Well I guess Kobe will be the only watchable thing about this team this year. But like others have said we can't have him working that hard to get his points :/ But shootouts to Kobe for calling Dwight soft and the camera perfectly capturing it ...
I think Howard was called for a Flagrant, Kobe got a PF, and both received a T. Kobe looks a little different. I don't trust his lateral quickness that much, and his handles seem a little less practiced than previously. Other than that, I thought he looked good. He's able to back people down at will. No one on Houston could check him defensively. He did take probably two or three shots that I'd like to have him take it closer to the hoop, but, man, this offense sucked last night. And that wasn't on Kobe.
Come on, I would put all my money on more than 40%. I will consider 43% a disappointment, even with this supporting cast that he has
he got a couple shots blocked that I'm not sure I've seen him have blocked before, which concerned me. and i thought his defense looked the worst I've seen it. ariza knew he could go right by him if he wanted. and kobe knew it, too, hence ariza getting carte blanche from outside. his jumper still looks great (had a couple roll out on him), and his passing was up to speed. but you're right, a little loose with the ball and obviously hesitant to take it all the way to the rim. the latter was apparent in the preseason, but i hoped it would change when the games counted. anyway, it's hard to get a read right now because he gets too much attention from the d. i think had nash and young been on the floor with him, maybe he has some space to work with. but nobody respects lin's or wes Johnson's shot (rightfully so), and nobody fears recovering to challenge Jordan hill (seriously, how many headfake/gathers does it take, fella?).
He had only one shot blocked officially, and I can remember only one that I saw - but I didn't watch the last 9 minutes of the fourth. His defense was pretty bad, but he tended to try to play it smart. He did cut off some lanes, but the lateral quickness isn't there - and I don't know that it ever will be.
I think overall he looked good but there's only so much you can do when you're not surrounded by anyone else who demands attention offensively. Pretty sad that at this stage of his career he has to work so hard to create a shot.
Howard also called him a "p****-***" right when it all started. And they both said "I know you". They really don't like each other. That's fun.
I would give him a B+ for the game. It's rough because he's older now. Next to another star I think he'd look fantastic, but now at this point he just looks like a 1b or a 2 that doesn't have a running mate. Reggie Miller was right on that count. No Gasol or Shaq or even a Lamar to keep pressure off of him. Julius had the best shot at developing into that guy, but obviously that won't happen now.
I think he will show that he is still better than a 1b or a 2. This was his FIRST game in nearly 2 years. He had 16 relatively efficient points in the first half, and then struggled in the second. Yes, it would be ideal to have another star or two, but he's going to get his game legs back, and then he will still put up 25ppg. Few 2s or 1b players do that.
It's sad seeing Kobe having to do everything just to get a basket. Someone help the dude out for crying it loud.
How's Kobe going to last through an entire season of this when he looks like he wants to kill someone after 2 games?
Yeah, he looked infuriated. Well, that's what Byron is there for because we didn't definitely didn't hire him for his X's and O's...
