He can stare all he wants, the truth is he was a huge detriment to the team. Offensively he was relied on too much by the entire team. Defensively he cheated way too much, especially in the second half and let Morris get open shots or drives to the rim repeatedly. He looked like James Harden out there except he didn't get to the free throw line as much. I know he's frustrated, but he needs to keep his cool.
on defense i agree...he did cheat and coulda done better. but how is it his fault he is being relied upon by the team? when he passed or defers we barely get up a shot or turn it over. ugh im just frustrated
Well it's half his fault and half the team's. He's the elder statesman, he's the boss. Everyone knows that. Lin is starting to turn into Ramon Sessions out there when Kobe is in and that's just not going to work. Part of that is Lin's fault and part of that is Kobe. Also Carlos Boozer needs to step up big time. Not boxing out, not effective offensively, and no help defensively either.
^Boozer will never be a help defensively...the dude is trash. Point Blank. Also, I couldn't agree more with you statement about Sessions and Kobe; Lin looks frightened to death...
Uh oh, here we go, Kobe just said they need to guard the 3 better or "shoot more and make more ourselves". Said the 3 point differential is too hard to overcome. Honeymoon is over!
^He's right, though. It's been a huge disparity to overcome. Let's not forget it was Scott who said that he'll use Bryant as an assistant coach because of his basketball acumen. Well, let's see if that's true or not when they differ on basketball philosophically.
I agree that he's right, I said in gameday chat that the NBA isn't like it was, you need to shoot threes now. Hell, even when Byron played he shot like 5-7 a game himsel. Being the anti-'Antoni for the sake of it is stupid.
we cant be outscored every game by 30 from behind the arc and expect not to be blown out every single time
I know that's what he's been saying, but I think the reality is he's just trying to institute more attacking the paint. I think his vision will eventually include more threes. Maybe it's time to get there already though.
I agree, real, I know Byron is not that rigid or dumb and he's trying to start them prioritizing defense and scoring in the paint. But like you said, I think they get it, and they need to be allowed to shoot. Also, we don't have bigs that create their own offense, and we don't have guards and forwards that get to the paint.
My friends and I set the over/under on games missed by Kobe due to technical fouls at 3.5. I think the over is a safe bet.
Serena Winters @SerenaWinters · 16m 16 minutes ago Kobe on Jeremy Lin: "I want it to be his role to orchestrate the offense." (on TWC) Serena Winters @SerenaWinters · 15m 15 minutes ago Kobe said he talked to Lin on the bench & said "you got to run the offense. I'm telling you to run the offense & you got to do it."(on TWC) Serena Winters @SerenaWinters · 14m 14 minutes ago Kobe then compared what he wants from Jeremy Lin to his great relationship w/ D. Fish & how they bickered & challenged each other. Serena Winters @SerenaWinters · 15m 15 minutes ago What's at the top of Jeremy Lin's list to fix. He says: "Everything."
^Good stuff. I wanted Kobe to say something like that to Lin because Lin is really that one other guy who can bring it. At the least, he should be a consistent presence every game.
Well, I think this is key for the Kobe/Lin dynamic going forward Lin this season...Lin needs to take this personal, take the challenge that Kobe is offering, and play to his ability on both ends of the floor...if he doesn't, well, I wouldn't want to be Lin for this upcoming season...
the 3 point disparity is going to be an issue all season and not just because of Byron. We have no deep shooters on this team. None.
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina · 26m 26 minutes ago Kobe told Jeremy it's "an urban legend" that he wants to control the ball. Kobe said he's implored Jeremy to run the offense LOL. This made me laugh...
I know we are not going to win many games, and since Randle is now hurt, I would love to see Kobe win the scoring title this year.
Love that Kobe talked to Lin about letting him run the offense, but I gotta see it first to believe it, because in the heat of the battle (last two games), that's not what went down at all as Kobe got really heated and then went in complete ISO-mode for loooong stretches of time. Going forward, I'm hoping to see a more patient and cerebral Kobe who works with Lin on a way to get this horrible offense righted. Those two guys (along with Edddd) really are the only hope this team has to be competitive... No other players on this team are dynamic enough to pull a great game outta their a**. Boozer might hit some Js and make a few nice cuts here and there, but he's done. I was holding out on the hope that he could be decent in the PNR, since he excelled at that in UTA (and didn't do much of that in CHI) but he's terrible. He's aged and has lost his explosion. He sets poor screens that don't free up the ballhandler and he can't finish in traffic. Yeah, he can hit that midrange J at maybe 42-44%, but then that just leaves you with a PF who shoots 42-44%, when a good PF should be hitting at 50%+. So at best, Booze is at "good-bench big" level. He is not a good starting caliber PF. His running partner in JHill is in the same category. On good nights, Hill brings good energy but little else. On bad nights, he brings nothing. And even when they both grab boards on the stat-sheet, what the stats don't show is how many OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS these two guys allow. It's just been atrocious the first two games how many offensive boards these two guys give up. And Wes? Wes..??! We all know what Wes can do. Let's leave it at that. Dude needs to stop iso'ing for fadeaways. I know he's trying to be more confident but his game is limited. He shouldn't be shooting half the shots he takes. He needs to strictly take catch and shoot Js and that's it. ALSO STOP POSTING HIM ON THE BLOCK BYRON. So that leaves Kobe + Lin. And we all know what Kobe can do too. One of the most intense mf'ers in the league. We all saw it tonight. But his best effort alone ain't enough. Hate to say it, but it's not enough. The passion is great but he's got to be more intelligent out on the court and realize that he can't take over for 48 minutes even if the team is lacking everywhere. And he needs to realize that his passion/intensity/disgust with the team needs to be steered away from jackin' up more shots and rather into the other players, by way of speeches, communication and giving tips to the young fellas (like telling Lin to do his s***), because his passion through actions on the court just ain't getting it done. Besides, this team ain't lacking action and effort, it's lacking SMARTS. So yo, Kobe telling Lin to run the offense and run plays? GREAT. WONDERFUL. LOVE THE SOUND OF IT. But I gotta see it first. I gotta see it first, but hey if Kobe said it, then Lin needs to take that as a challenge and man the F up. WISE THE F UP. Yeah, Lin has been terrible, but he has the ability to spark an offense. He's done it in previous seasons, did it in the preseason and he even did it for a little stretch in the 3rd quarter of the opener, but he's just fallen off a FREAKIN CLIFF so far. I mean this is the mf'er that spawned Linsanity! Where is this dude's sense of passion? He got ditched in Houston and then played them last night like he was terrified of Patrick Beverley. JEEZUS dude. You are better than that. So holy F, KOBE + LIN NEED TO WORK TOGETHER in order to figure this horrific offense out, because even when Kobe had 19 at the break (and he was shooting close to 50%) the Lakers were down double digits! Kobe was on pace to score 40 and the team was on pace to lose by 20! Let that s*** sink in! This team can't win with its current style of play even if Kobe scores 40 on 50%! THink about that s***! Love the fight by Mamba but it's not enough. And maybe it won't ever be enough even if he lets go of the reigns but WHAT WE DOING RIGHT NOW FOR SURE AINT WORKIN. So we gotta change it. There is no other option. It's got to be changed. On the flip side, Jeremy needs to seriously do a 180 in terms of mentality. He's gotta go out there and think he's the best player on the court. I don't care that Kobe is out there with him, and I don't care if he looks over and sees Lebron on the other side of the got damn team, because Lin's gotta wise up. He's been given a golden opportunity to prove himself a starter in the league and he's got to run with that s*** and never look back. Also jeezus, SHOOT MORE 3s ENTIRE LAKERS. Phoenix shot like 40 freakin threes. "Oh, but the lakers don't have 3 point shooters!" I DONT GIVE A F! The Atlanta Hawks couldnt shoot 3s for nothin last year either (outside of Kyle Korver) but they took the Pacers to 7 games just because THEY KNEW THEIR TALENT LEVEL SUCKED SO THEY REALIZED THEY HAD TO SHOOT 3s TO HAVE A CHANCE. Those mf'ers shot like 60 3's a game for christ's sake at like 30% and took a number 1 seed to 7 games. Same philosophy applies here! It's backwards thinking to think that a lower level talent team can get away with not shooting 3s! It makes NO SENSE! THE THREE BALL WAS INVENTED SO LESS TALENTED PLAYERS COULD COMPETE WITH MORE TALENTED PLAYERS. SO I REPEAT, NOT SHOOTING 3s FOR A TEAM LACKING IN TALENT MAKES NO SENSE. So start shooting some GD 3s because its NOT LIKE YOU HAVE BIGS WHO CAN POST UP. You don't have great post options that justify for why you don't take 3s! THIS TEAM IS NOT MEMPHIS OR SOME S***! So I don't care who starts shooting the 3s, but somebody needs to! Have goatSacre shoot 3s for all I care! IDGAF, just start shooting them!
