<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Lakers interim coach Frank Hamblen is doing all he can to keep his team from crumbling. The Lakers are starting to fall short of their goal to reach the playoffs, though they still have a chance to reach the postseason. Hamblen doesn't want his team to give up on the season. "This is the time of the year we can go either way these remaining 16 games," Hamblen said before the game. "We can come out and play hard every night and try and get back in the playoff race or we can pack it in." Hamblen said his players could develop the wrong attitude. "Guys don't want to be around one another," Hamblen said. "They don't want to be around the coaching staff. They don't want to be around practice. These last 16 games, let's have fun playing the game of basketball. Have fun with one another and let the chips fall where they may." No Gambling Kobe Bryant is known to gamble on defense. When he does, it puts the rest of the Lakers in trouble. The Lakers already are a bad defensive team without Bryant trying to jump into the passing lanes to look for steals. Hamblen said they looked at the films of Bryant's defensive gambles and talked about it. "He just kind of shakes his head or says he was trying to get something going," Hamblen said. "There are times to gamble and times not to gamble. We have to be solid. We're playing teams now that are playoff teams or are in the playoff hunt and they are solid teams. You can't gamble." Hamblen said in the past Bryant and the Lakers could gamble "because we always had Shaquille (O'Neal) there." </div> Source
Honestly, I am getting the vibe that Hamblen and Kobe don't get along well. I don't have a problem with Kobe gambling on D, he is trying to make something happen...that is more than any other Laker has done.
Yeah, atleast someone is trying out there! If Kobe didnt take some gambles, would he be labeled as just being lazy? <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kobe 8 Ball:</div><div class="quote_post">Honestly, I am getting the vibe that Hamblen and Kobe don't get along well. I don't have a problem with Kobe gambling on D, he is trying to make something happen...that is more than any other Laker has done.</div>
I don't think you'll be labelled as lazy for not gambling, that doesn't really make sense. Kobe's defense has kind of fallen off lately from the games I've watched, but I also read an article also with these quotes talking about how his defense has "dropped" from an All NBA level this season, and saying he's been gambling way too much without results. The Lakers don't have great interior help defenders, so Kobe can't go out gambling for steals all day, and especially with his current steal average, the gambling isn't paying off at all. Gambling more, and playing bad help defense is not going to help, when your team is already a below average team, and at an average defensive team. Kobe needs to play more fundamental defense, and just play straight up man to man, it doesn't make it look like you're trying more if you're just jumping in passing lanes and hurting your team defensively.
Yea, the game was pretty bad...their's always next year though, the Lakers aren't a team that can afford to stay down for long..
