, then he'd take them all. "No," Bryant said, shaking his head. "But, for example, when we played Cleveland, that wasn't the situation. Our confidence was a little shaky, but it could be regained. Tonight, we came in at halftime and everybody had their heads down. I told them, 'Don't worry about it, everybody. We're going to come out in the second half, everything's going to be all right.' So I started hitting some shots and getting into a rhythm and everybody else started getting in rhythm. It was good. ... "I told the guys after the game, 'Look, you don't understand, we came up here, we played without two of our key guys, we were down 17 against a Celtics team that was in the Eastern Conference finals, playing at full strength, and we came in here and we fought them hard. We gave ourselves a chance to win the game. We make some mental errors down the stretch and it cost us the ballgame. Big deal. It's early in the season. We'll learn from our mental mistakes. Let's move on. We got another game tomorrow night.' "
Kobe proved that he is good (with 41 points)...but can't do it on his own (the loss and the miss with 10 seconds left in OT).
Kobe's in a hopeless situation...whether he scores 40 or he dished 15 assists, the Lakers are still gonna lose.
