At RealGM, a look at where the Lakers go from here after their latest second-round defeat:
After disappointing fourth quarter performances in Games 2 and 4, Kobe came into Game 5 on a mission. He was dialed in on every possession, fighting for offensive position on the low block and repeatedly taking the ball to the rim. He did everything in his power to will his team to victory, but it wasn’t even close to enough.
At the age of 33, with over 1,300 NBA regular season and playoff games under his belt, there’s only so much he can do on the court. Bryant scored 42 points in Game 5, but he needed 33 shots to do it. Even more revealing were the rest of his numbers: 5 rebounds, 0 assists and 2 turnovers. That’s what happens when a volume scorer who can’t impact the paint on either side of the ball tries to take over a playoff game.
But while Michael Jordan’s six championships are still in range, they aren’t the only mark Kobe, a consummate student of the game, is chasing. He is 9,000 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time scoring list, which would be four more seasons at 25 points a game. But with his shooting percentages continuing to slip, the number of shots he would need to reach that mark would doom the Lakers to four more years of first and second-round exits, regardless of what other pieces they might acquire.
For the most part, I agree with your article. But when you solely put the blame on Kobe, you're horribly mistaken. First of all, last time i checked, scoring 42 points on 33 shots is very efficient. In fact, 18/33 FG is shooting 55%. In comparison: Westbook scored 28 points on 25 shots, Durant scored 25 points on 21 shots. And if you watched the game, the reason Kobe had 0 assists was the fact that the rest of the team shot the ball horribly. With Bynum in early foul trouble, Gasol finishing with 5-14 FG, and the Lakers bench only putting up 5 POINTS. If you replaced Kobe with Westbrook or Durant on the team, you would get similar results. Kobe Bryant is not the problem, the Lakers supporting cast is.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the problem goes deeper than Kobe. LA doesn't have any two-way perimeter role players who can shoot and play defense -- http://basketball.realgm.com/article/221009/Blame_The_Shooters_Not_The_Stars.
ReplyDeleteBut there's no way you can watch Bynum go 7/8 in the first half of Game 4 and then barely touch the ball the rest of the way and think LA's offense is reasonable.