Type of stuff Kobe respects; up 79-48, Kobe deciding to pick up full court on Curry, Curry fumbling the ball regaining control and nailing the 3 in Kobe's face... He has to literally yell at Lin for him to shoot it in the video or even before that tell him to 'run the offense' all to no avail. Oh, well.
Tomorrow's headline: "LeBron hugs teammate, saves cat stuck in tree, and cures male pattern baldness."
imagine how many times kobe or anyone else on the team has done something like this over the years and we've never heard of it typical media BS making a big deal out of nothing
I thought swearing at practice is normal...This whole thing is overrated...these journalists better put their c**p together, sissy....
Byron's attitude toward Kobe borders on reverence. It's fine for me, you, and other fans, because that's how you're supposed to feel about a guy who is arguably the greatest player in your franchise's storied history. For a coach, it's unsettling a bit. Would our team be ANY different if Kobe were the coach? Say Byron never showed up to games and Kobe called all the shots. Any difference at all?
Here's another angle emerging from this video. If Kobe really has to yell at our PG to run the offense, maybe, just maybe it's not Kobe's fault that we're running so much Kobe-heavy offense late in games. I understand it takes a great deal of fortitude to keep your wits about you, run your game, while Kobe's screaming for the ball in the game, but that's your job. Lin might need someone (like Swaggy) to soften the blow a bit and help him draw out the correct message, but I'm now more frustrated than ever with Lin after seeing this clip.
I've been saying it all along, Lin doesn't have the mindset for this. If he can't handle Kobe in practice or on a bad team, what would he look like on a better team? Maybe we don't have the right approach to him mentally. Maybe he needs a lot of nurturing and propping up and we (Kobe and Byron mostly) are buttholes who get in your face and yell and make you work hard. Maybe we want him to be mean and he doesn't have a mean bone in his body. And maybe we don't want a guy like that. At some point you need to put your foot down and be confident in yourself. If a guy is talking trash to me in any sport, I have confidence in myself to go do something about it. How does Lin not have that? At 26 years old and four years or so in this league he doesn't have the confidence in himself to go do his thing? C'mon man!
It's a tough one. Let's face it, Kobe can be a real you know what. That said, he isn't doing it to destroy his teammates, but rather to toughen them up and bring out the best in them. Even though Lin hasn't been around long, he's talked plenty with Kobe and should know this. Booz is tough and seasoned enough that he probably doesn't give a "darn." But Lin is a different kind of guy. Like Pau, he's a cerebral dude and maybe he's over thinking things right now. I like Lin a lot and I hope he can turn this around. With him being relegated to the bench and getting into the Kobe/Byron doghouse we have basically no chance to win games because Price simply isn't good enough to start. It's up to Lin because Kobe and Byron aren't going to back down and the FO isn't afraid to lose games right now (and why should they since we have a chance at another top draft pick regardless of what they say publicly). Lin has to put on his bootstraps and show that he can compete consistently on this level and not just every few games. I'm still rooting for him.
The difference is Pau might be a more sensitive person, but I always got the impression he was supremely confident in himself. I do not get that feeling at all from Lin.
I am not sure. I don't know enough about Lin. I know he's battled in order to get where he is, so I don't think he's totally lacking in confidence. I think he's driven and has a strong work ethic and belief in himself as far as I can see. He's also very talented. I just don't know if he has the ability to make that next step towards consistency on an every game or most game level. When he's aggressive he's pretty damn good. Aggressiveness isn't absolutely the same as confidence in one's self. Sure it's hard to be effectively aggressive on the court without confidence. But it takes more than just confidence to be aggressive every game. It's like another type of character gene. Maybe he doesn't have that, I don't know. Kobe's definitely trying to bring it out in him and see if he has it.
I don't know LJ. I think he's confident that God will show him the way forward and there's nothing wrong with that. I just don't know if he's confident in HIMSELF as much as he is in the process that things will work out. I've seen him at his most confident, we all have. He lit us up not too long ago in MSG and he was supremely confident. Where is THAT? Where is that Jeremy Lin? At times it looks like he can get the basket at will. Why doesn't he? Because he's afraid of Kobe? Because he doesn't know his role? Everyone has TOLD him his role: run the damn offense and to hell with what Kobe is yelling at you. If you do your job, the yelling stops. I'm just sick of waiting for him to get it all put together. It's been how many years? The Rockets gave up and my patience is short. This was his chance to break out and he's blowing it. He's playing like a backup PG and that's not the look we wanted or needed from him. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood today.
Remember at the beginning of the year, he said he did not want to be Linsanity again, he didn't want to recreate it but he wants to be himself. Problem is, he is Linsanity and he's at his best when he plays like that stretch of games. Of course you want to show that you aren't just a flash in the pan, you want to show that you can be consistently good. He needs to embrace Linsanity and not try to run away from it. Dude has the talent and skill set to sometimes be the best player on the court, he just needs to not over think it and do it.
I think it's more of a "scared" thing than a confidence thing. Guy is straight up scared to step on Kobe's toes. He just seems like the non-confrontational type. There are moments though like when he called Kobe out for not getting back on defense the last game, but lets be honest. Does anybody get in Kobe's face to let him know when he's doing something wrong? It shouldn't be Lin's job to do that. It should be the coach's job, but will Byron ever do that? I doubt it. While Kobe may have said that he wants Lin to run things, he's not the coach. Byron has said the opposite. He stated that he likes the ball to be in Kobe's hands because he's extremely confident that Kobe will make the right play. He also stated that he's even thought of putting Kobe at the PG position. Does that sound like a coach? The words out of his mouth is what we see on tv. It's just give Kobe the ball and have him do his thing. There is a reason why ball handlers like Lin and Young see a huge boost in usage rating when Kobe's not on the floor.
LOL. Feel better real! Yeah, I don't necessarily disagree - we've seen him at the height of his confidence/aggressiveness and we've seen him not so aggressive. I still think he has confidence. I'm just not sure he has that aggressiveness that it takes to play at a very consistent high level every game. Maybe I'm splitting hairs about the semantics here. But I get that frustration with Lin and I have it too. I want to see him bring it hard every night. I notice that against very physical defenders he has a hard time. He's got to push through that. This is where Nash is also letting us down tremendously. I thought or was at least hoping that he would be working with and mentoring Lin. F you Nash. You're earning 9 mil a year and not doing anything for us at ALL. I'm po'd at that guy. We'll see what happens with Lin. I haven't given up on him yet. But I'm not happy with his inconsistency either. By the way, finally saw the video and it's really much ado about nothing. Kobe intense at practice. Who cares? Just a bunch of smack talk with curse words. Another day at the office.
I'm totally with you on the Kobe at practice thing. I think the only reason it blew up was because a) twitter and b) everyone THINKS Kobe wants out, so they're all EXPECTING him to ask for a trade any day now. Nevermind the fact that he has said repeatedly he wants to stay here through this horrible season, they all think he'll demand a trade eventually. The video to me just looks like a fired up practice. Even the yelling at Mitch was meant to piss off the other guys more than anything that had to do with Mitch himself.
I wonder if Lin's demeanor is cultural? Respecting the authority figure and falling in line rank and file even if the superior is in the wrong is very much a part of most Asian families.
Inside the NBA talked about Kobe's trash talking/Lakers practice. Lol @ Shaq just sipping his coffee and grinning throughout the segment.
I don't have any problem with Kobe calling guys out for doggin it. We know from myriad sources that he has a work ethic like no other. We also know from others including Kobe that he gets frustrated when guys don't step up. So I don't believe he only yells at guys to build them up. Sometimes he just gets frustrated and challenges guys. They're professional players competing at the highest level with thousands of guys dreaming for that shot. Maybe Bron doesn't get that frustrated, maybe he sleeps more than 4 hours a night. Kobe's been one of the greatest to ever play and he prefers to go at you and kick your a** like Michael. It is what it is. Lin like Pau is getting paid to do a job. He's a pro and a vet. He needs to have the toughness to play with guys who get in your face.
