Lakers looked great today
This is what some of us have been clashing about all season. When we say Kobe is the problem, we dont mean he is a bad player or is not one of the GOATs. We mean what we saw last night. The usual response is Kobe is having one of his best seasons shooting. He cant do it all by himself. Last night showed what the team could do if Kobe took more of a leadership role on the court. When he goes out and compete: rebounding, getting in the passing lanes, taking GOOD SHOTS, PASSING the ball to his teammates, everyone else will follow suit. Its not about babysitting anyone or spoon feeding players, its simply about being a better teammate and playing to the team's strengths. Last night with 14,9,& 9 Kobe helped show us a glimpse of what this Laker team could be on a nightly basis. Hopefully we'll see more of this from Kobe and LA.
I've blasted the Lakers all season for their pathetic season thus far, but today they're playing great, albeit it be against an average-to-good Utah team at home. Artest and Dwight each had 17, Nash had 15, just 2 assists but Kobe has 14 points, 14 assists, and 9 rebounds. And Gasol also had a huge game, 15 and 7 on 7-8 shooting in 25 minutes. I know he wants to start but he gives the second unit a much needed boost.
They're really playing with energy, and they're sharing the ball. If they can move the ball like this and play clamp down D like this as well, they can go far. As much I've chastised them, I have said that if they figure it out, they can be very dangerous. Remember, they have 4 Future Hall of Famers and even though they're not all healthy/in their primes, none of them are close to done, they can all still play at a very high level. This is still a legit team, and we shouldn't snooze on them.
We've seen performances from Kobe like this before, but if he can play like this more nights and keep his bigs happy,