Kobe and shot attempts

[The Regime]

Lakers are officially 2-0 without Kobe, and everyone seems to be playing with alot more comfort. Pau and Odom in particular have become more aggresive and they have embraced their temporary roles as assertive playmakers. Here is the scoring distribution from the last two games:

 

At Portland:

Pau Gasol 13pts

Lamar Odom 10pts

Ron Artest 21pts

Derek Fisher 14pts

Shannon Brown 19pts

Jordan Farmar 12pts

 

vs San Antonio:

Pau Gasol 21pts

Lamar Odom 16pts

Ron Artest 18pts

Derek Fisher 13pts

Shannon Brown 8pts

Jordan Farmar 13pts

 

Now, I dont want to downplay Kobe's importance, because we cant win a championship without him, but what volume of shots do we want Kobe taking? It's obvious that the scoring is there for us, and he doesnt need to come out fire away like he has in the past. We have the talent to make a run in the second half of the season, and in order to do that we need Kobe shooting no more than 18-22 shots. Obviously in games that the team is struggling his shot attempts will probably eclipse the 20 shot mark, but in general I would much rather have him stay in that range. Pau has shown that he can hold it down, so why not work the ball through him? This should help Kobe conserve his energy for the long run. I'm looking at anywhere from 13-17 shot attempts from Pau.

 

Also this is considering that we start Lamar over Bynum. With Odom in our lineup we give Pau more freedom in the post.I have a feeling that Phil might consider that change and experiment in the second half of the season. Bynum is a blackhole, he needs to come off the bench. He not only makes our offense stagnant at times but he eats up a lot of space for Pau to be effective.

[Real Deal]

Re-post from TLN (haha)...

 

You're seeing the same thing with the Houston Rockets...but you can't tell anyone in that organization, or any of their fans, that they don't need Yao Ming.

 

For a full 82 games, those numbers would look different, and so would our record. Maybe not for the first 40 games, but the grind of an NBA season is what separates the all-stars from the superstars.

[Sky]

The last two games illustrate what this team can do if Kobe shares the ball more. They also indicate to the non Kobe's the value of being aggressive. Now they just need to put the two together to advance the team execution and energy level.

[Check my Stats]

This is exactly why Kobe needs to be more of a facilitator. He doesn't NEED to score, this team has as much offense as you could ask for. Kobe only really needs to be aggressive offensively in the last 5 minutes in a close game. If his shot is falling or he is feeling it, aight take how ever many shots you want, but when it's not just stop shooting brah.

 

Also Bynum to the bench is interesting, he would dominate bench bigs in the league on offense, and would probably enjoy being the primary offensive option in the post. He's a kid though and would probably pout if he had to come off the bench.

 

The Lakers surely are not better without Kobe, but they are still a very dangerous team.

[Hero]

This is exactly why Kobe needs to be more of a facilitator. He doesn't NEED to score, this team has as much offense as you could ask for. Kobe only really needs to be aggressive offensively in the last 5 minutes in a close game. If his shot is falling or he is feeling it, aight take how ever many shots you want, but when it's not just stop shooting brah.

 

Also Bynum to the bench is interesting, he would dominate bench bigs in the league on offense, and would probably enjoy being the primary offensive option in the post. He's a kid though and would probably pout if he had to come off the bench.

 

The Lakers surely are not better without Kobe, but they are still a very dangerous team.

I agree. Kobe needs to take a page out of Lebron's book and become the facilitator from now on. Most of all, he needs to trust his team more. He can't do it all by himself. These last few games should show him that this team can step up if he gives them the chance to do it. That's the winning attitude.

[Be Like Mike]

Actually, the rest of Lakers step up and earn their paycheck when Kobe's out because he's not there to bail their sorry asses out.

Edited February 24, 2010 by Be Like Mike

[YugoRocketsFan]

Role players can perform well for a short time, but teams with superstars can always perform well, sometimes its not the case.