Phil getting frustrated with Kobe?

[Sħãlïq™]

And, yes Kyle...Marc knows how to defend Pau, probably better than anyone else in the league, it seems.

thOUGHT ABOUT THIS TOO. Marc >>> Pau (this season), IMHO.

[Real Deal]

You have to look at the bigger picture...7 shot attempts beyond the 3pt mark, 1 make. That means he was 9-15 inside the 3pt line. His stubborness to continue to shoot that 3pt shot, when he was making 2pt FG's at a 60% clip, brings me to the conclusion that he had pretty poor shot selection.

 

I don't even need to watch the game to know what happened...I've seen it from Kobe for years, from T-Mac for years, and to a lesser extent LeBron and Wade. They start to feel it, get on a streak, then go for the homerun. When those homeruns fall through, it's a major demoralizer for the opposition. However, if it doesn't fall through, it can kill momentum, lead to long rebounds and often times fastbreak opportunities for the opponent, leading to 5 or 6pt swings. Either way, when you're shooting 14% from 3 and 60% from 2, taking 7 3pt shots doesn't qualify as smart shot selection.

I'm sorry, but I looked at the entire picture, not just the numbers. I've seen Bryant launch 3-4 threes when the team was down by 20, four minutes left, just to make a miracle happen. Would you walk into a topic, later on, and say he had poor shot selection throughout the entire game? That would probably be your conclusion, since you didn't watch it.

 

One or two of those threes were probably considered poor shot selection. The rest were just fine. Because he shot well everywhere else (and did get to the rim), I don't see how anyone can say he was at fault for anything in this specific game.

[Real Deal]

Jackson clarified what he meant when he said "screw up the game" after practice, taking some of the bite out of the sound bite.

 

"When a game starts getting out of hand -- and rightly so -- Kobe will crank it up, not screw it up," Jackson said. "I used that term 'screw it up' but not in terms of it being an error or a mistake, but 'crank it up.' He'll go to another notch to try to get us back in the ballgame. That's something we do in the fourth quarter, that's our fourth quarter action, that's how we win ballgames. To have to crank it up and do that in the third quarter, we didn't have much left in the gas tank after that."

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=5985885

[Nitro]

I'm sorry, but I looked at the entire picture, not just the numbers. I've seen Bryant launch 3-4 threes when the team was down by 20, four minutes left, just to make a miracle happen. Would you walk into a topic, later on, and say he had poor shot selection throughout the entire game? That would probably be your conclusion, since you didn't watch it.

 

But they weren't down by 20 with 4min left...we're talking the 3rd quarter of a single-digit game.

 

Quick look at the game log shows Kobe shot a 3 pointer at the beginning of the 3rd and missed...no big deal since he made 1-2 in the first half and they were down by 11. In the next 4min, Kobe made 4-4 from 2pt range, and got to the FT line which cut the lead into 2. Then he launched a 3 which missed (those momentum 3's I was referring to), which led to a Rudy Gay floater 10 seconds later. Then after that, he got to the line once again. Next trip down, he makes another 2pt shot, and in the next minute makes yet another 2pt shot and got to the line yet again. Then after that, he missed another 3pt shot which led to a fastbreak for the Grizzlies and 2 Conley FT's.

 

So, it appears to be exactly what I said it would be without even seeing the game or play-by-play. He got red-hot inside the 3pt line, then he made the mistake of taking those heat-checks which directly led to Memphis fast-breaks and momentum swings. He went away from what was CLEARLY working for himself and the Lakers...also known as "The T-Mac."

 

I *COMPLETELY* understand why he took the shots he did. Most superstar wings do once they get it going...but it doesn't make it smart shot selection, and they did help swing momentum in the Grizzlies favor.

 

One or two of those threes were probably considered poor shot selection. The rest were just fine. Because he shot well everywhere else (and did get to the rim), I don't see how anyone can say he was at fault for anything in this specific game.

 

Don't be a homer. When you get destroyed at home by an inferior team and your superstar shoots below 50%, scores below 30pts, grabs only 2 rebounds, and has more turnovers (3) than assists (2), then he HAS to be a major source of the criticism. Certainly not the only source, and IMO definitely not the biggest source of the problem, but he was at fault for a nice portion of that specific game. I'm sure he, Phil, and almost anyone who watched that game would agree.

Edited January 4, 2011 by Nitro

[Real Deal]

Under 30 points? You do realize he could've had over 30 if he wasn't so interested in getting everyone else involved in the first half, right? Then, when Phil flips back into his other personality, he wants Kobe to cool off and start getting others involved again, in the 4th.

 

Nothing is working right now. I don't blame Kobe for that. It's not about being a homer, because I've said that Bryant has been a problem in some of our games (do a post search), but he was not the problem in this game. It's about watching it and knowing why our offense sucks.

 

Sounds like you keep falling back into that statistical analysis mode. If you did that over the last two seasons, you would be safe in saying that the Lakers wouldn't win their championships. Bryant isn't going to grab 10 boards because he has Gasol, Odom and Drew all crashing the glass. Assists are a two-way street, and the Lakers weren't hitting ANYTHING all night long, open or not. You want him to score 30? Ask Phil. He's the one throwing out the unnecessary statements, then retracting them a day later because it makes him look stupid.

 

You talk about Kobe going away from what was working...Kobe mode, attacking the rim or hitting two-point jumpers? Yeah, that's something you would eventually say DOESN'T work, because it doesn't seem to get his teammates involved, and because (according to you) Bryant is slowing down.

 

So, someone is going to have to make up their mind. You (or anyone) can't expect Bryant to turn it on and off, going against Phil, sensing when the team isn't able to perform, still racking up triple-doubles and forcing his teammates to knock down the wide open shots they don't make, forcing Gasol to actually post up for a change, and having to come over and do something about Conley as he makes Fisher look like the worst defensive player in the NBA.

[Real Deal]

But they weren't down by 20 with 4min left...we're talking the 3rd quarter of a single-digit game.

The game was in single digits because of him. If he takes a three, it's everyone else's job to get on the glass or get back on defense (with him), instead of standing around and not doing a damn thing, like they've done all season long.

 

If Phil thinks it's smart to have Artest and Fisher in the same five with Kobe and two bigs (two that can't run back), so be it...but that's Phil's fault. We are slow. ANY missed shot will lead to a potential fast break opportunity for the other team, doesn't matter if it's a two or a three. It's been that way since November.

 

If we're going to run this course again (like we do every year, for some odd reason), we might as well end it with saying that Kobe is the worst player on the team, statistically, because his +/- statistic says so...and we're done with the Lakers, first-round exit, and we'll start talking about the Spurs.

[AboveLegit]

At a recent practice, league sources said, Artest loudly confronted Jackson. As he tried to fit into the defending champions a season ago and earn his way, Artest grudgingly went along with Jackson’s public floggings. This season, Artest has less tolerance for it. Essentially, Artest told Jackson that if he wants to coach him, coach him. Just stop embarrassing him in public.

 

The Lakers won’t win a championship without Artest fully engaged, and part of that is on the coach. Jackson has always taken such great pain to understand the minds of his players, to get the most out of them and that hasn’t happened this season. Is Lamar Odom(notes) too caught up with making the All-Star team and a reality show? Is Gasol investing the ferocity beyond merely calling for the basketball?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Av47Y3ZNW2zeTJekVrGxfSI5nYcB?slug=aw-jacksonlakers010411

[Real Deal]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Av47Y3ZNW2zeTJekVrGxfSI5nYcB?slug=aw-jacksonlakers010411

The article is spot-on, sad to say it.

 

The funny thing is, people always poke at Jackson when he calls out other players and coaches, but they always dismiss what he says about his own team.

[Nitro]

It's not about being a homer, because I've said that Bryant has been a problem in some of our games (do a post search), but he was not the problem in this game.

 

You said he wasn't at fault for ANYTHING in that game. That's being a homer, especially since HIS team got blown out at HOME against an inferior team when he was one of the players in the game playing below his standards.

 

Sounds like you keep falling back into that statistical analysis mode. If you did that over the last two seasons, you would be safe in saying that the Lakers wouldn't win their championships. Bryant isn't going to grab 10 boards because he has Gasol, Odom and Drew all crashing the glass. Assists are a two-way street, and the Lakers weren't hitting ANYTHING all night long, open or not. You want him to score 30? Ask Phil. He's the one throwing out the unnecessary statements, then retracting them a day later because it makes him look stupid.

 

I'm not asking Kobe to grab 10 boards...but he didn't even grab half his season average, the entire team got out-rebounded badly by the Grizzlies, and on the Grizzlies' side they didn't even shoot 46% so there were in fact opportunities. If Kobe could grab 15 boards in Game 7 of the Finals against the Boston freakin' Celtics with Gasol also dominating the boards, then there is no excuse for 2 rebounds against the Grizz.

 

Assists are a two-way street, but he still had below half his season average, and racked up more turnovers than assists. You can't skew that to be a good thing. And the Lakers couldn't hit anything? They shot 47% from the field that game, 2% better than the Grizzlies did and 0.5% better than the Laker season average. Besides Kobe, the Lakers shot 5-11 from 3. There certainly were opportunities for Kobe to rack up the assists.

 

And what about defense? Gay, Mayo and Allen all had good, efficient offensive games. If Kobe isn't going to take over the game (not just a quarter) with his scoring, isn't going to rebound, is going to rack up more turnovers than assists, then shouldn't he at least be playing some lockdown defense?

 

We are talking about supposedly the best player in the entire NBA...A SUPERSTAR...if all those things, for the full 48min, aren't going his way HOW THE [expletive] does he not deserve a solid portion of the blame for the loss?!?

 

You talk about Kobe going away from what was working...Kobe mode, attacking the rim or hitting two-point jumpers? Yeah, that's something you would eventually say DOESN'T work, because it doesn't seem to get his teammates involved, and because (according to you) Bryant is slowing down.

 

In the bigger picture, Kobe going into "Kobe mode" every game won't work because he is not physically capable of it, and it'd freeze out his teammates and take the team out of its rhthym. However, for this specific game, where he needed to go into Kobe mode, those 3pt shots were poor shot selection since he didn't have it going from out there while he was on fire from inside the arc...that's ALL I'M SAYING.

 

Also, in the bigger picture, his 3pt gunning is a detriment because he's shooting the worst percentage from out there since 2001-2002, and he's actually taking more 3PA than the last 2 seasons while taking less overall FGA's. That's a big problem individually, and his 3pt shooting will likely not get much better with his arthritic finger and continued loss of athleticism, which makes his jumpshot more flat.

 

And yes, I don't think it's even a question that Kobe is slowing down, and I can't fathom how anyone can call him the best in the league anymore. LeBron is even smoking him from beyond the arc this season....

 

So, someone is going to have to make up their mind. You (or anyone) can't expect Bryant to turn it on and off, going against Phil, sensing when the team isn't able to perform, still racking up triple-doubles and forcing his teammates to knock down the wide open shots they don't make, forcing Gasol to actually post up for a change, and having to come over and do something about Conley as he makes Fisher look like the worst defensive player in the NBA.

 

That's why Kobe's in decline. In the past he was able to turn it on and off and have a strong all-around game; being able to carry D-League level teams for months on-end. He can't do that anymore. And if he can't do that anymore, then he will HAVE to do what LeBron and Wade did to Bosh earlier this season and force Gasol to do what he does best, and hope and pray that the Lakers will be able to make a trade or have the Celtics/Heat/Spurs suffer some major injuries. If those things don't happen, the Lakers will not win another ring.

[Real Deal]

For one, when I say Kobe wasn't at fault for anything, you know what I meant. No player has a perfect game, not even if their stats read 100% FG, 25/5/5.

 

And if he can't do that anymore, then he will HAVE to do what LeBron and Wade did to Bosh earlier this season and force Gasol to do what he does best

What does that even mean? Bryant doesn't have free reign to go into an iso every single time he touches the ball. Gasol is not playing the way he should be playing, and if he doesn't, the triangle isn't set up properly, and Kobe ends up being the one responsible for creating everything AND scoring the most points.

 

You say you know the offense, so I don't see why I would even have to post that.

 

The rest of your post, it just sounds like you're ragging on him for the threes that he's been taking. If he doesn't take them and doesn't try to go for the kill, we lose games. We are 10-2 when Bryant shoots 40% or better from three (and all but two of those 12 games had 5+ attempts). In games where he doesn't make a single three, we are 9-2. I really doubt it matters.

 

The problem is running the triangle, and our defense as a whole. Players don't want to get into position. Ron just wants to shoot the ball (and he can't even do that), same goes for Fisher, Gasol doesn't want to play in the post, Odom is too inconsistent throughout the game, Brown is one-dimensional, Barnes is an overrated defender and gets his points off o-boards or random spot-ups, Blake is nowhere to be found, and the only two guys that are trying to run the system out there are Kobe and Drew.

 

So do I expect Kobe to ditch the triangle and try to take over games? Most definitely, and it works in spurts...but when the players don't respond to it, and people start making ridiculous assumptions that it "doesn't get them into rhythm," they don't realize that those guys were never in a rhythm to begin with.

 

Yeah, Kobe is not at the peak of his prime anymore. He wasn't last season, either, but it still worked out.

 

The difference between this season and last? Kobe played 39 MPG last season. This one, he's at 33 MPG, which is a half a quarter less. His numbers are seeing a slight decrease, but when you consider six minutes less, you can factor in the 1/2 assist, 1/2 board, and two points less he's putting up. If he was shooting 39% from the floor, you'd have a point about how much worse he's doing...but he's not doing much different from the way he played last season, not at all.