How is he not declining then? The man is in his 30's and has had nagging injuries is it really that hard to figure out?
The soft play of the big men can't be blamed on Kobe. They have been playing soft the lasts few games. DeMarcus Cousins and Samuel Dalembert also went to work on them last game when they were involved offensively.
I like how Kobe goes balls out for a win. If he is going to lose, he will lose with his guns unloaded. It is why he has 5 rings, and other "superstars" have zero... (Kobe is a douche, btw)
i agree that kobe wasnt the reason they lost but he was part of the problem. The lakers are most effective when they have ball movement and find the open man. This usually allows kobe more room to operate since the defense can't just sit on him. Kobe should realize by now that he has to find the open man, trust his teammates and penetrate. There was a complete lack of ball movement in the 4th by the Lakers and that is why they lost.
I guess it all depends on your definition of declining. He's always had nagging injuries (especially his knee). His performance on the court has been the same these last 3-4 years.
Ya I play, and I don't simply stand around with my hands down waiting for my star player to pass me the ball. I cut, and call for the ball. More importanly, I hustle on D and go for the boards. Because that's what tru competitors do, to try to be effective in helping your team win in any way possible. Jogging up and down the court sulking is as pathetic as it gets. If Pau and Bynum wanted the ball, they should've yelled for it. Can't blame Kobe for trying to win by scoring....afterall that's what he does
LOL, Yell for it?? Cut? i hope you understand that no amount of cutting or yelling is gonna make kobe pass when he wants to shoot. Pau and Bynum aren't gonna run around like idiots when they know that kobe will shoot his fadeaway, instead they try to get position for the rebound if possible. I do agree that everyone can hustle more on that team but once again I think some of the lackluster play is due to not being involved in the offense. Kobe definitely has won some games by scoring but he knows after 5 rings that in order to win the whole thing hes gonna have to trust his teammates and pass! Its unfair to expect 4 guys to just go ape**** on the defensive end and then sit around and not even touch the ball on offense..in fact its a little demeaning
You can't it all on Kobe, no doubt. But if you watch the Lakers enough, clearly his ball-hogging contributes to Pau and Bynum giving up on offense because they know he will take the shot anyway. Some of this probably carries over to aggressiveness on defense. Kobe is the alpha dog of that team and his behavior affects everyone else. This doesn't totally excuse Pau and Bynum, who should be more vocal about demanding the ball.
You have valid points. But to put this loss solely on Kobe is wrong. Sure he didn't end up helping his team, but what's to expect when his teammates were lackluster themselves. Honestly, Kobe's charater hasn't changed at all through the years, and you can't expect him to change now. But Gasol and Bynum clearly were not showing a great deal of effort as they should, as evident in their body language from the get-go.
Oh I agree it definitely can get you out of the game I just think that both of those guys have been playing soft the last 2 games. Remember against Phoenix that year where the Lakers were underdogs and Kobe said the key was for him to get his teammates involved so they would be focused offensively and defensively.
He can't really get anywhere on the court like he used to. His defense has really been exposed this season. He's slowing down but is still a great player in the league today.
like this? <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6mOzQnwhqFE" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>
Yeah, he just needs to say that one time to Kobe. Nice find. I was thinking about this clip in the earlier post.
