Everyone has been questioning the amount of shots Kobe is taking, especially the forced ones. Yet no one seems to be blaming him for it- instead they place the blame on his teammates, that fail to develop a rythm, and are "the worst supporting cast" in the League. My question is- Is Kobe taking shots because his teammates don't or are they not taking shots because Kobe is taking all of them? Basically- there is an obvious problem in the offense (there defense is respectable)- where does the problem lie? With Kobe, or his teammates?
Early part of the season I'd put the blame on his teammates, but the last two games is all on Kobe. He played an idiotic game tonight against the Jazz.
^^Thanks you. I love it when fans of any team (especially the Lakers) are willing to admit that their star acted like a fool. Could someone please tell me exactly who Kobe was guarding last night that forced him to foul out?! Nobody on the Jazz should make Kobe foul out, I don't care if it was an OT game. Another question for the Laker fans. Someone (I think it might have been you Shape) said that Phil wants Kobe to shoot as close to 50% as possible this year. Does this still apply? Kobe has been far from reaching this expectation, and I think that he might as well start trying to become a perimeter threat again. Early in the year he was barely taking any threes for this reason. It's become clear that he is going to be tops in ppgs, but not so in fg%. Why not bring back the trey?
Have u seen Kobe the last 7 games- his shots are ALL perimiter. And if this is how many bad shots Kobe takes when he's not supposed to be on the perimiter- imagine what'll happen if they give him the green light to. He should be shooting mid range jumpers, lay ups and posting up. A three when the shot clock is winding down is fine, but dancing around and heaving from 30 is not what the Lakers want- or need- especially from Bryant. When he drives he creates opps for his teammates
^^Not true, and no I haven't seen him but I've seen the box scores. He's on one of my fantasy teams. I'd agree with you about the need for him to drive.....he commands so much attention. He was flirting with a triple double last night. I just want to know why Phil doesn't want him shooting threes? It's clear that Kobe is not going to shoot anywhere near 50% this year. Which is funny to me, because he is a lot better than Tony Parker and Rip Hamilton, yet they both shoot higher % and lead their teams in scoring.
Rip Hamilton is a better shooter than Kobe and also comes off a lot more screens. He isn't known for creating his own shot in the sense that Kobe is. A lot of his shots are open looks created by good spacing by his teammates. Tony Parker is driving to the hoop a lot more this season, his teammates are giving him screens as well and are making it a purpose to open up the lane for him for lay ups or the pass. Last point to make- Kobe's shooting 27% from three this year. Do you really want him shooting that much from there?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting ilive4ball:</div><div class="quote_post">Rip Hamilton is a better shooter than Kobe and also comes off a lot more screens. He isn't known for creating his own shot in the sense that Kobe is. A lot of his shots are open looks created by good spacing by his teammates. Tony Parker is driving to the hoop a lot more this season, his teammates are giving him screens as well and are making it a purpose to open up the lane for him for lay ups or the pass. Last point to make- Kobe's shooting 27% from three this year. Do you really want him shooting that much from there?</div> Only if it's open looks. Seems like all the 3's he made this year was all miracle like shots. The D all over him on almost every 3 point shot he took. He shoots to many T-Mac like shots this year which is why he and T-Mac shoot so low for such high scorers. All he has to do is what he was doing earlier in the year when he wasn't taking 3's and shooting .504 from the field. Because he wasn't taking 3's. And pass the ball with how he was playing earlier this year.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Jurassic:</div><div class="quote_post">^^Not true, and no I haven't seen him but I've seen the box scores. He's on one of my fantasy teams. I'd agree with you about the need for him to drive.....he commands so much attention. He was flirting with a triple double last night. I just want to know why Phil doesn't want him shooting threes? It's clear that Kobe is not going to shoot anywhere near 50% this year. Which is funny to me, because he is a lot better than Tony Parker and Rip Hamilton, yet they both shoot higher % and lead their teams in scoring.</div> The main difference for Rip Hamilton is he plays with a real point guard, Chauncey Billups. They've played together for quite a few seasons now, and Billups knows exactly where to pass the ball to set up Rip for those mid range shots. I would actually like to see the Lakers run Kobe off more picks to free up some of his jumpshots. I don't remember seeing a backdoor cut all season long for the team. I think that could be a very effective play because Kobe has a lot of moves inside the post, and a quick leap to get his shot over the top of defenders. Tony Parker benefits from one Tim Duncan. Defenses pay so much attention to Tim, that Parker finds a wide open lane to the basket. He also spent all summer working with the same shot doctor who taught Steve Kerr how to shoots, so Parker's consistency from long range has really improved this year. Plus the guy is lightening quick, and cannot be defended one on one in the league. The only way to slow Paker down is getting physical with him and attacking him when he's on defense. I think when the Lakers find a true post threat, (hopefully Lamar or Kwame), you'll see Kobe shoot more 3's for the team. Right now no one respects anyone on the Lakers to score on the inside, so there aren't many double teams leading to wide open shots. It boils down to Kobe being the best scorer in the post and on the perimeter for the Lakers, so hopefully they add a missing piece to the puzzle by getting 3 point specialist, or preferably a low post scorer who demands a double team.
