This guy is simply going insane. He jacked up 37 shots last night and went to the line 19 times. So, that's close to 45 to 50 times that he was attempting to shoot the ball, and he only had 4 assists. I've never seen that in a basketball game. And to no one's surprise, the Lakers lost. Apparently he's trying to win everything by himself. He doesn't care about his teammates, game flow and teamwork. All he wants is to replicate his 62 points against Dallas performance everytime. He thinks he's God, Superman and MJ rolled into one. I don't like the Lakers, yet, Kobe is too much for any franchise, good or bad. Remember, he, on an interview with ESPN two years ago, said that "I've been sacrificing my game for (Shaq's) game for years". So, now Shaq is gone, and this is his game. Just shoot it everytime he touches the ball, and also make sure he gets the ball everytime down the court. Kobe as player is as talented as anyone out there. However, mentally, he simply has no concept of sharing and teamwork. If you think Francis' iso 1 on 5 was bad for the Rockets, wait till you see the next Lakers game. The guy goes 1 on 15 (including everyone on the opponent's bench), and sometimes 1 on 20,000 (against everyone in the building, and yes, against his own team), and few times, 1 on 7,000,000,000 (against everyone in the world). I sometimes even admire his desire, determination and ability. However, mentally, this egomaniac is getting close to being insane.
Bah, Kobe's doing what it takes for the Lakers to stay in contention. All the pieces Phil wanted to build up aren't panning out. Lamar isn't doing crap but putting up gaudy support numbers and the occasional three. Who else is there? The biggest news in Lala land was the return of Devean George! They need all the selfishness of Kobe they can get because under the old way where Kobe passed first, his teammates were still looking at him to do something with the ball. If you think the team would be better served for playoff contention with them sharing and missing, then you should replace PJ.
The Lakers are really quite bad, regardless of how Kobe decides to play. That said, they do have a better record than we do. Meh. Let Kobe do what he wants. They probably have a better chance with him taking all the shots than they would if he gave the ball to guys like Smush and Kwame.
Classic Lakers fans reply. Kobe being the biggest ballhog in the world, let's just blame everyone else. It's PJ's fault, it's Kupchak's fault, it's his teammates fault. It's NEVER Kobe's fault. He's so beyond criticism, that no matter what he does, it's always someone else's fault. Kobe shoots 45 times (attempts + shooting fouls), and his team lost, it's his teammates' fault because they aren't good enough for Kobe to pass the ball to. He shoots 15 times and his team lost, it's his teammates fault because they aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing when Kobe does pass. Kobe shoots 45 times and the Lakers won, it's all to Kobe's credit because he carried the team. Kobe shoots 15 times and the Lakers won, it's all to Kobe's credit because he distributed the ball well. Well, I guess Kobe can do no wrong there. Fine with me. I guess when you are a fan, you are a fan. He's your hero, and you just can't criticize him.
Real superstars make their teammates better. Kobe makes people around him worse. Odom: career 16 and 8, highs of 17 and 10 in Miami, 15 PPG last year and 14.5 this season. Both years with Kobe coincide with his career lows in FGA. D George, similar story. PPG and FGA have been dropping since Kobe took over the Lakers last year. Good luck getting free agents.
And yet you clearly have a beef with Kobe and no matter what he does, it won't be the right thing. Correct?
I agree. The Lakers have nobody. If Kobe weren't doing what he is doing right now then the Lakers would be way below .500 The sad thing is I think this is how Kobe likes it. He doesn't want any help. I admire him in a way for wanting to carry the load and believing that he can do it, but one person can't do it all, not even MJ. Everyone needs a little bit of help. Lamar Odom & company are terrible. No wonder he gets traded so often.
Yes, I never liked Kobe to begin with. However, I said I do admire his determination, abilty and desire. He is a true superstar, but also a assclown.
DeAleck, you're absolutely right that Kobe is going cuckoo. And it's getting worse, not better. He is not maturing at all. One of these days he might take every single shot.
Yep, you have great shooters like Smush Parker, Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton and K. Brown and you shoot like 37 shots yourself? Damn you, Kobe!
This is why, IMO, Allen IVerson is the runaway MVP this season. Not only is he scoring out of his mind on a good FG% (by guard standards, that is), but he's also passing the ball and actually making an effort to include his teammates, and his team (IMO) is not much better than the Lakers', they're both about the same level. Kobe is all glamour and little substance. He's an egomaniac if there's ever been one, but that's what fans like and that's why they want to see; they're more impressed by seeing star players performing rather than winning/playing sound fundamental team basketball. This is what makes SportsCenter, and this is what Kobe ultimately wants to be known for. He's already won 3 rings with Shaq, so I don't think that's a huge goal of his, except to get back at his critics who say (and rightly so, IMO) that he will never be a winner without Shaq or another bonafide superstar big man (KG, TD, etc.) Let him do his thing, Jordan did the same thing for about 6 seasons or so, but Jordan was smarter than Kobe and decided that it was time to be a team player, because as good as averaging 38ppg in an entire season might look, it's even better when you play team basketball and force everyone around you on the roster to share the burden and feel like they have a stake in the outcome of the game. If Kobe is not careful, all he will ever be remembered for is the "guy who rode Shaq's coattails to 3 rings" and the guy who "made his teammates worse" -- even if that's not true, that's what his legend will become.
Actually if you watch them (I watch a lot of Lakers games), they are decent shooters. (They are better than our bunch, yet TMac keeps passing to them. ) And Odom is a good around player who can score from the low post all the way to the 3-pt line. I am tired of hearing people say the Lakers have nobody besides Kobe so he has to jack up all the shots.
amen. you guys can bash kobe all yall want but he needs to jack up those shots because no one else is stepping up. what would you have him do? pass to players that are clueless with the ball? even if he gets doubled, he probably has a better chance of sinking the shot than one of his teammates playing one on one.
That is probably true but it is his egomaniacal personality that has caused the Lakers to have a bunch of suckasses playing with him. So, technically Kobe is STILL to blame. It's no sweat to me because I enjoy the Lakers being bad - just wished we had a better record than them but there ain't much you can do about the injuries we have gotten this year.
Smush Parker played very well early and put up great stats. Vujacic is a very good shooter. Kwame sucks of course. Hard to tell if Luke is any good because he doesn't get a chance!
Agreed. Smush and Sasha are good shooters. They just need somebody to create open shots for them. Kobe should be the perfect guy to do that. Instead, he takes all the shots. Luke is a great passer, one of the best in the league, imo. But, hey, who needs a passer when you have Kobe on the team.
I guess Allen Iverson is going "insane" also. Iverson is averaging 26.3 shots per game which is the exact same as Kobe. However, Iverson is an MVP candidate right now, but Kobe is not. The difference being it's trendy to hate on Kobe.
Didn't the Lakers start winning games in December because Kobe stopped jacking up 30 shots a game until recently?
