Nitro Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 The most frustrating part in all this madness? How clear it is that Kobe is choosing not to play defense. This is not about a lack of ability. Just the other day, Kobe went toe to toe with the single hardest cover in the league, Chris Paul. He held Paul to 2-6 fourth quarter shooting as the Clippers offense nearly melted down enough for the Lakers to steal the contest down the stretch. On the ball, the man can still defend very, very well when he wants to. Off the ball, he's been doing stuff like this for years, but now its gotten so ridiculous that it can no longer be ignored. http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2013/1/11/3864814/kobe-bryant-is-ruining-kobe-bryants-historic-season Interesting article. Only shows two examples, but it's something I've noticed the few recent games I've seen of the Lakers, and I know many Lakers fans feel the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfish Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 Kobes defense has been horrendous this season. Hes as much to blame for all our losses as anyone. He leaves his man open far too often, gives up many easy layups and 3 pointers. Look up all of our losses this season. In just about all of them, both point guard and shooting guard have torched us. Kobe never cares to defend his position anymore, he just roams around like a free safety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted January 13, 2013 Owner Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 Dumb thing I'm reading here... http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2001353/kbb2_4_medium.JPG As the play continues, Tony Parker and Tiago Splitter run another screen/roll action. Antawn Jamison and Steve Nash are dealing with it the best they can. Kobe Bryant's man is running the baseline to get back to the three point line. Kobe Bryant: still not moving. Here's a list of things Kobe Bryant might be guarding at this point: AirThe Spurs logo (which has no range, so you play back and wait for it to drive)The protagonist in Ralph Ellison's timeless classic, Invisible ManA dementorUh...nope. He's standing there because Splitter is about to get an open dunk. Jamison is one of the worst defenders on our team (okay, he's the worst). I want to know...does he (the guy that wrote this) watch what happens when Kobe doesn't help Jamison? It's an easy two almost every single play, and most Lakers fans are wanting to trade Jamison because of it. We actually hate him now. --------- I won't make an excuse for the first one, and Kobe actually called himself out on it...but why would anyone be surprised at Kobe ball-watching? He has to do it every possession he's on the floor, because D'Antoni loves combinations of Nash, Jamison, Gasol, and Meeks out there. Ron Artest hasn't been defending the best players all game, like he used to. He's getting pounded. Kobe has been doing a lot of that lately, more than usual...and scoring 30 a night, AND having to be a facilitator, AND being the main help defender now. Really? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfish Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 Id rather he didnt ball watch so much and stopped leaving his man wide open. The open 3s are just killing us. Also, there were about 3-4 plays that game where Kobes man got wide open back door cuts for layups. Thats inexcusable. He needs to just play solid, and if he has to help so be it. But much of the time, he just leaves his man for no reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted January 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 Dumb thing I'm reading here... http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2001353/kbb2_4_medium.JPG Uh...nope. He's standing there because Splitter is about to get an open dunk. Jamison is one of the worst defenders on our team (okay, he's the worst). I want to know...does he (the guy that wrote this) watch what happens when Kobe doesn't help Jamison? It's an easy two almost every single play, and most Lakers fans are wanting to trade Jamison because of it. We actually hate him now. He mentioned this... "Here's the thing: you could make an argument that what Kobe was doing in the previous frame was acceptable, in a strong side zone type of scheme that we've seen from the Lakers before. It would be a terrible argument, because the Lakers pretty clearly don't play that scheme, but one could at least understand Kobe's concern at seeing two of the worst reputed defenders in the NBA deal with a pick and roll involving Tony Parker. But this frame shows how completely invalid that concept is, because Kobe ends up on the weak side of the ball with no intention to rotate, and his teammates have no idea what is going on (Robert Sacre eventually decided to challenge Green's shot, which obviously went in)." And from the screens, it seems like the man rotating was supposed to be Sacre, not Kobe. And either way you can't let an elite 3pt shooter like Green get a wide open 3 with no intention of defending him. Kobe has been doing a lot of that lately, more than usual...and scoring 30 a night, AND having to be a facilitator, AND being the main help defender now. Really? The point isn't being a LeBron James type of perimeter defensive anchor with help defense...it's effort. It's making stupid, lazy plays off-ball, and consistently getting beat. Those 30pts mean a lot less if you are completely losing your man and consistently taking plays off defensively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted January 13, 2013 Owner Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 Nah, I know he's not going to be a "do-all" on the defensive end...but he's being asked to be. Ron is playing little to no help defense, unless he's stuck at the four and defending the post (which doesn't happen much). Then, he'll come over and help Sacre, or Gasol (when Howard is on the bench). I don't expect Kobe to run clear across the court and contest that shot by Green. I'm not denying that he doesn't get lazy on the defensive end...but for that second particular possession the article is referring to, I can't blame Kobe for that. -------- Did you watch the Lakers/OKC game? Kobe was on Westbrook...and then he was on Durant. He had to help on Martin, even had to step in and help on Collison. While he was doing that, we had Ron Artest going 5-18 from the floor, and we launched 28 threes in this ignorant D'Antoni offense (and made only six). All season long with Mike D'Antoni, we have been near the middle of the pack shooting threes...yet, taking top three most per game. Long threes, low percentage shot, long boards and fast breaks that we cannot stop. Kobe will get his shots in, from anywhere...but even when we had a full roster, Ron Artest was getting more touches than Dwight (second-most on the team at one point, in shot attempts...how the hell does that happen?), and both Dwight and Gasol weren't doing anything in the P&R. Guys like Jamison and Ron were missing wide-open looks, yet D'Antoni felt the need to continue to rely on those buckets...and it hurts our defense, significantly. With the increased role, playing 39 MPG (something Kobe hasn't done since the 2006-07 season), and having to average 30 PPG on 22 FGA/G and his typical five boards, five assists...with defending some of the best PG's on opposing teams (Westbrook and Paul most recently)...what the [expletive] is this team built for, really? For failure. They run an offense that suits the 39-year old PG that refuses to use his 50/40/90 shooting skills...and one that takes the ball out of the hands of Kobe and Dwight, who are two superstars who create for their teammates AND have seen the NBA Finals doing so. Then, back on the defensive end, everything is man-to-man, no defensive system in place, no defensive strategy outside of just asking Kobe to roam all over the court. Mike Brown was a horrible offensive coach, and that was a given. Kuester did everything for him. We dumped Mike Brown, found success with Bickerstaff for five games (because he knew exactly how to coach these guys...and we didn't have Nash at the time, either), and then enter a coach that stays dedicated to ONE system his entire coaching career, has a player he feels he has to be loyal to, and one that doesn't coach a lick of defense. It's very, VERY hard for me to blame Kobe for anything that is going on right now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sħãlïq™ Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 As the play continues, Tony Parker and Tiago Splitter run another screen/roll action. Antawn Jamison and Steve Nash are dealing with it the best they can. Kobe Bryant's man is running the baseline to get back to the three point line. Kobe Bryant: still not moving. Here's a list of things Kobe Bryant might be guarding at this point: Air The Spurs logo (which has no range, so you play back and wait for it to drive)The protagonist in Ralph Ellison's timeless classic, Invisible ManA dementor Whoever wrote this should be fired and not allowed to write anything related to basketball for a good amount of time! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Regime Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Didn't read the entire article but there's nothing to deny. Kobe is still a good on ball defender, but his off ball defense has sucked the last 2-3 seasons. He can still successfully slow down opposing guards but heavy minutes, an increased offensive burden, and an incompetent defensive supporting cast is taking away from his game on that end of the floor. I wasn't high on D'Antoni when we signed him, and I still have no faith in him to turn this season around. It's silly to expect one of the oldest teams in the league to play uptempo all in the while not putting emphasis on defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted January 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 It's very, VERY hard for me to blame Kobe for anything that is going on right now. I don't blame his defense for being the primary reason for their losing, or even the 2nd or 3rd biggest...and neither did the author of the article. I recognize he is doing a ton offensively, and as the author stated, it is historic for his age. However, he has been painfully lazy with his help defense. And there are many plays where an 80% effort would erase many easy baskets. Being the star that he is, and how much he has talked about beating his teammate's asses in practice, this crticism is within bounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted January 16, 2013 Owner Report Share Posted January 16, 2013 Well, instead of having him defend everyone else on the court, D'Antoni is asking him to lock up the PG's. KEVIN DING @KevinDingBrandon Jennings on Kobe tonight: "Probably the best defense anybody's played on me since I've been in the league."It does help when Gasol isn't out there, and we have Earl Clark (who is a defensive player) putting in work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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