It's a short season. Kobe is doing way too much right now, that he'll exhaust himself by the playoffs. But the Lakers' mentality is much better -> defense. If their defense improves some more, they'll be in the hunt.
I didnt understand the panic when anyhow... Yes Kobe is a year older , but when Pau and Bynum play together, they are contenders.... Kobe isn't the most valuable piece on that team... Bynum+Gasol is.......... They should have addressed the PG position years ago though.... They should have treated Fisher like Pittsburgh did Hines Ward.... Bring in an eventual replacement slowly.... And let Fisher play those clutch minutes
I'll stick to my guns all season long- the Lakers won't make a significant roster change, nor will they make it past the 2nd round of the playoffs this year with an older and less talented, less deep roster. Mike Brown is no savior, Derek Fisher is no point guard, and World Peace is no 6th Man of the Year. Kobe will be Kobe but when they lose watch for the Black Mamba to strike his own teammates and management first.
Way too early to tell. Black Masochist is a beast but let's see if they can shoot away from .500. Right now, their wins aren't so convincing as that of the Lakers of yore
Bada-bing bada-boom bada-bang. Sticking by my guns too. Kobe with 42....er....44....er....46.....er....48.... Portland takes apart the Clippers. Good nite.
Right. Mike Brown's system is too exhausting for him to keep it up at the age of 33. Play good D while maintaining the offensive output of 26 ppg while assisting others.
lost a lot of money betting on games tonight. i knew there was a reason the money lines looked too good to be good.
Question: You think tonight's Phoenix game supports your opinion the Lakers are better than last year? If so, reality will hit you eventually. I guess it will have to be pretty hard. 39 mins, 31 FGAs, 48 points from Kobe for an unimpressive win over the Phoenix Suns. I hope this continues for a while.
Kobe really did look effortless these last few games. An old Grant Hill guarding him just makes it that much more obvious. IMO he easily could've had more points. An I'm sticking with the view that a team only goes as far as their best player. If Kobe continues this up, I don't see why the Lakers can't go to at least the conference finals this year
Kobe is really chucking the ball this year. Usage way up and efficiency is down. I think he should be pacing himself and take advantage of the weapons he has at the basket. And the Lakers desperately need some better shooters to space the floor.
Kobe's not the problem. But playoff is all about match up, Lakers would be vulnerable against a fast PG. Barea proved that last year. They need to find a way to upgrade PG position. Blake is fine as backup, Fisher is better DNP all together. Meanwhile, it's a good idea to swap Bynum for Howard somehow, Bynum's health is always questionable. Kobe would be lethal had the CP3 trade went through, he just needs to score, not create. Stern is doing Heat and Thunders a big favor here.
I wanted the combo between Z-Bo and Marc to take down Pau Gasoft and Bynum but y'all already what happened.
Lakers are 74-34 in games Kobe scores 40 points https://twitter.com/#!/johnschuhmann/status/156979815537315840
I don't like KBean but he is still a good to great scorer. Take nothing away from him. Lakers might not be a Top 2 team in the West but Kobe can still ball.
I think there are three possible reasons Kobe is not pacing himself: (1) He's out to prove he hasn't lost anything because his knee feels better (for now). His ego is driving him (2) He can't afford to pace himself because right now the Lakers need him taking over games just to win (3) The Lakers need him on edge. Last season when he slacked off in practice to help heal, they lost their groove and crashed. In other words, if Kobe doesn't lead by example, a vacuum is created. I'm sure #2 is part of it. If hadn't taken over the Rockets, Warriors and Suns games, the Lakers would be 4-7 instead of 7-4.
It's as simple as they lost Odom, their main facilitator and Kobe found the ball in his hands much more. They need a PG that can create and defend, neither Blake nor fisher is the answer.