Kobe Post Game Comments

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I meant to have this up earlier, but my day got off to a slow start... traffic court. But don't worry, I put the system on trial, and won (if by winning, you mean pleading guilty, paying my fine, and signing up for traffic school). Anyway, that pushed everything back a few hours, so here we go.

After last night's game, Kobe had a long session with the media, focusing not only on the victory over the Clippers, but a bunch of other topics as well. While a lot of what he said has already hit the media in bits and pieces, I thought much of it was interesting enough that it was worth posting.

FYI- These are general media horde questions, not stuff AK and I specifically asked, just so you know (we don't want to take undue credit for an interview loved or blame for one despised...).

On L.O.'s performance, and how similar showings could help them in the postseason:

It makes us very difficult when he's aggressive, taking shots. When a guy's up backing off of him I tell him all the time to just shoot in his face. And when he's taking his shots in rhythm and he's knocking them down, he's a handful.

On who he would vote for for MVP:

I'd vote for myself. Wouldn't you? (Editor's note- I'm pretty sure he was at least half-kidding, although if he wasn't I wouldn't blame him.) There's a lot of great players out there, so it's difficult to take anything from any one player out there. All of our roles are different. What Steve Nash has to do for Phoenix is different than what I have to do here, or what LeBron has to do in Cleveland, or whoever. We all have different assignments, we all have different roles.

And if he couldn't vote for himself?

(smiling) I wouldn't vote at all. (See earlier note.)

While (wisely) avoiding the question, Kobe raised an excellent point about why it's so difficult to find consensus to create a clear cut favorite in this year's MVP vote. The term "Most Valuable Player" is subjective enough. Add to that the fact that voters are forced to make comparisons that are not always, from a basketball standpoint, apples to apples and it gets very difficult.

On Phil, and the playoffs:

That's what he lives for. That's what the system is all about. You start in training camp and you come up till now, and how teams defend you in the playoffs, everything is kind of playing into your hands. So it's about execution. The deeper we can go into our offense, the harder it is for teams to play us.

Maybe Kobe has been reading comments of this blog after all. Doesn't this sound like the official motto of a bunch of you guys? "It's a process."

On the job Jackson has done this year:

I think it's been his best coaching job since he's been in the league. You've got to understand, nobody expected us to make the playoffs (except, apparently, for AK and me. We both predicted they'd get at the start of the season). I think it's the best season I've had. And nobody expected us to be in the playoffs. Nobody (except for AK and BK). The start of the season, everybody was just like, "They're not going to be in there." Now we're there, now people are wondering if we can make some noise in the playoffs. It's just a complete 180.

He's been teaching a lot more this year as opposed to years past. And I think a lot of people, the knock on Phil is that he's always had great teams. Well... (pregnant, revealing pause). You know what I mean? And what he's been able to with these guys here, teaching them the triangle and helping them execute has been remarkable.

Ignoring for the moment that they're not actually in yet (the Lakers will almost certainly qualify for the postseason), and that there are people other than Kamenetzkys and Lakers Blog patrons who predicted they'd get in- along with plenty who thought they wouldn't- his comments about Phil are interesting. Before the game, Walton also said that Phil was teaching more, and it's been something those who have played under him before have noted throughout the season. How good has he been? I haven't always agreed with the rotations (though the pickin's are slim). There are times when his willingness to let his players "work through the problem" so to speak has been an issue. Other times, I think it's been the right move. With young players, you can't always bail them out of tough situations. It's a fine balance between trying to get the team into the playoffs and trying to allow them the necessary space to grow. In professional sports, those two goals are often in conflict. Overall, I think he's done a good job. Quibble about the details, but honestly, what coach could they have that would elevate this group higher without the aid of a forklift or Doug Henning? I'm curious to know what names you guys would come up with.

Is PJ the only coach in basketball who could lead to what looks like will end up a 43 or 44 win season? Probably not, but the list is small.

On the growth of his teammates, and being more open and vocal this season:




I've had a chance to see a lot of young players grow. When Chris Mihm came here, the knock on him was that he's not hard enough. He's not strong enough. He's come in and had a great season. Smush Parker comes out of nowhere and is having a great season. Lamar Odom's been having a great season. Kwame Brown, nobody wanted to touch the guy, he's having a great season. Luke's having a great season. So it's great for me to see, because I'm like the big brother on the team. To see my younger brothers step up and make a significant contributions when a lot of people think they can't play (feels good).

My role is a little different. In the past, it wasn't my team to lead vocally or emotionally. I was more the general of execution. That's how I feel deployed. This team's different. I'm the big brother. So I look out for these guys. From Ronny, to Sasha, to Luke, to Devean. Wherever it is. If they need to get into a restaurant or something like that they call me up and I make it happen. I'm serious. I look out for them more than just on the court.

So you're the concierge as well?

I'm the big brother. (laughing) I "know" people. I'm "Hollywood," so I know a "lot of folks in high places." So I make the call. "Oh, you need to get into so and so? I got you."

You've got more juice than Sasha?

I think at this current time, I think that's a safe statement to make.

What, no props for Devin Green? Just kidding.

Seriously, though, after "81" there were people who criticized that performance as indicative of Kobe's shoot and score first, team play second attitude. I thought it was asinine. That night was so ridiculously out of the ordinary that it didn't indicate anything beyond the fact that Kobe is an incredibly skilled basketball player. It was what it was. A monument to his ability to dominate and score, an amazing night and moment in time, but nothing more revealing than that. I'm starting to wonder if this season is like 82 games of 81. An amazing reflection of his pure talent and will, and not much more. Is it fair to call Kobe a ballhog when on many nights a weak supporting cast means he has to shoot as much as he does? Is it fair to say he's a team player at heart, but just can't express it as much as he'd like because the other guys aren't that strong? Or that the circumstances he's playing under now just encourage him to do what he's inclined to do anyway (i.e. score and attain personal glory?). Hard to say, though I have never thought that he puts individual accomplishment over winning. Kobe always wants to win. I just wonder sometimes if he can see more than one path to get there.

I replied to a comment yesterday on Kobe and said that while it's fair to ask him to try, the balancing act between scorer, leader, distributor, etc. is not an easy one to pull off. People can take clues from this season and try to piece it together but I think until better players are put around him, guys with the skill to get somewhere big, it's going to be hard, perhaps even impossible, to accurately form his post-Shaq legacy. When that group comes, it'll be "Kobe's Team"- as opposed to the championship days when it was generally considered Shaq's- and there will be expectations that go well beyond simply making the playoffs.

One thing is certain. Love him or hate him, nothing about Kobe Bryant will ever be boring. </div>

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Great stuff!