<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Ridiculous. Preposterous. Absolutely the most outrageous idea in NBA annals, or at least since Dennis Rodman. Isn't it? It just has to be. The numbers, well, you know what they say about statistics. Right? Still, just for public consumption and all, here are a couple of Lakers' stats to mull. In games Kobe Bryant played and was not the team's leading scorer this season, the Lakers are 8-2. Counting the Cleveland game when he was injured early in the first quarter last week, the Lakers are 3-1 since he went down. Which clearly means ... what ? Just whisper it for now: The Lakers are a better team without Kobe? Positively absurd. Correct? You just don't subtract one of the five best basketball players on the planet and watch his team suddenly turn into world beaters.</div> Source
well i believe any team is better when they play team ball. i mean just look at the teams that have turned around after team ball was instilled int here locker rooms. Pistons Suns Sonics Clippers Bulls Sixers Those are the ones off the top of my head. regardless of how good kobe is or he is not, all of that ball hogging is hurting his team in the long run. I bleieve he's putting too much pressure on himself to prove critics wrong, which could have been what led to his injury, kobe is not going to be able to help his team on the injured list.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Quickness:</div><div class="quote_post"> Those are the ones off the top of my head. regardless of how good kobe is or he is not, all of that ball hogging is hurting his team in the long run. I bleieve he's putting too much pressure on himself to prove critics wrong, which could have been what led to his injury, kobe is not going to be able to help his team on the injured list.</div> maybe i misread your post but...how did ball hogging and putting too much pressure lead to his injury. All kobe did was go up for a rebound (which any basketball player would do) and landed on the guys foot.
...how is Kobe ball-hogging? He is getting teammates involved..haters will do anything to make Kobe look like a bad basketball player.
Kobe dominates the ball too much for a team that has capable scorers like Odom and Butler.Sure Kobe sets these two up,but what I think we've seen in Kobe's absence is that Odom and Butler are perfectly capable of creating their own offense.When Kobe tries to get the basket or assist almost every time he gets the ball it limits the teams involvment and wastes Lamar and Carons ability.Odom and Butler create.So when the system is get Kobe the ball and see what happens it fails to utilize the talent that Odom and Butler have.Better yet it doesnt utilize the team.What other reason could there be for Chucky Atkins looking like an incapable starting pg and then turning into a force?Basically with Kobe playing the way he has been the Lakers look like the Sixers,or the Magic of last year but with better players.So when he comes back it would be a good idea to take some responsibility away from him.
Fair points GiantMidget, the only doubts I still have is due to the competition the Lakers have been up against since Kobe went down. They've beat up on the Warriors twice, a struggling TWolves team, lost to a struggling Jazz team, and beat an up and coming Cleveland team. They do have a big game against the Sonics and Spurs coming up, so I'm curious to see how the team plays against stronger competition. I think Kobe realizes he shouldn't be the initiator anymore. There was a recent interview with him supporting Odom to be the main facilitator on offense, because Odom has better courtvision. The article is in this Laker Forum if you haven't read it yet.
I think Bryants injury is good for the lakers in the long run. I will even say that it may be good for Bryant in the long run. Of course he will still be the face of the lakers when he comes back, but he will have no choice but to start trusting his teamates more and playing in the flow of the game instead of trying unsuccessfully to control the game. The Lakers will be a better team and he will be a better teammate. ...of course he could come back and immeadiatly take over again, but I think he is a smarter person than that. Did I just give Kobe some props? Let me read back...oh well, there is a first for everything.
The reason the Lakers are doing good right now is beacuse they are stepping it up, but i am sure they would not be able to hold this out much longer without Kobe
